Team Leader (Contracts & Commissioning)
| Posting date: | 24 September 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £57,703 to £64,906 per year, pro rata |
| Additional salary information: | £7000 Market Supplement |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 19 October 2025 |
| Location: | Sittingbourne, Kent |
| Remote working: | Hybrid - work remotely up to 1 day per week |
| Company: | Swale Borough Council |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: |
Summary
About Us
Mid Kent Legal Services (MKLS) provides legal services and advice across the mid-Kent area (to Swale, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells councils). The service covers a range of areas including Property and Regeneration, Planning, Contentious, Contracts & Commissioning and Corporate Governance. Working across multiple councils means a range of high-level, challenging and impactful work ranging from supporting the delivery of garden communities, to the redevelopment of large shopping centres, to letting very large contracts, to delivering affordable housing. In short, it’s a real opportunity to make a difference in an area with vibrant towns, beautiful villages and countryside and fantastic leisure and cultural amenities.
MKLS’s has a reputation as being forward thinking, progressive and innovative and is closely and strongly aligned with is partner authorities. It provides a supportive and nurturing environment, providing opportunities for staff to progress internally and uses technology to maximise the effective use of lawyers' time. In short, it is a great place to work.
We are now looking for a Team Leader (Contracts and Commissioning) to join us on a full-time, permanent basis, working 34 hours per week.
Our Offer
A range of benefits including:
-34 hour full time working week with the offices closing at 1:30pm on Friday
-Highly flexible hybrid working opportunities
-7am to 7pm flexi time to suit personal circumstances for most roles
-Generous holiday entitlement which increases after 5 years LG service plus bank holidays with the option to buy additional leave.
-Additional 3 days leave given to enable a close down of the offices between Christmas and New year.
-Free parking
-Range of flexible working opportunities to accommodate people’s home/work life balance including compressed hours, 9-day fortnight, part time.
-Employee Assistance Programme which provides confidential & independent information and access to counsellors
-Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) with valuable life cover and financial protection for your family.
Plus many more, please visit our website for details.
About The Role
As our Team Leader /(Contracts and Commissioning), you will lead and manage our Contracts and Commissioning team, manage a caseload of complex and high profile contract and commissioning matters and deliver high-quality legal services across all three local authorities.
This pivotal role combines strategic leadership with providing expert legal advice on contracts and commissioning, ensuring compliance with Lexcel standards and promoting the shared legal service’s vision.
Overseeing our team’s development, you will manage recruitment, training and performance whilst serving as the most senior fee earner, providing high-level legal advice to elected members, committees and senior managers.
You will also support the delivery of the partnership’s strategic objectives, maintaining up-to-date legal expertise and promoting the service internally and externally to improve understanding of legal procedures and build the MKLS reputation.
Additionally, you will:
- Lead training sessions, provide guidance notes and offer legal supervision
- Represent MKLS at external meetings
- Ensure compliance with council policies
This is an exciting time to join the MKLS Contracts & Commissioning Team with a number of large and high-profile projects happening across the Partner Authorities.
About You
To be considered as our Team Leader (Contracts and Commissioning), you will need:
- To be a qualified solicitor, barrister, chartered legal executive or have equivalent qualification and experience
- Extensive post qualification legal practice experience in contracts and commissioning
- Experience providing legal advice and support to senior leaders and key decision-makers in contracts and commissioning law and practice
- Experience operating in politically sensitive environments
- Experience of staff management
- Experience of the successful performance management of legal fee earners
- Knowledge and understanding of the political nature of local government and democratic process
- A full, valid UK driving licence
Other organisations may call this role Solicitor, Barrister, Chartered Legal Executive, Attorney, Legal Counsel, Legal Services Team Leader, Senior Contracts and Commissioning Lawyer, Commissioning and Legal Team Leader, Contracts and Governance Manager, Senior Legal Advisor, or Legal Operations Team Leader.
Selection Process
Following the submission of your application form, it will be reviewed by the recruiting manager. Those that are successful in securing an interview can expect job specific interview assessment, followed by an interview.
Swale Borough Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all employee and volunteers to share this commitment.
Maidstone, Swale and Tunbridge Wells local authorities are equal opportunities employers, value diversity and are strongly committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all employees and all applicants for employment. Equal opportunities are the only acceptable way to conduct business and we believe that the more inclusive our environments are, the better our work will be.
Maidstone, Swale and Tunbridge Wells local authorities are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all employee and volunteers to share this commitment.
If you would like to discuss this position, please contact Timothy Pyant, Interim Business Manager on 01622 602155.
Job Description and Person Specification: https://docs.maidstone.gov.uk/jobs/Team-Leader-Role-Contracts-Commissioning-JDPS-Sept-25-Final.pdf
Interview Date: W/C 3rd November 2025
Mid Kent Legal Services (MKLS) provides legal services and advice across the mid-Kent area (to Swale, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells councils). The service covers a range of areas including Property and Regeneration, Planning, Contentious, Contracts & Commissioning and Corporate Governance. Working across multiple councils means a range of high-level, challenging and impactful work ranging from supporting the delivery of garden communities, to the redevelopment of large shopping centres, to letting very large contracts, to delivering affordable housing. In short, it’s a real opportunity to make a difference in an area with vibrant towns, beautiful villages and countryside and fantastic leisure and cultural amenities.
MKLS’s has a reputation as being forward thinking, progressive and innovative and is closely and strongly aligned with is partner authorities. It provides a supportive and nurturing environment, providing opportunities for staff to progress internally and uses technology to maximise the effective use of lawyers' time. In short, it is a great place to work.
We are now looking for a Team Leader (Contracts and Commissioning) to join us on a full-time, permanent basis, working 34 hours per week.
Our Offer
A range of benefits including:
-34 hour full time working week with the offices closing at 1:30pm on Friday
-Highly flexible hybrid working opportunities
-7am to 7pm flexi time to suit personal circumstances for most roles
-Generous holiday entitlement which increases after 5 years LG service plus bank holidays with the option to buy additional leave.
-Additional 3 days leave given to enable a close down of the offices between Christmas and New year.
-Free parking
-Range of flexible working opportunities to accommodate people’s home/work life balance including compressed hours, 9-day fortnight, part time.
-Employee Assistance Programme which provides confidential & independent information and access to counsellors
-Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) with valuable life cover and financial protection for your family.
Plus many more, please visit our website for details.
About The Role
As our Team Leader /(Contracts and Commissioning), you will lead and manage our Contracts and Commissioning team, manage a caseload of complex and high profile contract and commissioning matters and deliver high-quality legal services across all three local authorities.
This pivotal role combines strategic leadership with providing expert legal advice on contracts and commissioning, ensuring compliance with Lexcel standards and promoting the shared legal service’s vision.
Overseeing our team’s development, you will manage recruitment, training and performance whilst serving as the most senior fee earner, providing high-level legal advice to elected members, committees and senior managers.
You will also support the delivery of the partnership’s strategic objectives, maintaining up-to-date legal expertise and promoting the service internally and externally to improve understanding of legal procedures and build the MKLS reputation.
Additionally, you will:
- Lead training sessions, provide guidance notes and offer legal supervision
- Represent MKLS at external meetings
- Ensure compliance with council policies
This is an exciting time to join the MKLS Contracts & Commissioning Team with a number of large and high-profile projects happening across the Partner Authorities.
About You
To be considered as our Team Leader (Contracts and Commissioning), you will need:
- To be a qualified solicitor, barrister, chartered legal executive or have equivalent qualification and experience
- Extensive post qualification legal practice experience in contracts and commissioning
- Experience providing legal advice and support to senior leaders and key decision-makers in contracts and commissioning law and practice
- Experience operating in politically sensitive environments
- Experience of staff management
- Experience of the successful performance management of legal fee earners
- Knowledge and understanding of the political nature of local government and democratic process
- A full, valid UK driving licence
Other organisations may call this role Solicitor, Barrister, Chartered Legal Executive, Attorney, Legal Counsel, Legal Services Team Leader, Senior Contracts and Commissioning Lawyer, Commissioning and Legal Team Leader, Contracts and Governance Manager, Senior Legal Advisor, or Legal Operations Team Leader.
Selection Process
Following the submission of your application form, it will be reviewed by the recruiting manager. Those that are successful in securing an interview can expect job specific interview assessment, followed by an interview.
Swale Borough Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all employee and volunteers to share this commitment.
Maidstone, Swale and Tunbridge Wells local authorities are equal opportunities employers, value diversity and are strongly committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all employees and all applicants for employment. Equal opportunities are the only acceptable way to conduct business and we believe that the more inclusive our environments are, the better our work will be.
Maidstone, Swale and Tunbridge Wells local authorities are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all employee and volunteers to share this commitment.
If you would like to discuss this position, please contact Timothy Pyant, Interim Business Manager on 01622 602155.
Job Description and Person Specification: https://docs.maidstone.gov.uk/jobs/Team-Leader-Role-Contracts-Commissioning-JDPS-Sept-25-Final.pdf
Interview Date: W/C 3rd November 2025
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Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.