We are looking for a talented and enthusiastic Lawyer (barrister/ solicitor/ CILEX) to work within our close knit, friendly and well respected in house legal team.  These roles really will place you centre forward of WBC and give you an opportunity to play a vital role in what WBC is trying to achieve for its residents. 

The ideal candidate will have the following skills and attributes:

• Experience and knowledge of planning and highways law, ideally in a local government setting, including drafting s106, s28, s38 agreements.
• Experience of providing complex legal and procedural advice, demonstrating excellent business acumen, at Board level and to agents and other internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to work under pressure with minimal supervision, ensuring deadlines and targets are met.
• A team player with the ability to develop and maintain good working relationships at all levels
• As well as having technical ability, you will be professional, approachable, confident and an innovative thinker that can influence and drive progress to the conclusion of the project

Our offer to you

West Berkshire Council offer excellent employment benefits such as:

• Great location within one hour of London, Bristol, Oxford and Southampton.
• Option for offering less hours than advertised, providing you meet the requirements of the role and service as determined by the recruiting manager.
• Flexible working wherever possible between the hours of 07.00-19.00
• Hybrid working wherever possible working 40% in the office
• Access to a wide range of training and development opportunities 
• Generous Local Government pension scheme
• Family friendly policies
• A range of local discounts
• Access to a wide range of training and development opportunities
• Wellbeing Programme including Employee Assistance Programme and employee benefits
• You will also be entitled to a generous annual leave entitlement starting at 29 days per annum (plus public holidays) Rising by an additional 5 days after 5 years’ service.

We are ideally looking to offer the successful candidate the full number of hours advertised above. We may however consider offering less hours than advertised providing they meet the requirements of the role and service which will be determined by the recruiting manager.

This post is a Specified Post for the purpose of the Local Government Housing Act 1989 and the post-holder is therefore restricted from engaging in any prescribed political activities. In summary, this means that you are prohibited from holding political office and from involvement in any political activity within or outside the workplace. Full details of the restrictions can be found in the Council’s Policy and Guidance on Politically Restricted Posts.

Interviews dates will be agreed upon at the convenience of both the applicant and the recruiting manager

If you interested in working with us and want to know more, do not hesitate to contact Sharon Armour, Principal Lawyer – Planning and Governance on 01635 519957 or Leigh Hogan, Legal Services Manager on 01635 519626.  

Equal Opportunities

The Council supports Equal Opportunity of employment, and positively encourages applications from people who fall within any of the nine protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.