Senior Solicitor (Property/Planning), West Lothian Civic Centre, 473.46

Job Advert

We are keen to employ a diverse workforce that reflects the people of Scotland. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and particularly from groups currently under-represented, including people with disabilities, those from minority ethnic communities or from socio-economically disadvantaged

West Lothian Council is one of Scotland’s most successful local authorities and is based in Livingston.

Legal Services provides comprehensive legal and committee services to the council and is made up of four teams — Committee Services, Licensing, Litigation, and Property/Planning.

This is a varied and challenging role as part of a small and busy team. The post holder, as a senior officer within Legal Services, the post holder will be expected to undertake complex and sensitive areas of work across a range of property and planning matters as are allocated to them, and to assist the Chief Solicitor and Property/Planning Team Managers to ensure the delivery of high quality, timely legal advice and support to meet customer expectations.

The postholder will be expected to continually look for opportunities to drive forward improvements within the property/planning team and support the development of the skills of legal services and client officers targeted at meeting the priorities of the Council.

The post is suitable for and will be of interest to an experienced, enthusiastic and motivated solicitor seeking a position which brings the unique challenges of being an in house legal adviser. The successful candidate will be client focused and proactive in the identification of issues relevant to council services.

In addition to the technical competencies required the successful candidate will be able to demonstrate effective workload management skills and have excellent communication and team working skills. They will deliver support and training to team members, and legal advice and support to council officers and elected members in a clear and concise manner, demonstrate a commitment to excellence in customer service and a flexible approach to meeting changing demands and priorities. They will contribute to and participate in the Council’s training programme for colleagues and client services.

The benefits package includes a 36 hour week, flexible working hours, up to 30 days paid holidays and 7 public holidays a year, a comprehensive range of work life balance policies, occupational health services, learning resources and access to a range of discounted benefits.