Lawyer - Adult, Education & Childrens Services

Job details

Job title: Lawyer - Adult, Education & Childrens Services. Job reference: . Date posted: 08/05/2026. Application closing date: 01 June 2026. Working Pattern: Part time. Salary: £50,269 - £53,460 per year, pro ratio. Hours: 22.2 hours per week (3 days). Location: The Council House / Hybrid Working. Contract type: Permanent.

We are a dynamic legal child care team, based in the City Centre. We are looking for a highly motivated and suitably qualified lawyer for this important post but we would consider applications from people who are approaching qualification if they were the right person for the role. As a member of our busy legal team, your main area of work will be advising and representing the People's (Children's) Services Department in all aspects of child care law including care and adoption proceedings. Be assured - the work will be stimulating, plentiful and varied. You will be expected to undertake or be prepared to work towards undertaking your own advocacy in the local courts and demonstrate a strong technical knowledge when handling public law cases. You may also advise on judicial review applications that relate to the provision of children's services. You will work closely with other experienced lawyers and legal colleagues and you will be supported by legal officers (paralegals) and senior managers.

Who We Are

Here at Derby City Council, we're dedicated to delivering nearly 250 first class services to citizens and businesses in the heart of the Midlands. In July 2025, our Children's Services' department was rated as Outstanding by OFSTED. People are at the centre of all that we do, and we have an outstanding track record of recruiting and developing talented individuals by providing them with varied and fulfilling career opportunities.

What We Offer

• Flexible work/life balance scheme
• Hybrid working
• Modern office environment
• Continued professional development opportunities & career conversations
• 27 days annual leave (rising to 32 days after 5 years' service), plus bank holidays
• Local Government Pension Scheme (depending on contract)
• Team Derby Rewards - retail and leisure discounts
• Tusker Car Benefit Scheme
• Cycle2Work Scheme & free cycle training
• Employee Assistance Programme, Wellbeing Calendar and Support
• Access to our Equality Employee Networks - LGBTQ+, Disabled Employee Network & Carers and our Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic Employee Support Network and Neurodiversity Network
• Support for colleagues who are carers

About You

• Be a Solicitor, Barrister or Legal Executive with rights of audience but we may consider someone approaching qualification if they are the right person;
• Have good, recent advocacy, drafting and negotiation experience;
• Be a good communicator giving clear, practical advice;
• Be able to work on your own initiative and as part of a team;
• Have extensive, recent experience of care and adoption law;
• Be able to provide evidence of managing your own caseload and meeting deadlines.

As part of our safer recruitment checks the successful candidate will be subject to a standard DBS check.

All employees will normally be appointed to the minimum of the grade for the job.

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

We are a fair and inclusive employer and welcome applications from people from all backgrounds. We recruit for diversity and value difference. As many of our roles can now be home based, we are able to offer more opportunities for people who need this facility. We are proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. If you are a disabled person, you have the choice to apply under our Guaranteed Interview Scheme so long as you demonstrate that you meet the essential requirements for the job. We feel it is essential that we recruit a talented workforce that is as diverse as the community we work for. Please let us know of any individual requirements or reasonable adjustments you may have during the application, interview, or onboarding process and we'll do all we can to help. We strongly believe in social understanding of disability and for us it's all about removing barriers to equality.