Vacancies

In house advocate

Main Responsibility

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• You will be responsible for representing the local authority in all types of court proceedings relating to safeguarding children including Interim Care Order applications, Case Management Hearings, Issues Resolutions Hearings, Final Hearings, proceedings relating to adoption matters and deprivation of liberty applications.
• You will be able to produce quality legal documents including skeleton arguments, position statements and draft orders.
• You will work in a large team with a range of lawyers and paralegals and be able to provide supervision, guidance and support to colleagues across the team.
• You will be part of a team who delivers training to client departments where required on complex points of law and developments in law and practice. 

The Ideal Candidate

• We are looking for a talented, highly motivated and experienced advocate who is able to advocate in all levels of the court and deal with contested hearings and multi day trials effectively.
• You will be an excellent communicator with strong organisational skills and able to work under pressure.
• You will be an experienced advocate with more than five years court experience undertaking advocacy and have a significant knowledge of all legislation involving safeguarding children. 
• A background in local government is desirable but not essential.

Package Description

In addition to your salary, we offer a range of benefits including:

• Great holiday benefits - most roles include 28 days annual leave every year on top of public (bank) holidays, increasing to 32 days after five years. In addition, there is a holiday purchase scheme allowing staff to purchase up to 5 additional days of leave each year.
• Excellent pension – everyone who works for us can join the national Local Government Pension Scheme, widely regarded as one of the best available.
• A full range of family friendly policies including enhanced maternity, adoption and paternity support and a childcare subsidy.
• Access to an award-winning employee benefits programme that includes a health cash plan, a low-cost bike purchase scheme as well as high street discounts and money off entertainment and travel.
• Salary sacrifice car scheme – low-cost leasing of electric and low emission vehicles.
• Blue Light Card - employees working within social care can qualify for an additional range of discounts from national retailers and local businesses.

Why join us? Along with more on our Benefits, discover why Working at the City Council could be the right move for you here Working at the Council | Milton Keynes

Our roles are either designated ‘site based’ or ‘home based’. ‘Site based’ roles can include up to two days a week working from home whilst ‘home based’ roles are based at home four days a week. Of course, managers designate which category roles are in based on the needs of the service and the circumstances.

About The Organisation

Milton Keynes City Council is a large, modern and financially stable employer with around 2,500 people working across our eight areas. Together we provide local residents and businesses with a wide range of important round-the-clock services and aim to make our city a better place to live.

We work hard because of the demands placed on us, like protecting children from harm or preventing homelessness. However, working for the city is always rewarding and everyone has the opportunity to make a real difference. 

We’re very proud of our diversity and are committed to having a workforce that reflects the community we serve. Whatever your background, you will be welcome here if you share our values of being dedicated, respectful and collaborative.

We offer great training and support and because of the size and scale of the organisation there are always new opportunities to explore when it’s time for a new role.

If you’d like to know more about how we do things and what matters to us, take a look at our short booklet What makes us Milton Keynes City Council.