Lawyer (Child Care)

Overview

Closing date: 17 May 2026

Working in local government is a highly satisfying and rewarding experience in so many ways, and you will enjoy an excellent range of benefits at Derbyshire County Council. We recognise that our workforce is our greatest asset, and we are currently looking for inspired and proactive people to join our Family, Safeguarding and Education Team. An exciting opportunity has arisen in our Legal department for an enthusiastic and committed individual to work as a Child Protection Lawyer within our busy yet friendly team of Lawyers and Legal Assistants.

On a day-to-day basis you will be advising and representing Children’s Services on matters of child protection including adoption. Your workload will be varied but will include case management of pre-proceedings matters and Court work.

You will be expected to undertake some advocacy as part of this role. We have an excellent in-house advocacy team who are willing to support lawyers to improve and enhance skills in this area. You will need to be proficient in using IT software, and have good organisational, motivational, and interpersonal skills to ensure the continued delivery of an efficient and effective service by the legal department.

The Job and Person Specification contains full details of the skills and experience you need to have for the role.

Responsibilities

• Advise and represent Children’s Services on matters of child protection including adoption.
• Manage pre-proceedings matters and provide Court work as part of a varied workload.
• Undertake some advocacy as part of the role with support from an in-house advocacy team to develop skills.
• Maintain proficiency in IT software and ensure the efficient and effective delivery of the legal department’s services.

Benefits

• 27 days of annual leave plus 5 days after 5 years of continuous service, plus 8 bank holidays
• Good work/life balance including Flexi time, allowing up to an additional 2 days of leave per month
• Training and development opportunities
• Mentoring
• A supportive team environment including an allocated legal assistant and a supportive administrative team
• Generous local government pension scheme
• Guaranteed incremental annual pay increases
• Access to a comprehensive wellbeing package
• Cycle to work scheme
• Discounts at selected county leisure centres
• And much more!

Working arrangements

Legal Services are contractually based in Matlock, Derbyshire, but as part of our Modern Ways of Working programme we are currently working on a hybrid basis. As flexible workers, you will be able to work from home. It is a requirement that you will be able to work in the office once per week, attend face to face Court hearings predominantly in Derby and Chesterfield, and meetings, where necessary.

We’re always pleased to hear from talented people, so if you’re looking to join a dynamic team and have the skills and experience we’re looking for, we’d like to hear from you!

We’re recruiting to other vacancies in our Legal Team. For information about these vacancies click here Derbyshire - Jobs and careers.

After reading the documentation supplied you would like to have an informal chat about this role, get in touch with Linzi Olney (Linzi.olney2@derbyshire.gov.uk), Jeanette Bloor (jeanette.bloor@derbyshire.gov.uk) or Angela Baldwin (Angela.Baldwin@derbyshire.gov.uk).

Provisional Interview Date: 27th May 2026

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