JOB TITLE: Specialist Planning Lawyer
SALARY: JF15 - Pay Scale £72,268 with progression to £80,062
LGPS pension Employer Contribution 19.6 %
PERMANENT FULL TIME: 37 hours per week
LOCATION: Stevenage with hybrid working
REPORTS TO: Assistant Chief Legal Officer
TEAM: Legal Services - Environment
DEPARTMENT: Resources
About Herts Legal
With more than 100 colleagues Herts Legal is one of the largest and most successful shared legal teams in local government and offers a complete legal service to clients across the County Council, District Councils and other public sector bodies.
Our lawyers are crucial to the County Council's continued success. We have high standards for our services and we are LEXCEL accredited.
Herts Legal provides a fantastic opportunity for ambitious, passionate and organised lawyers who want to join a supportive and flourishing public sector legal team.
Some attendance at client offices and Planning Committees is essential, but we offer flexible hybrid working and have recently moved to newly refurbished modern offices in Stevenage.
Our highly effective practice management team looks after the business processes enabling the lawyers to focus on the law.
We are excited by the opportunities presented by Local Government Reorganisation and are working to ensure that Herts Legal will be at the centre of any new legal service established as a result.
The Role
The role is based in the Environment Team which comprises 6 lawyers specialising in Planning and environment law.
We are looking to develop and grow our Environment Law Team, which covers Hertfordshire’s planning, highways, environmental and rights of way work, and supports the wider growth and development agenda for the County and its Districts.
The Team provide legal support to client departments and District Councils on planning, highways and environmental matters, including major infrastructure and development projects.
You will manage a caseload, with the emphasis on income generation, including complex and high-profile matters, delivering high quality, timely, commercial and solution focused advice to Council officers, Cabinet, committees, and other council bodies. You will understand the commercial and legal implications surrounding the work, and the future delivery of services across Hertfordshire.
You will need extensive knowledge and experience of public sector planning work, including S106 agreements, highways agreements, rights of way, and attending and advising planning committees. You will be fully aware of changing legislation and case law, and its implications for local authority planning work.
You will help lead and manage the Team and work closely with the senior management team.
Criteria for the Role
Essential criteria:
Ø A qualified solicitor, barrister, or legal executive
Ø Extensive knowledge and experience of public sector planning law
Ø Management experience
Ø Attendance at Planning Committees
Desirable Criteria:
Ø Knowledge and experience of local government and public law
Ø Experience of working in local government
Ø A commercial mindset
Ø Initiative-taking, enthusiastic, and organised
Key Role Responsibilities
· Manage your own case load of high profile and potentially complex matters
· Support and encourage other team members to develop their knowledge and skills
· Maintain and seek new business opportunities both internally and with other public bodies
· Legal lead for major strategic projects on behalf of Herts Legal and its clients
· Prepare and present training courses and seminars to Members, officers and others
· Effective communication, risk management, and cost- effective use of resources
Person Specification:
· Able to work independently on complex matters with multi-disciplinary teams
· Diligent and pragmatic, with a flexible and commercial approach to problem solving
· An excellent communicator at all levels
· Ability to devise and lead strategically on complex or novel matters
· Organised and able to lead and prioritise a heavy caseload
· Committed to continual professional development, and developing skills and knowledge of additional legal disciplines relevant to the work of the Environment Law Team
· Excellent legal drafting and negotiation skills
· Understand working in a politically sensitive environment
Your Application
If you have the knowledge, experience and skills to make a success of this dynamic and exciting role at Herts Legal, we look forward to receiving your application and meeting you.
For a confidential conversation about this role, please contact Brian Gallagher via brian.gallagher@penna.com
or 07716 098175.
How to Apply
- Upload your CV under “Please select one of the options below.”
- Complete the short mandatory fields on the next page.
- Use ‘Add Attachments’ to upload your Supporting Statement and any other documents.
- Please ensure that the file name of your CV and supporting statement includes your full name.
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