As the Deputy Director of Legal Services, your primary role will be to lead the delivery of Legal Services within Islington Council. You will be responsible for ensuring that the service is effective, fit for purpose, and aligns with the Council’s requirements.

Your duties will include proactively leading, managing, planning, and organising the workflows of the service. You will provide operational and strategic vision, strong leadership, and support as a key management role in the service.

A crucial part of your role will be to ensure that the service is run in the most cost-effective and efficient way. You will also be tasked with raising the profile of Islington Council Legal Services internally, regionally, and nationally through collaborative working, professional networking, and innovation in solutions.

Additionally, you will act as the Deputy Monitoring Officer for the Council.

Main duties of the job

The primary purposes of the Deputy Director of Legal Services are:

• To lead the delivery of Legal Services within the Council
• Ensuring that the service is effective, fit for purpose and in line with the Council’s requirements
• Through proactively leading, managing, planning and organising the workflows of the service
• Becoming a core member of the Law and Governance Management Team
• Providing operational and strategic vision, strong leadership and support as the key management role in the service
• Ensuring that the service is run in the most cost effective and efficient way
• Raising the profile of Islington Council Legal Services internally, regionally and nationally through collaborative working, professional networking and innovation in solutions.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Key Responsibilities

• Be accountable for the provision and development of Legal Services
• Deputise for the Director of Law and Governance as required, including the role of Deputy Monitoring Officer
• Be responsible for the Legal Services budget including monitoring and reporting with a view to deliver savings and a cost effective service
• Personally provide high quality and timely legal advice and professional work to Directors and their directorates within the Council
• Ensure that the Council receives timely, effective and customer focussed legal advice that appropriately meets the needs of all stakeholders and customers
• Develop, implement and review the Legal Service improvement plan
• Develop an effective and resilient team including reviewing effectiveness of existing working methods and devise creative approaches to service development in collaboration with relevant staff
• Support the discharge of the statutory duties and responsibility of the Monitoring Officer, promoting high standards of conduct across the Council
• Procure and act as the contract manager for external legal services and advice
• Act as the ‘intelligent client’ enabling better decision making and ensuring value for money through being responsible for the management of external legal expenditure
• Lead on a broad range of legal functions within Legal Services and be accountable for the wide range of advice on critical, sensitive and strategic statutory services such as Adult and Children’s social care, planning and regulatory services
• Undertake other duties and responsibilities of a similar nature as may be required from time to time.
• Resolve the most complex and high-profile legal issues, identifying effective solutions and establishing precedents.
• Institute and defend civil and criminal proceedings on behalf of the Council ensuring pre-court preparations are of the highest quality.
• Issue and receive legal notices on behalf of the Council (except where another officer of the Council is so authorised).
• Review and advise on new legislation, case law and other developments.
• Represent the services at relevant Committees. Also represent the Council on relevant outside bodies, government bodies and other agencies as is appropriate to the services.
• Be an integral member of the Law and Governance Management Team providing advice and leadership to all colleagues and advice and support to Councillors
• Be accountable for the scale, management and organisation of resources and assets within the Legal service to meet corporate standards of performance
• Identify and promote new and innovative opportunities to develop the Legal service for the future including alternative methods of service delivery.
• Advise the Director of Law and Governance of all legal risks resulting from service client decision making, escalating concerns or issues in a timely manner whilst seeking to find resolutions for service managers and managing and resolving conflict which may arise.
• Manage own professional development, keep up to date with relevant statutory legislation, regulations, standards, service developments and initiatives and the Council’s policies and procedures to provide high-level legal advice to service clients and legal staff.
• Be responsible for the promotion and implementation of all the Council’s policies and procedures including equalities and diversity, health and safety, security and the use of personal data.

For further details / informal visits contact:

Name

Alison Stuart

Job title

Director of Law & Governance

Email address

Alison.Stuart@islington.gov.uk

Additional contact information

Bharti Katyal, Business Support Manager (Resources)

Email: Bharti.Katyal@islington.gov.uk