Solicitor/Barrister – Interim Legal Commissioner – Commercial and Transformation Lead

Kent (Local Authority role)

Contract role

Rate negotiable - Inside IR35

• Be a first point of contact for all legal commissioning work related to Commercial, Contracts, Procurement, Companies and Local Government Specialisms and document execution. To advise or otherwise commission external legal providers to deliver the requisite advice to the Council: from scoping the instruction, identifying the route to market, obtaining quotes and then instructing the appropriate external legal advisors. Once instructed to monitor legal service provision and manage the progress of legal work and associated costs, taking a risk based approach to resource allocation and assisting the (Interim) Head of Law and the General Counsel to manage legal risk across the Specialisms.
• To support the staff that they are responsible for line managing, including ensuring that they are working on personal development plans to help them succeed on their individually chosen career paths.
• Work collaboratively and make proactive connections across GLD and the Council to develop and continuously review organisation wide legal commissioning needs and strategies to ensure that they meet the changing needs of the organisation, reflect the evolving demands on the organisation and changes in legislation, in order to ensure the Council receives appropriate and timely legal advice to enable the organisation to meet its strategic objectives.
• Commission Legal advice or legal project work, in line with the principles of the Council’s internal commissioning framework, which both supports the required outcomes of the associated strategies and builds capacity and capability.
• Monitor the commissioned legal advice provided, taking a risk-based approach to resource allocation in collaboration with the (Interim) Head of Legal Services, and intervene providing appropriate support and challenge as required;
• Provide accurate and timely reports as appropriate on delivery of commissioned legal advice.
• In collaboration with the Interim Head of Legal Services, develop evaluation methodologies to evaluate the impact of commissioned legal activities to ensure the delivery of outcomes and value for money.
• Work with GLD colleagues and colleagues across the Council to develop directorate specific strategies for legal commissioning in the Specialisms as and when required.
• Act as the function’s expert in the Specialisms, developing and maintaining specialist knowledge to provide expert advice and guidance to Members, officers and colleagues in GLD, and to provide analysis, commentary and recommendations to GLD Divisional Management Team on any necessary actions to deliver an effective organisational legal response to changes in the council’s operating environment.
• Act as the Transformational Lead for the Legal Commissioning Team in relation to all legal commissioning activity and how the organisation can better access good value legal services. Continually evaluate the effectiveness of and continually drive the use of new technology and innovation (such as digital marketplaces) to support delivery and improve procurement outcomes.
• Drive continuous service improvement by identifying issues with supply chain performance, and resolving complex strategic commissioning and commercial challenges through innovative solutions to improve outcomes.
• Ensure continual development of professional skills and knowledge.
• Deputise for the (Interim) Head of Legal Service and the General Counsel where required. Act as member of the senior management team within the Legal Commissioning Team assisting with team strategy, business planning and implementation of the same.
• To represent GLD at meetings, working groups and external meetings, as directed by the (Interim) Head of Legal Services; achieving and maintaining good working relationships with external and internal clients, fellow professionals and other team members.  

 Requirements:

• Qualified Solicitor / Lawyer / Barrister with current practising certificate. 10yrs PQE+

• Experience of corporate, commercial and procurement work.

• Experience of managing a team of people.

• Ability to manage and support a team.
• Ability to work effectively to high professional standards, including being able to respond quickly and accurately to urgent matters and meet agreed deadlines.
• Good IT skills including being able to use Microsoft Word & Outlook effectively and ability to use a legal case management system.
• Good team working skills.
• Ability to work fast and under pressure, using initiative and adopting a proactive approach.
• Excellent presentation and communication skills.
• Ability to cultivate good working relationships with internal clients and other stakeholders.
• Excellent research and drafting skills.
• Have previous experience of legal commissioning of external legal advice from multiple providers ideally within a local authority setting.
• The ability to carry out legal research and to share any knowledge and expertise gained with fellow team members and clients as appropriate.

If you have any questions about this role or wish to apply, please contact isobel@deekay.co.uk who will respond at the earliest convenience.