£56,023 - £63,016 per annum + £4,000 market supplement and additional payment for Deputy Monitoring Officer / Monitoring Officer role

Mid Kent Legal Services
This is a hybrid working role.

About Us

Mid Kent Legal Services (MKLS) is part of Mid Kent Services, a shared services directorate formed by Swale, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells Borough Councils. MKLS provides high quality legal services across the three Authorities encompassing Property and Regeneration, Planning, Contentious, Contracts & Commissioning and Corporate Governance. MKLS’s vision is aligned to the Partner Authorities for which it acts which is forward thinking, progressive and innovative. We look at utilising technology to maximise lawyers' time to deliver an efficient service to our clients.

MKLS is a supportive and nurturing environment which provides opportunities to progress through learning and development.

We are now looking for a Team Leader (Corporate Governance) with Deputy Monitoring Officer experience to join us on a full-time, permanent basis, working 34 hours per week.

The Benefits

- Salary of £56,023 - £63,016 per annum + £4,000 market supplement and additional payment for Deputy Monitoring Officer / Monitoring Officer role
- Local Government pension scheme
- Generous annual leave plus office closure between Christmas and New Year
- Options to purchase extra leave
- Wellbeing support includes confidential advice, counselling, flu vaccines
- Immediate access to a benefits platform offering discounts on leisure, retail, and fuel
- Salary sacrifice schemes including Cycle to Work and car scheme
- Generous sick pay
- Free parking across the 3 Partner Authority sites
- Season ticket loans for rail/bus travel
- Career development

This is the ideal opportunity for an experienced legal professional with expertise in corporate governance and a great leadership style to join our forward-thinking shared service.

With extensive wellbeing benefits and a brilliant pension scheme, you’ll enjoy a rewarding career where your expertise is recognised and will benefit from hybrid working where you will be able to save on commuting time and expenses on the days when you are not travelling to one of the offices.

What’s more, we offer outstanding working arrangements, with the majority of your time spent working from home and a 34 hour working week including 1pm finishes on Fridays. On top of this, we offer a number of working options such as compressed hours, nine day fortnights and part-time working all within an inclusive and supportive working environment where your wellbeing is prioritised.

The Role

As our Team Leader (Corporate Governance) and Deputy Monitoring Officer, you will lead and manage our Corporate Governance team, carry a caseload of complex corporate governance matters, queries and projects, deliver high-quality legal services across all three local authorities and attend council/committee meetings to advise Members and senior officers and to deputise for monitoring officers when necessary.

This pivotal role combines strategic leadership with providing expert legal advice on corporate governance, ensuring compliance with Lexcel standards and promoting the shared legal service’s vision.

Overseeing our team’s development, you will manage recruitment, training and performance whilst serving as the most senior fee earner, providing high-level legal advice to elected members, committees and senior managers.

You will also support the delivery of the partnership’s strategic objectives, maintaining up-to-date legal expertise and promoting the service internally and externally to improve understanding of legal procedures and build the MKLS reputation.

Additionally, you will:

- Act as the Deputy Monitoring Officer for one or more of the 3 authorities
- Provide governance advice and deal with all Code of Conduct matters
- Lead training sessions, provide guidance notes and offer legal supervision
- Represent MKLS at external meetings
- Ensure compliance with the Council’s policies

About You

To be considered as our Team Leader (Corporate Governance) and Deputy Monitoring Officer, you will need:

- To be a qualified solicitor, barrister, chartered legal executive or have equivalent qualification and experience with a background in local government
- Extensive post qualification legal practice experience in corporate governance
- Experience providing legal advice and support to senior leaders and key decision-makers in corporate governance law and practice
- Experience operating in politically sensitive environments
- Experience of staff management
- Experience of the successful performance management of legal fee earners
- Previous monitoring/deputy monitoring officer experience
- Knowledge and understanding of the political nature of local government and democratic process
- A full, valid driving licence

Other organisations may call this role Solicitor, Barrister, Chartered Legal Executive, Legal Services Team Leader, Senior Corporate Governance Lawyer, Corporate Governance Team Leader, Corporate Governance Manager, Senior Legal Advisor, or Legal Operations Team Leader.

Webrecruit, Mid Kent Legal Services and Maidstone, Swale and Tunbridge Wells local authorities are equal opportunities employers, value diversity and are strongly committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all employees and all applicants for employment. Equal opportunities are the only acceptable way to conduct business and we believe that the more inclusive our environments are, the better our work will be.

So, if you’re looking for a great new opportunity as a Team Leader (Corporate Governance) and Deputy Monitoring Officer, please select the button shown to be taken to our website where you can submit an application and read testimonials from our teams about their experience of working with us.

This vacancy is being advertised by Webrecruit. The services advertised by Webrecruit are those of an Employment Agency.

Closing date: 18 February 2025

For further information or to apply, please click on the 'Enquire/Apply' button below.