Contracts and Procurement Principal Lawyer

The starting salary for this role is £68,774 per annum rising to £75,583 per annum, for working 36 hours per week.

Are you a qualified solicitor, barrister or CILEX with substantial experience of the law and practice in Contracts and Procurement, who is looking for a new role within a within a friendly and committed team?

Are you committed to working as part of a supportive, successful and Lexcel accredited in-house legal team that delivers timely, clear and effective legal advice, representation and assistance to the Council?

Are you looking to work in an agile organisation that focuses on outcomes?

We are excited to be hiring a new Contracts and Procurement Principal Lawyer to join our fantastic team. There is an opportunity to work from a number of locations in Surrey together with some homeworking. The Council's base is in Reigate but we also have an offices in Woking and Weybridge. The Council operates an agile working policy so we are able to provide flexibility in terms of where you work.

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 Role

As a Contracts and Procurement Principal Lawyer, you will manage a small team, advising client departments of the Council and the Council's wholly owned trading companies. You will also ensure company secretarial compliance for the Council's trading companies (this will not require being named/registered at Companies House).

The work of the team is varied, including frameworks, DPS and term contracts of differing complexity, collaboration agreements, MOUs, IPR, construction contracts and other commercial legal issues. Knowledge of GDPR and its impact on public contracts is essential.

If you consider yourself to be an effective and dynamic individual, with experience of managing and supervising people and the ability to motivate others whilst working in a team, then you will likely be well suited to this role.

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, eligible to practise in England and Wales with a current practicing certificate issued by the relevant regulatory authority
• Ability to handle your own caseload of complex work alongside management of a team
• Experience building effective relationships with client departments
• Experience of attendance at and positive contributions to strategic board meetings
• Experience advising senior officers and elected members of the Council
• Knowledge of public procurement law, multi disciplinary projects and company secretarial responsibilities

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.

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

This is a rolling advert with shortlisting and interviewing taking place on a regular basis and we aim to contact all candidates within two weeks of their submitted 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.