Procurement / Contracts Jobs

About the role

Are you an experienced contracts lawyer looking to expand your skills, progress your career and step into a leadership role?  Join the brand new Legal Team at West Northants Council, one of the newest and the fourth biggest Unitary Council in England.

What will you be doing?

Following the success of our first recruitment drive we are now looking to build on the new team by adding a Principal Contracts Lawyer to sit within our Corporate legal team.

Our Principal Lawyers are our technical specialists, they lead a team and work on our most complex cases undertaking a broad and exciting range of legal work in a fast-paced environment. They support the Head of Legal in the management of the team and work with our most senior officers and elected Members in the work they complete.

Whilst experience of advising on contracts law is essential, local government experience is not. What’s more important is a passion for delivering an excellent legal service, a desire to help shape and deliver an exemplar local authority legal service and a drive to progress and achieve your own ambition.

About you

West Northants is a great place to work. With a focus on career development, wellbeing, flexibility and support, this is an opportunity for you to take the next step on your career journey in a supported environment. We have mentoring, buddying, coaching, training and many other opportunities available to assist and develop you.

We will also consider any version of flexible working you can come up with and encourage those looking to change sector or return to work after a career break to apply.

Our benefits

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

• Generous annual leave entitlement starting at 27 days annual leave per year, 28 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.
• 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
• 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.
• 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.

The council is in the process of implementing a new pay structure and terms and conditions which will be applicable to this role.  The outcome could result in a future variation to the advertised salary, and this will be discussed at interview.

About us

We’re a new council, following one of the largest shake-ups in local government reform in recent history. As a new authority, we’re embarking on an exciting journey to deliver exceptional services for our residents, customers and communities.  

Our vision at West Northamptonshire Council 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. 

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.

When potential is unlocked, talent thrives.

Choose a career that offers you a true sense of achievement, fills you with pride and challenges you in a positive way, every day.

West Northants Council, where careers thrive.