Principal Lawyer – Social Care, Education & Safeguarding

Salary: £51,356 – £54,495 pay award pending Market Supplement (this includes a Market supplement of £7k which will be reviewed in December 2027. This is subject to an earlier removal should there be rationale to do so)
Job Reference: haltoncouncil/TP/1238/502
Contract Type: Permanent
Working Hours: 37
Closing Date: 7 June, 2026
Job Category: Legal
Department: Legal and Democratic Services
Location: Halton Borough Council, United Kingdom
DBS Check: Standard
Posted on: 6 May, 2026

Our Story:

Halton is a vibrant local authority with a rich history and heritage, featuring two iconic bridges that connect communities across the River Mersey. Located in Cheshire, Halton boasts excellent transport links between Liverpool and Manchester, as well as close proximity to both Liverpool John Lennon and Manchester Airports.

Our progressive community strategy aims to bring about meaningful, long-term improvements that enhance lives. It’s an exciting time to join us as we develop new policies and transform the way people access services.

We are immensely proud that when asked what’s great about working for Halton, the most popular response from our workforce has been ‘our colleagues’.

Our Team:

We are looking to recruit a Principal Lawyer – Social Care, Education & Safeguarding. You will joining our social care legal team and working managing our child care , adult social care and education legal team. The Legal team at Halton Borough Council plays a vital role in supporting the Authority by delivering high-quality, timely, and business-focused legal and procedural advice. In this role, you will work closely with our Social Care and Education teams, providing expert legal services as directed by the appropriate Principal Lawyer. The team is committed to delivering advice in a cost-effective and efficient manner, ensuring best value for the Council while helping to meet the complex and evolving needs of the community.

Your Contributions:

It is essential that you have a recognised legal qualification as a Solicitor, Barrister, or Chartered Legal Executive with litigation and advocacy certificate.

Substantial post-qualification experience.
Excellent oral and written communication skills, including drafting complex legal documentation, providing advice under time pressure, meeting deadlines, and negotiating effectively.
Strong collaborative approach, with proven experience working with a wide range of stakeholders and building effective relationships with clients and internal teams.
Demonstrable ability to manage a team alongside the competing demands of an active caseload, using a proactive, problem-solving approach.
Strong IT skills, including proficiency in Microsoft Office or equivalent systems (e.g. G Suite, Mosaic).

As this role involves regular travel across the borough and sometimes further afield, a driving licence and access to a vehicle are essential requirements. Where appropriate, reasonable adjustments will be made in accordance with the provisions of the Equality Act.

Our Offer:

Aside from working with a great team, our employees have access to a fantastic range of benefits, including:

A generous annual holiday allowance starting at 34 days per year (including bank holidays), increasing with long service with the option to purchase an additional four-days of unpaid leave for our Annual Christmas Closedown
Membership of our defined benefit, salary-linked Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) with generous employer contributions
3 x Salary Life Cover via Local Government Pension Scheme
Investment in your personal development
Free Car Parking at HBC sites
Flexible working arrangements
Extensive employee benefits platform including discounted shopping, car leasing, gym memberships, wellbeing hub and Employee Assistance Programme.

Next Steps:

At Halton Borough Council, we want all of our candidates to feel well-informed so if you would like to have an informal chat about this role, please contact Jayne Doran Head of Legal Social Care, Education and Safeguarding. Jayne.Doran@halton.gov.uk or 0151 511 5189

To apply please visit https://careers.halton.gov.uk/jobs/job/Principal-Lawyer-Social-Care-Education-Safeguarding/502

Interview date TBC

At Halton Borough Council we want to ensure that our communities are represented across our workforce and a vital part of this is to encourage diversity in all respects. We are committed to making our recruitment practices barrier-free and tailored to best suit the needs and strength of the individual. This includes making adjustments for people with a disability, neurodiversity or with long-term health conditions. If you require accommodations, please reach out during the recruitment process so that we can make this the best possible experience for you – resourcing@halton.gov.uk

Please refer to the attached Job Profile for further information about the role and our values.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy earlier than the specified date should we receive sufficient applications. If you’re interested, please complete your application as early as possible.

We look forward to receiving your application!

Attached documents