Supervising Associate - Property Team

About the role

Supervising Associate - Property Team

Permanent, Full Time

£60,863 to £71,604 per annum

Location: Chelmsford

Closing Date: 28th November 2024

This role has a hybrid working arrangement. We will expect you to attend our Chelmsford offices approximately 1 - 2 days per week. There will also be a requirement to visit other sites throughout the operational area, as required.

The Role

We are looking for a supervising associate for our Property Team. The team has a large volume of interesting and rewarding work including supporting the Council’s £1.7 billion estate which covers approximately 350 buildings and around 1,500 sites ranging from residential care, waste, country parks, schools and corporate offices in addition to providing high quality legal advice to external clients.

This is a brilliant opportunity for the right person to join the team, to contribute to the growth of Essex and to work on complex and interesting projects such as major transport schemes. The role will be a combination of fee-earning and direct management of staff.

Essex County Council (ECC) is a diverse and large organisation that strives for excellence and delivers an outstanding service for residents across Essex. The in-house legal service, ELS, prides itself on providing a comprehensive legal service to the Council – most of our work is done in-house. We pride ourselves on valuing the people who work for us and providing a supportive working environment, where people work hard to do their best for Essex. The work can be demanding, and we expect resilience but our senior leaders are committed to ensuring that ELS is a place where people want to stay.

You will be working closely with senior leaders to make a real difference to the delivery of Essex Legal Services’ business and the business of our clients. You will be responsible for the delivery of all aspects of legal advice within your team, where you will be expected to build strong relationships with internal and external partners. This position will be fast-paced and it is therefore imperative that you are confident in handling a full caseload consisting of, but not limited to, the following matters:-

General property advice
Property Development
Acquisition and sale of commercial property
Conditional Contracts
Overage Deeds
Option and Promotion Agreements
Commercial Leases
Acquisition and sale of residential property
Easements
Tenancy and Licence Agreements
Planning issues
Property related Joint Venture Agreements
Auction Disposals

We're looking for someone with excellent technical legal skills and relevant experience who can quickly pick things up and manage a team of specialists within the property area.

They will need to be able to operate effectively in a complex politically-led organisation. Their influencing skills will be critical in order to articulate options and risks when advising Senior Leaders and Councillors.

To read more about us please visit: Corporate Services

The Opportunity

Accountable for leading the provision of timely and accurate legal advice across the Council and to external customers to produce the best possible outcomes.
Works collaboratively with other legal teams to make recommendations which drive better informed decision-making across the Council.
Responsible for interpreting client needs and providing them with a service they value; driving the delivery of productivity and efficiency improvement.
Responsible for assisting with development of staff in Essex Legal Services, through supervision and line management and delivery of training and informal learning. Not all Associates will have line management responsibility at all times.
Works closely with the Head of Service and senior leaders of ELS to develop current and future business opportunities, to promote the Essex Legal Services vision to the external market.
Responsible for the delivery strategy for services, ensuring that performance is clearly defined in terms of benchmarked outcomes and short, medium and long term business targets.
Build strong working relationships across the Council and with schools and external clients to ensure a quality legal service is provided to the customer.
Delegated functions as detailed in the Council’s constitution (and as amended from time to time).
Specific individual and shared targets and objectives are defined annually within the performance management framework.

Accountabilities

Operational planning and performance review to maintain exceptional service delivery and ensure the political objectives and priorities of the council are met
Working collaboratively within and across functions and thinking commercially to support the delivery of best possible outcomes for our customers on a financially sustainable basis
Maintaining and nurturing collaborative relationships with other teams in the function and external organisations that support the delivery of annual plans
Implementing changes and continually evaluating the service to improve the area of work, while maintaining continual delivery of the highest possible levels of service quality.
Managing complex issues and resources to meet the needs of customers and deliver the best possible outcomes
Effective utilisation of digital technologies and innovation across the function
Celebrating Equality and Diversity and ensuring it is considered as part of all decisions taken
Using professional expertise to translate goals and plans into ways of working that comply with relevant legislation and statutory requirements and manages a level of appropriate risk
Delivering exemplar customer interactions to individuals and communities which support strong relationships and a reputation for achieving outcomes and resolving issues

The Experience You Will Bring

Qualified solicitor or barrister or chartered legal executive enrolled with the Solicitors Regulation Authority or the Bar Standards Board or the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives, as appropriate and at least 4 years post qualification experience.
Evidence of continuing professional development, significant post qualification experience and expert knowledge in relevant professional area.
Line management and supervisory responsibility.
Experience of working within a legal setting in a politically sensitive environment, providing high-quality advice to a wide range of customers.
Commercial awareness and financial acumen, with sufficient professional credibility to maintain the existing client base and develop new streams of business.
Proven track record of building strong working relationships across a large, complex organisation, with internal and external partners/stakeholders and clients.
Proven track record of providing advice and guidance on complex legal matters to both customers and colleagues.

Why Essex? Essex County Council has a location to be proud of. Our 1,300 square miles stretch from Constable Country to the Thames Estuary, from the dynamic M11 corridor to the traditional seaside resorts of Clacton and Walton. England’s oldest town, Colchester, and two of its newest – Basildon and Harlow – are right here. Along with the City of Chelmsford, the county town, they form our major population centres. It means real choice and makes Essex the ideal place for your career. Read more about us.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process.

We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community

If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email resourcing.team@essex.gov.uk

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Supervising Associate – Property Team