Buckinghamshire authorities in recruitment drive for lawyers ahead of move to unitary status
Buckinghamshire County Council and Wycombe District Council have begun a joint recruitment exercise for new legal roles ahead of the move to a single unitary authority in April 2020.
On 1 November 2018 the then Communities Secretary James Brokenshire backed the creation of the unitary, Buckinghamshire Council.
The new authority will replace the county and its four district councils – Wycombe, Aylesbury Vale, Chiltern and South Buckinghamshire.
The authorities have been working together to form a new collaborative legal service.
Jamie Hollis, Head of Legal and Compliance at Buckinghamshire County Council, said: “The new service will draw upon legal expertise across the councils and, along with a recruitment drive to increase capacity, will be able to provide a comprehensive legal service built with the future in mind.
“In addition to the usual day to day legal work, there are exciting opportunities for the legal team to be involved in what is the biggest transformation of the County’s public services for over 100 years There is a lot of ‘behind the scenes’ work needed to bring about the new unitary council ahead of the 1 April 2020 go-live, providing unique opportunities for the team to help build and shape the future of local government in Buckinghamshire.”
The legal roles being recruited for are:
- Litigation Lawyers (to £48,616; employed by Wycombe)
- Planning & Highways Lawyers (to £48,616; employed by Wycombe)
- Education Lawyer (to £51,225)
- Adult Social Care Lawyer (to £51,225; employed by Buckinghamshire CC)
Hollis added: “This is a great time to be working in local government legal services in Buckinghamshire. It’s not often a legal team gets the opportunity to work collaboratively across several councils for a common objective and at the same contribute to the smooth transition to a unitary authority.
“Our current recruitment drive covers a number of key legal specialisms, working flexibly across the County. The future is looking bright for the new Buckinghamshire Council and this is the chance to be involved.”