Team Leader (Lawyer) - Children's Social Care
CompanySomerset Council
Location
Taunton, England, United Kingdom
Employment TypeFull-time
Posted At5/6/2026
UK Visa Sponsorship Analytics
Analytics are greyed out due to low classification confidence (38.0%).
Occupation TypeSenior care workers
Occupation Code Skill LevelMedium Skilled - Specific Roles Only
Sponsorship Salary Threshold
£33,400
(£17.13 per hour)
Immigration salary list rate applies
✓ On immigration salary list - lower visa fees apply
Above analytics are generated algorithmically based on job titles and may not always be the same as the company's job classification. You can also check detailed occupation eligibility, and salary criteria on our UK Visa Eligible Occupations & Salary Thresholds page.
Disclaimer: Hunt UK Visa Sponsors aggregates job listings from publicly available sources, such as search engines, to assist with your job hunting. We do not claim affiliation with Somerset Council. For the most up-to-date job details, please visit the official website by clicking "Apply Now."
Description
Closing date: 17 May 2028
Salary: Grade 8, £58,000 per annum (inclusive of £8,718 recruitment allowance)
This is an exciting opportunity to join a supportive, forward‑thinking legal service where collaboration, professionalism and high‑quality public service sit at the heart of everything we do. You’ll work alongside skilled and passionate lawyers on complex, high‑impact work that supports decisions affecting children, young people, and families across our communities.
We value trust, innovation and continuous improvement, giving you the opportunity to develop your leadership skills while remaining closely involved in meaningful legal work. If you’re looking for a role that balances leadership, autonomy and public service, we’d love to hear from you.
Role Summary
As our Team Leader (Lawyer) – Children’s Social Care, you’ll provide legal leadership across Children’s Social Care and Education, combining hands‑on legal practice, including advocacy, with responsibility for supporting colleagues and working closely with senior legal staff and Council services, to ensure well‑informed, lawful decision‑making in complex and sensitive areas.
What You’ll Do – Key Responsibilities
Salary: Grade 8, £58,000 per annum (inclusive of £8,718 recruitment allowance)
This is an exciting opportunity to join a supportive, forward‑thinking legal service where collaboration, professionalism and high‑quality public service sit at the heart of everything we do. You’ll work alongside skilled and passionate lawyers on complex, high‑impact work that supports decisions affecting children, young people, and families across our communities.
We value trust, innovation and continuous improvement, giving you the opportunity to develop your leadership skills while remaining closely involved in meaningful legal work. If you’re looking for a role that balances leadership, autonomy and public service, we’d love to hear from you.
Role Summary
As our Team Leader (Lawyer) – Children’s Social Care, you’ll provide legal leadership across Children’s Social Care and Education, combining hands‑on legal practice, including advocacy, with responsibility for supporting colleagues and working closely with senior legal staff and Council services, to ensure well‑informed, lawful decision‑making in complex and sensitive areas.
What You’ll Do – Key Responsibilities
- Act as deputy for the Principal Lawyer – Social Care, leading and managing a team of Children’s Social Care lawyers on all aspects of Children’s Social Care and Education legal work, including undertaking their own cases and advocacy, ensuring through appropriate delegation and supervision that all work is of the correct quality and performed in a timely manner.
- Line-manage the legal officers within the Children’s Social Care legal team that are responsible for a mixed caseload of matters regarding Children’s Social Care and Education.
- Ensure, through robust performance management, the delivery of value-for- money services to high practice standards within a culture of continuous improvement, including clear succession planning to support staff development, progression and effective service continuity.
What we’re looking for – Knowledge, Experience, & Skills
- In‑depth knowledge of law and practice relating to Children’s Social Care and Education.
- Understanding of the political and organisational context of local authorities.
- Substantial post‑qualification experience as a solicitor, barrister or legal executive.
- Experience of handling complex and sensitive legal matters and providing advice at a senior level in Children’s Social Care and Education.
- Experience of supervising, mentoring or supporting the development of legal staff
- Excellent analytical skills, with the ability to interpret and apply complex legal information.
- Strong drafting and advocacy skills, including representation in proceedings where appropriate.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build effective working relationships with a range of stakeholders.
- Ability to manage competing priorities, work under pressure and meet deadlines.
- Eligibility to practise as a Solicitor, Barrister, or Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives (or equivalent) with relevant experience.
- Knowledge of a specialist area of law relevant to local authority functions.
- Experience of working within local government or the wider public sector.
- 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 8 salary of £49,282, plus a time limited recruitment allowance of £8,718 per annum until 28/02/2029.
- Regretfully, we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role. We are only able to proceed with candidates who already have the right to work in the UK without the need for VISA sponsorship.
A full job description will be provided to shortlisted candidates or on request.