Interim Head of Legal and Democratic Services
- Recruiter
- Venn Group (Birmingham)
- Location
- East Anglia
- Salary
- £600 - £800 Per Day
- Posted
- 03 Feb 2017
- Closes
- 21 Feb 2017
- Ref
- EMT/6518450/HOL
- Contact
- Emma Walker
- Job Title
- Administration
- Practice Area
- Public Sector / Local Authority
- PQE Level
- 10+
- Contract Type
- Contract
- Hours
- Full Time
A large local authority in the East of England is seeking to recruit an Interim Head of Legal and Democratic Services on an on-going contract basis. Reporting directly to the Director of Governance, the post holder will have responsibility for approximately 45 employees split across Legal Services, Democratic Services and Elections. You will be a senior executive of the council, responsible for driving forward strategy and delivering your vision, ensuring each department fulfils its duties and obligations fully.
The overall purpose of the position is to have responsibility for safeguarding the interests of the Council through the provision of legal advice and support. You will direct and lead the departments, having control over highly sensitive and complex legal matters. You will lead your team members, allowing them to provide timely and appropriate legal advice through the legal frameworks and procedures you have established.
The council currently operates as host authority for a shared legal service. You will be required to lead on these arrangements and deliver functions in accordance with their needs. You will act as the Deputy Monitoring Officer for both the host authority and its neighbour. The post also requires you to hold a number of statutory posts including Deputy Electoral Registration Officer, Deputy Returning Officer and Scrutiny Officer.
The ideal candidate will have strong experience working within local government at a senior level. Applicants will be able to demonstrate keen negotiation skills along with the ability to win and inspire confidence in large teams. The post holder will be a strategic thinker, who can competently analyse risk whilst operating in a politically sensitive environment. Excellent communication skills are essential as well as having an innovative approach to your leadership style.
Duties will include:
- Providing legal advice to the Council, being accountable for the legal and governance frameworks and advising on the legal framework within which the Council operates
- Delivering a wide range of sensitive and high profile cases including new initiatives, policy development, major projects, constitutional issues, standards, ethics, corporate governance, corporate legal issues and other areas of public law
- Providing legal advice to Regulatory Committees, Scrutiny Committees and Audit Committees
- Contributing to corporate programme boards
- Advising the Council on new legislative requirements and implementing changes
- Developing and delivering strategies for the delivery of legal services
- Ensuring that the Council's corporate governance framework is robust
- Advising Members and Officers on the constitution and on decision making process
- Leading the democratic and mayoral services team
- Advising on corporate governance responsibilities
- Providing training to elected Members and senior officers on all aspects of the service
- Assisting in the investigation of complaints against members including acting as a legal advisor to the Hearings Panel
- Overseeing the service complaints process
- Overseeing the electoral process
- Leading the Civic Office to ensure that the Mayoral function is enabled
- Contributing to the management of the council at a senior level
- Supporting and deputising for the Director of Governance
- Evaluating the performance of internal and external staff
Applicant requirements:
- Be a Qualified Solicitor or Barrister with a full practising certificate
- Advanced knowledge of constitutional and democratic process matters
- Understanding of all aspects of local government law
- Substantial practical knowledge of public sector practice
- A strong understanding of the financial framework governing local authority activities
- Advanced knowledge of information governance
- A strong understanding of local government reporting procedures
- An understanding of the contemporary public change agenda.
- Extensive experience of operating as a senior manager in a complex legal service environment
- Proven experience of influencing strategic policy direction
- Proven track record of leading strategic policy formulation
- Experience of working effectively in a political environment
- Extensive experience of managing a diverse team at a senior level
- Demonstrated evidence of significant service improvement
- Significant experience of the preparation, management and control and targeting of budgets
Daily rate is negotiable for this post but a guideline banding of £600 - £800 per day (Limited/Umbrella) has been given.
Venn Group aim to deliver the highest standards, so you can be assured your application will be handled with professionalism and care.
Venn Group acts as an employment agency and an employment business.
At Venn Group, we endeavour to respond to all applications within 48 hours. However due to the volume of applications we receive we may not be able to respond to all applications individually. If you have not heard from us within a 48 hour timeframe your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.