Child Protection Advocate Lawyer

The starting salary for this role is £59,868 - £65,755 per annum depending on experience, based on a 36-hour working week.

The role is a 12-month, fixed-term contract or secondment opportunity to cover maternity leave within the team.

Are you looking for a new opportunity to develop your career in Child Care law? As one of our three in-house Advocate Lawyers, you will join a supportive, successful and Lexcel accredited in-house legal team that delivers effective legal advice, representation and assistance to the Council.

Rewards and Benefits

• 26 days' holiday (prorated for part time staff), rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 30 days after 5 years' service
• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
• An extensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
• Up to 5 days of carer's leave per year
• Paternity, adoption and dependents leave
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, shopping and many more
• 2 paid volunteering days plus 1 team volunteering day per year
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources

About the Team

The Legal Services Child Care Team is based in Woking. Our Court centre is Guildford with some hearings also at Staines upon Thames or remote. The Council adopts a hybrid working policy with flexible working arrangements which includes access to offices in Reigate and Weybridge combined with remote or home working. The whole team is very approachable (even when working remotely!) so there will always be someone to provide you with support and discuss matters.

Our team culture is one which is supportive and engaged. We were recently nominated for a STARS in Surrey award and receive consistently excellent client feedback.

Working together with front line Children's Services to safeguard children, we play a pivotal role in the Council's drive to ensure no one is left behind and are one of five areas who succeeded in being selected to be a part of the grant funded Trailblazer Pilot, designed to explore ways of reducing delays in Children Act proceedings. The recent refresh of the PLO presents great opportunity given those foundations.

About the Role

In this role, you will act as an advocate in relation to childcare and related Court proceedings, providing representation in cases prepared by other lawyers in the team as befits your skills and experience. The workload is varied and interesting with a diversity of case types that offer scope for development.

You will have responsibility for all matters related to the conduct of the hearing, including the drafting of key Court documents and reporting as to the outcomes and next steps. As well as this, you will provide expert advice to the team and client as to technical and evidential matters. In conjunction with other team members, you will also provide training to our Children's Service clients.

This role is one of three inhouse advocate positions in the team. If you are interested in developing and enhancing your existing advocacy skills whilst undertaking quality and varied work in the area of child protection, we'd love to hear from you.

Shortlisting Criteria

To be considered for shortlisting for this position, your application will clearly evidence the following:

• You are a Solicitor, barrister or Fellow of CILEX who is eligible to practise in England and Wales and have (or be in a position to apply for) a current practicing certificate issued by the relevant regulatory authority.
• Proven advocacy experience, having represented local authority social workers, parents and/or children
• Clear and detailed understanding of the relevant legal framework in which you will operate, you will be a developing, skilled and empathetic advocate
• Ability to assimilate information quickly in order to effectively convey the local authority's concerns and position to the Court so as to achieve the best outcomes for the children at the heart of the proceedings
• Excellent communication skills and ability build strong relationships with clients.
• Awareness of, and are able to model and uphold, the values of Surrey County Council

Please contact us for any questions relating to the role. This could be to discuss flexible working requests, transferable skills or any barriers to employment.

The job advert closes on 19th January 2025 with interviews planned for the week commencing 27th January 2025.

This post has been designated as a politically restricted post in accordance with the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.

If you want to join a friendly, dedicated and experienced team of Lawyers please click the apply button below to submit your application.

Our Commitment

Surrey County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. A guaranteed interview will be offered to all disabled applicants where:

• The candidate has evidenced the minimum criteria for the role through their application
• The candidate has chosen to share that they have a disability on the application form

Our application form and onboarding process will provide an opportunity to request any reasonable adjustments for the interview and/or the role.

We want to be an inclusive and diverse employer reflecting the community we serve and particularly welcome applications from all underrepresented groups.