Principal Lawyer - Social Care

Closing date: 24 May 2026

Salary: Grade 7, £65,101 per annum (inclusive of £10,000 recruitment allowance)

Are you an experienced Social Care Lawyer ready to step into a senior leadership role where your expertise will truly make a difference?

This is a rare opportunity to combine strategic influence, people leadership, and high-profile legal work, all while contributing to improved outcomes for vulnerable communities across Somerset.

Spanning hands-on casework and advocacy through to shaping service delivery, leading major projects, and working in partnership across the organisation and beyond, you’ll play a key role within the senior leadership structure, helping to steer the future direction of legal services and social care provision.

If you’re a confident legal leader with specialist knowledge in Adult Social Care, Children’s Social Care, Education law, or a combination of these, and you’re passionate about delivering high-quality public services, we want to hear from you.

Role Summary

As our Principal Lawyer, you’ll provide strategic leadership and expert legal advice across Social Care, supporting the Council’s priorities and driving service development and performance. Reporting to the County Solicitor, you’ll lead and manage a specialist legal team, overseeing complex work while advising senior officers and Members on policy, operational and regulatory matters.

What you’ll do – Key Responsibilities

• Lead on all aspects of Social Care legal work, including managing your own caseload and undertaking advocacy. Ensure, through effective delegation and supervision, that work is delivered to a high standard and within required timescales, supporting the Council to achieve its objectives.

• Take full responsibility for the effective management of the Social Care legal team budget, ensuring external legal spend is controlled, contracts are well-managed, and services deliver quality and value for money, with any performance issues addressed promptly.

• Ensure the team supports the Council in achieving its outcomes, with the skills and capability to provide advice across all relevant areas. Monitor performance and provide regular, robust data to the Head of Legal Services, demonstrating timely, high-quality outcomes.

• Drive a culture of continuous improvement through effective performance management, ensuring high standards of practice, value for money, and clear succession planning that supports staff development and service continuity.

• Build strong relationships with clients to understand their business needs and objectives, embedding this understanding across the team through mentoring and development of colleagues.

• Ensure work is allocated and delivered efficiently through appropriate delegation and professional supervision, and that any external legal support is commissioned in line with agreed procedures and delivers best value.

• Work with clients to identify opportunities to embed legal activity within client functions where this provides a more effective and efficient approach.

• Play an active role within the Legal Services Management Team, demonstrating a strong personal commitment to the Council’s values and promoting these across your team.

• Support the Monitoring Officer and Head of Legal Services & Deputy Monitoring Officer at committee meetings and other key engagements with senior officers, elected Members, and external stakeholders.

What we’re looking for – Knowledge, Experience, & Skills

• Strong knowledge of the statutory, policy and strategic commissioning frameworks relevant to Social Care, and a clear understanding of how these operate within a local government context, alongside a commitment to equality, diversity and inclusive service delivery.

• Experience of working closely with Members and senior officers on complex issues, with the ability to provide clear, strategic advice, contribute to policy development and lead on corporate projects.

• Proven ability to build effective relationships and work collaboratively, including influencing and delivering outcomes through multi-agency partnerships, while maintaining a strong focus on customer and community engagement.

• Skilled in leading and managing performance, with experience of developing and implementing quality assurance frameworks, driving continuous improvement and supporting service redesign and change.

• A relevant legal qualification, supported by a strong commitment to continuing professional development.

• Strong leadership capability, with the ability to motivate and support teams, manage competing priorities, and deliver high-quality work to tight deadlines.

• Excellent analytical and decision-making skills, with the confidence to navigate complex issues and identify practical, effective solutions.

• A proactive and adaptable approach, with high levels of personal integrity, resilience and a commitment to delivering high-quality, customer-focused services.

Additional Information

• Permanent, Full-time role (37 hours per week)
• 33 days’ annual leave (additional to Bank Holidays)
• Flexible and Hybrid working opportunities.
• Relocation package up to £8,000 for those moving to Somerset.
• Grade 7 salary of £55,101, and a time limited recruitment allowance of £10,000 per annum until 31/01/2028.
• We’re able to offer Skilled Worker sponsorship for this role if you are already residing in the UK. We can also proceed with candidates who already have sponsorship and wish to transfer it.

For an informal chat about the role, you can contact Kehinde Awojobi, Head of Legal, via email: kehinde.awojobi@somerset.gov.uk

A full job description will be provided to shortlisted candidates or on request.