Head of Legal
Salary: £72,636 - £88,257
Job Grade: Level 6 Zone 2
Work Location: Unit 1B, Berol House, 25 Ashley Road, London, N17 9LJ with opportunity for home/remote working
Hours per week: 37
Contract Type: Permanent
Closing date: Friday 6th January 2023, 5pm
Interviews to be held: TBC
Alternative flexible working options available/open to discussion
Anonymised Application – in keeping with Camden’s commitment to inclusion the recruitment to this role is anonymised and supports the objective of reducing the impact of unconscious bias.
Employed by the London Borough of Camden the Head of Legal will be based in North London Waste Authority (NLWA), serving Camden and six other north London boroughs.
About the role
The Head of Legal role is an essential role to manage NLWA’s legal risks and issues. NLWA is technically in law a local authority in its own right albeit, one that still operates in the pre-executive reforms LGA 1972 act regime, has a limited legal role and duties, but still subject to many of the same requirements such as FOI. Therefore, ideally the postholder will have knowledge of local government law.
This is a specialist role, and the incumbent of the role will be the professional lead for legal in the organisation. The key stakeholders are internal NLWA teams, NLHPP, London Energy Ltd and Members and the postholder will be expected to liaise considerably with private sector organisations that NLWA employ acting as gatekeeper to what goes out and what stays with NLWA, looking to deal with as much as possible inhouse. In addition, as Camden supplies officers to the Authority, the postholder will be expected to liaise very closely with Camden’s Borough Solicitor.
The postholder will be expected to lead the strategic planning, development and coordination of the legal service for the identified area of responsibility ensuring exceptional quality of service provision, proactive planning for legal changes and reflection of the organisation’s overall strategic objectives. They will oversee legal services and advice provided to departments in the identified areas ensuring timely, accurate information is provided, business requirements are met and risk to the organisation is minimised.
Oversee the setting, monitoring and assessment of key performance indicators and service targets within their team, distributing targets equitably and maintaining excellent communication to ensure targets are achieved participate in the compiling; monitoring and evaluation of the directorate’s expenditure budget to ensure that appropriate funds are allocated and spending is kept within budget, particularly around legal supplier spend and contribute to corporate policy for Legal Services ensuring representation of all stakeholder’s interests and accountabilities.
About You
You will have knowledge of the political process, including understanding of corporate and strategic service issues and expected to have in depth knowledge of local government law, property law or commercial law or relevant waste & energy related law
Have a commitment to the valuing diversity and inclusion and understanding of its relevance to service delivery and employment.
You will also have experience of working with and providing high level advice to officers at senior level or equivalent, experience of successfully managing and motivating individuals and teams, introducing and maintaining quality initiatives, evidence of successfully managing risk, particularly commercial and legal risks and experience leading a legal services function
For more information regarding this role please refer to the job profile.
About NLWA
Our mission is to preserve resources and the environment for future generations by exemplary planning, innovation and communication in managing north London’s waste.
We serve two million residents in seven boroughs and run communications and engagement campaigns to help them reduce their rubbish and recycle more. We campaign for government and industry action to reduce unnecessary single-use items, encourage reuse and repair and promote effective recycling.
To help tackle the climate emergency and to prevent rubbish going to landfill, we are building the greenest Energy Recovery Facility in the country and modern recycling facilities at the Edmonton EcoPark, through the North London Heat and Power Project.
Working for NLWA
The post-holder will work for NLWA and be based at NLWA’s office in Tottenham Hale but be employed by London Borough of Camden through whom NLWA staff are employed. The North London Heat and Power Project is located at Edmonton EcoPark.
Working for Camden
We’re ready to welcome your ideas, your views, and your rebellious spirit. Help us redefine our corporate services, and we’ll redefine what a career can be. If that sounds good to you, we’d love to talk
At Camden, you’ll receive a host of benefits as well as joining a flexible working employer. Click HERE to see full details of our benefits.
Additional information
To view the Job Profile, please click HERE or copy and paste the following link into your browser: http://camdocs.camden.gov.uk/HPRMWebDrawer/Record/9867866/file/document?inline
To apply for this job please follow the "Apply" link. In the ‘Why you?’ section of the application you will be required to demonstrate how you meet the role criteria noted in the Job Profile under the “About You” section.
Inclusion and Diversity
We want Camden Council to be a great place to work and to ensure that our communities are represented across our workforce. A vital part of this is ensuring we are a truly inclusive organisation that encourages diversity in all respects, including diversity of thinking. We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and those of Other Ethnicities, LGBT+, disabled and neurodiverse communities to make a real difference to our residents so that equalities and justice remains at the heart of everything we do.
To discover more about Camden and our commitment towards diversity, equality and safeguarding, please visit our recruitment website
Asking for Adjustments
Camden is committed to making our recruitment practices barrier-free and as accessible as possible for everyone. This includes making adjustments or changes for disabled people, neurodiverse people or people with long-term health conditions. If you would like us to do anything differently during the application, interview or assessment process, including providing information in an alternative format, please contact Bernadette Daley at Bernadette.daley@nlwa.gov.uk