Senior Paralegal (Governance)

Are you looking to advance your legal career in a dynamic and supportive local authority? Join the Legal Team at West Northants Council, one of England’s newest and fourth-largest Unitary Councils. We are expanding our in-house legal service and seeking a Lawyer or Senior Paralegal to join our Governance Team within the Corporate legal area. This team handles a diverse range of constitutional, standards, public law, policy, and employment law matters, providing a stimulating and varied workload.

If you have experience in governance within the public sector, we’d love to hear from you. However, professionals with transferable legal skills are also encouraged to apply!

We offer a wide range of benefits to our employees, these include:

• Generous annual leave entitlement starting at 28 days annual leave per year, 29 days for senior managers (pro rata, depending on how many hours per week you work), plus bank holidays. An additional 5 days, linked to continuous service, and ability to purchase up to 6 weeks additional leave per year.
• Cycle to Work scheme. 
• Local Government Pension Scheme plus immediate life cover (3 times your annual salary from day one) and ill-health protection.
• Employee discounts with local and national retailers, days out, finance, health and beauty, travel and eating out plus lots more.
• Car Lease scheme via Tusker.
• Payment of professional subscription / membership - If your job description requires that you are registered with or are a member of a professional body, WNC will pay for your professional subscription or membership fees.
• Employee Assistance Programme - We have an employee support programme run by Health Assured, an independent, external organisation. Health Assured is available for you and your immediate family members, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and includes telephone counselling, legal advice, bereavement support and medical information.
• Commsave- Free membership to Commsave Credit Union who provide a variety of savings accounts, loans, a monthly lottery draw and more!
• Ongoing training and development opportunities.
• A variety of flexible working options to support your work/life balance, including full or part time, term time, 9-day fortnight, etc. (subject to business needs).
• Our West Ways of Working – We want our workforce to thrive, and we equip our employees with the right technology to support hybrid and collaborative working, on or off site, depending on the role.
• Making a difference - If you want to use your skills and experience with an organisation that are genuinely invested in making a difference, are committed to improving people's lives, and whose success has a direct impact on the wellbeing of your family, friends and people in your local area, then West Northamptonshire Council is the place for you.

In this role, you will:

• Assist with Code of Conduct complaints made against Councillors
• Conduct legal research and drafting advice on a wide range of matters

• Develop the required knowledge of local authority governance

• Assist HR colleagues with employment law related matters

• Utilise a great eye for detail in all your work

• Support the Principal Lawyer and Senior Lawyers as may be required

• Assist in the training and supervision of Legal Assistants as may be required 

  
  

You are a proactive and detail-oriented legal professional with a passion for governance and public law. Whether you have direct local government experience or transferable legal skills, you thrive in a collaborative environment and are eager to develop your expertise. At West Northants Council, we are committed to supporting your growth through mentoring, training, and career development opportunities, with flexible working arrangements available. If you're looking for your next step in a progressive and inclusive organisation, we’d love to hear from you.

For more information please visit our designated legal recruitment pages at: https://www.westnorthants.gov.uk/spotlight-our-key-services-careers-and-our-partners/our-legal-teams or contact Nicki Agalamanyi, Head of Legal (Corporate) on 07901 931853 for a confidential discussion. 

Here, our Senior Lawyer, Sarah, shares insights about her role and what she loves about working at West Northamptonshire Council.

At West Northants Council, it’s about our people. People who thrive with ambition, bubble with new ideas, demand better ways of working, caring about every detail, and who never shy away from a challenge. Our culture is a gateway for new experiences. A place to forge new opportunities. To empower you in your career and unite you with like-minded people.

Our vision is ‘to make West Northants a great place to live, work, visit and thrive’. We truly stand by this and work hard every day to make this a reality. Our corporate values, THRIVE, stand for: Trust, High Performance, Respect, Innovate and Empower, they underpin everything we do and how we deliver services. 

Hear more from our Chief Executive, Anna Earnshaw, about what it's like to work at West Northants Council https://youtu.be/lV0EfeUF4aU  

We are committed to ensuring diversity, equality, equity, and inclusion is woven into the fabric of WNC and everything we do, to enable all colleagues to develop and maximize their full potential.  We are a disability confident employer, a member of the Armed Forces Covenant, and a Care Leaver Covenant partner

The following film was created by us to communicate our intentions - watch WNC colleagues explain what DEI means to us.

If you need additional support or reasonable adjustments during the application process, including needing the job description in another format or language, please email careers@westnorthants.gov.uk for support.

West Northants Council, where careers thrive.