Senior Lawyer - Highways & Planning

£50,269 to £54,495 per year, Competitive

Contract Type:

Permanent

Hours:

Full time

Disability Confident:

Yes

Closing Date:

28/03/2026

About this job

Staffordshire County Council is a modern, progressive, and forward thinking authority that is ambitious and empowers its employees to be courageous and innovative in their approach. Join a team where your expertise shapes the future of Staffordshire.

Staffordshire Legal Services is one of the largest and most diverse in house legal teams in the region, providing high quality, high impact work across every Council function, the Staffordshire Pension Fund, and a wide range of external clients. Our caseload is consistently interesting, varied, and often high profile.

Why Join Us?

We genuinely prioritise work-life balance-our staff survey tells us we don't just say it, we live it.

• Generous holiday allowance, increasing with service, plus the option to purchase additional leave
• Agile, flexible and term time working arrangements
• Local Government Pension Scheme with generous (
  29.5%) employer contributions
• Employee discounts, staff parking discounts, and an optional car lease scheme
• Family friendly policies, including maternity, adoption, paternity and parental leave

Main Responsibilities

• Advising on County Planning matters including applications received and work generated and planning enforcement.
• Negotiating complex planning obligations on behalf of highway and education clients.
• Negotiating highway agreements on behalf of highway clients.
• Giving advice in relation to a full range of often complex Local Authority statutory Highway and Planning functions, managing client files in accordance with Lexcel requirements and supervising other members of the team.

The Ideal Candidate

• Qualified Chartered Legal Executive (with practice/advocacy rights), Solicitor or Barrister with a comprehensive understanding of Highway and Planning law.
• In depth understanding of the work carried out within the public sector; previous local government experience is not essential.
• Ability to clearly, confidently and effectively communicate.
• Meticulous attention to detail.
• Effective time management, prioritisation skills and ability to work under the demands of competing pressures.
• Ability to delegate work to generate capacity.

We're happy to talk flexible working. If you're unsure whether your skills are the right fit, we encourage you to get in touch for an informal discussion.

Please contact John Rowe, Principal Lawyer at or Imran Razaq, Deputy Legal Services Manager at . Interviews will take place during week commencing 23 March 2026. Our recruitment process: We anonymise applications during shortlisting to ensure only relevant information is considered.

Please complete your application fully, especially the supporting statement, to highlight what you'll bring to the role.

About Staffordshire County Council

We are an equal opportunities organisation and Disability Confident employer. We encourage applications from all backgrounds and communities, and as part of our commitment as a Disability Confident employer, a Gold Award Armed Forces employer, and our commitment to supporting care leavers, we offer a guaranteed interview as long as your application meets the minimum criteria for the post.