Head of Team – Safeguarding & Community Services
£61,587 and £77,322 per annum plus JNC benefits package £2,724 (pro-rata April-March)
This is an outstanding opportunity to take a role and make it your own, delivering high-level legal leadership and advice to a central London council.
About Southwark
At Southwark, we cover an area that stretches from the vibrant riverside around London Bridge to Canada Water in the east, and through Camberwell and Peckham to the peace of Dulwich Woods in the south. With more than 310,000 residents and a rich variety of communities, the Borough enjoys a unique cultural and social diversity.
It is this diversity that makes Southwark so special, and we are working with local people, communities and businesses to innovate, improve and transform public services, from housing and education to green spaces and leisure.
Southwark is also one of the largest social landlords in the country with responsibility over 50,000 council homes, our housing management function is significant.
We also have a responsibility to protect the most vulnerable in our community; this role is key to ensuring we discharge those functions and keep children and vulnerable adults safe. We are proud of our services and you can play a key role in ensuring good governance, openness and transparency across key services.
- Safeguarding children and vulnerable adults
- General social services law
- Education
Your role
We are looking for an experienced lawyer who is a technical expert that will work closely with a range of senior officers across the council, particularly in the Children’s and Adults’ Department.
You will head a team of lawyers providing high quality legal support to the Council and be responsible for meeting the advice and litigation needs of our clients.
This will involve developing strong working partnerships both inside and outside the council, as well as keeping up-to-date with changing legislation. Attendance will also be required at scrutiny, our commissions and other meetings with members.
Your skills and experience
You will have a background in advising on complex matters in any of the following areas: the protection of vulnerable children, adults and education. You will need to be politically astute and aware of the impact your advice could have for both the Council and the communities we serve. This means you will need the ability to develop good working relationships with people across the Council and to explain complex legal concepts clearly and concisely, both verbally and in writing. You will have led and motivated a team of lawyers and you will also have experience of financial management.
Location
This is a full time, permanent role based in council offices at London Bridge with the ability for some remote working. The role is not open to job share.
Working at Southwark
Our vision is a fairer future for all in Southwark, and this applies to our employees as well as our residents. It is an exciting time to join us as we set out to improve and transform the lives of people across our diverse borough. You’ll find an exciting, vibrant and supportive environment where you can continue to develop your skills and expertise. For more information about the wide variety of benefits you can take advantage of please visit our Staff Benefits page.
Recruitment timetable
Closing date: 11:59pm, 29 August 2022
Assessments: week commencing 5 September 2022
Interviews: week commencing 12 September 2022
SWCHTF
We are an organisation who is passionate about our people and understands that richness of diversity is a requirement to provide the best possible services to our communities. This is demonstrated through our council-wide ambitious commitment to tackle racial inequality in our communities and workforce through our Southwark Stands Together programme. We particularly welcome applications from members of the Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities to increase representation at senior management level in the Council.
For more information: Safeguarding Jobs – 2022 | Indeed.com
