In House Advocate

• Qualification and registration -  Qualified Solicitor, Barrister or FILEx/CILEx (with FILEx/CILEx Advocacy Certificate) 
• DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) clearance - this post is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (amended in 2013). Appointable candidates will be required to apply for a Standard Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. Information provided by you or the DBS will be dealt with in a confidential manner and in accordance with the DBS Code of Practice which can be viewed here. We have a policy on the Employment of Ex-Offenders and it is available upon request. 
• Casual Car Documentation- The successful candidate will be a designated Casual Car User which means that car journeys may be necessary on an occasional basis, but are not essential to the role. If you do drive, you must always hold a full valid driving licence and provide your own car for use at work, as well as provide all the appropriate documentation. You will receive an allowance per mile of business use. 

★ Are your skills and legal mind being rewarded? ★ Do you work together as part of a supportive team? ★ Is your work wide-ranging and varied? ★ Are you achieving your goals? 

Be part of our incredible journey. 

We are looking for enthusiastic individuals with initiative, a proactive approach to problem-solving, and a real commitment to the job. You will work within a friendly, welcoming and supportive team environment where your professional development will be nurtured and appreciated. 

The successful candidates whilst demonstrating a good working knowledge of local government law, will have the abilities to formulate and present quality legal argument to the Courts on behalf of our clients, both orally and in writing, within hearings of varying lengths and complexity.  You will have a sound and proven knowledge of the law relating to children and families.  The successful candidates will also be able to evidence personal commitment to continuous self-development.  

Your brief, received from internal team members, is also growing.  As an already effective team of lawyers, legal officers and business support team who produce incredible, outstanding results their vision for the future is also being enhanced.  Aligning ourselves with Children’s Services to deliver safe, efficient, and effective services to families, the enhanced vision is supported by a new “small teams” structure, an enriched training, mentoring and coaching tool and a new Case Management System.  Highly valued by our clients, our excellent relationships and continual looking for better ways of doing things and achieving greater heights produces an innovative, responsive, inclusive and transparent legal service. 

You will be a qualified Barrister, Solicitor or Chartered Legal Executive with Advocacy Certificate, able and committed to working in a flexible manner including outside normal office hours, when the role necessitates the same.  You will be a key member of the group, confident and able to work independently and act upon your own initiative.   

Why work with us? 
We recognise that working in child protection law can be challenging. We offer our lawyers flexible start and finish times (subject to court hearings and workload) with an effective hybrid working-practice model, so that you can find the balance that empowers you to do your best work. There’s opportunity for development and variety thanks to the way our teams practise in our Lexcel-accredited and supported legal service. 

Legal work for public services in Manchester, Salford and Rochdale Councils and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority puts you among the few practitioners in England’s first, and biggest, devolved region, where major decisions are now taken in-house rather than in Whitehall and by NHS administrations.  

Interested? 
If you are interested, we would like to hear from you. For full details of the role please read the role profile. 

To arrange an informal discussion on the role please contact Alison Robertson, Head of In House Advocacy Services on email at [email protected] 

As part your application, please submit your Curriculum Vitae and detailed Expression of Interest setting out how your skills and experience meet the role profile 

 Put your legal experience to work for Manchester City Council.

This is not a role we consider to be eligible for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route based on Manchester City Council policy. Candidates are therefore encouraged to consider their own right to work options without the requirement for Manchester City Council sponsorship. 

We’re the local government authority for Manchester, and have teams across the city helping to make this a great place to live for everyone. We’re proud to do local government differently, in a city with an international reputation for diversity, creativity, culture and passion. 

When you join us, you’re joining a team of over 7,000 council staff helping to make our ambition for Manchester a reality. Whatever your role, you’ll be supporting our residents and communities to be the best they can be, and helping to build a Manchester that's fairer for everyone who lives, works, volunteers, studies or plays here. 

To make our ambition a reality, every person we recruit needs to play their its part. It takes a certain type of behaviour, attitude and way of working to get Manchester where it wants to be. Our people and partners have agreed five ‘behaviours’ – the grounding for how we must work together and treat one another:

• We take time to listen and understand
• We work together and trust each other
• We show that we value our differences and treat each other fairly
• We ‘own it’ and we’re not afraid to try new things
• We’re proud and passionate about Manchester

A career with us means you can be yourself, thrive, and build the career your talent and ambition deserve.

Creating an inclusive team at Manchester City Council 

At Manchester City Council, we strive to create a fair and inclusive workplace that is as diverse as the communities we serve.  We want to further increase the diversity of our workforce, in particular the number of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic staff and disabled staff at all levels of the Council. This advert is open to all applicants, and we would particularly encourage applications from candidates identifying with one or both of those characteristics.   

If you want to find out more about the role, our ways of working, flexible arrangements or any workplace adjustments, please let us know by emailing [email protected]. If you are invited to interview, we will ask you if you require any adjustments for you to best demonstrate your suitability for the role in the interview process.   

Guaranteed Interview Scheme

As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role, and identify with one of the below criteria:

• Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
• Are currently in care, or have previously been in care
• If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition

Accessibility 

As a Disability Confident Employer, we provide support for employees with physical or mental-health conditions, a disability or neurodiversity. Our workplaces are accessible by design, and we make workplace adjustments including providing aids, adaptations and equipment. These, combined with our flexible working policies such as disability-related leave, enable our employees to perform their role, thrive and be their authentic selves in work. 

When you join us 

We want everyone to be able to be themselves at work and give their best. If you need additional support to undertake the duties of the role, we’ll make every effort to source any necessary aids, adaptations or equipment. If, however, any task proves to be unachievable, we will look at redesigning parts of the role. 

Other relevant information 

Why work for us
Who we are - Manchester City Council
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