Recruitment Information Pack
Practice Director
nplaw 391 MDME
This Recruitment Information Pack contains:
Section 1 - Job Description and Person Specification
Section 2 - Information about working for Norfolk County Council
Section 3 - Standard Terms and Conditions
Section 4 - Procedure for application
For information on Departments within Norfolk County Council and living and working in Norfolk click on the link below
Link: www.norfolk.gov.uk/jobsandcareers
“The authority is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.” Contents
(If you are viewing this document online, click on the headings below to jump to the relevant section)
Section 1 – Job Description and Person Specification...... 3 1.1. Job Description...... 3 1.2 Person Specification...... 4
Section 2 - Information about working for Norfolk County Council...... 5 2.1 Details regarding the post...... 5 2.2 Benefits...... 7 2.3 Notice...... 9 2.4 Requirements of the post...... 9
Section 3 Standard Terms and Conditions...... 12 3.1 Probationary period...... 12 3.2 Equal opportunities...... 13 3.3 Data protection...... 13 3.4 Confidentiality policy...... 13 3.5 Standards of conduct and behaviour...... 13
Section 4 - Procedure for application...... 13
2 Section 1 – Job Description and Person Specification
1.1. Job Description temporary Job title Practice Director, nplaw Department Managing Director’s Department Section/Service nplaw Location County Hall JE Number GR Number Grade Scale P Responsible to Chief Legal Officer and Monitoring Officer Responsible for nplaw’s Management Team Effective date 1 January, 2018
Overview
Norfolk County Council’s legal services are delivered through nplaw, an income- generating legal department which provides legal services to the majority of Norfolk’s local authorities and to other public sector clients nationwide.
As part of the Council’s commercialisation agenda nplaw, which has generated income for the Council every year since its inception in 2010, continues to grow, increasing turnover and improving profitability.
We are recruiting to the post of Practice Director, nplaw to lead a programme of growth and transformation for the legal service. You will play a key part in delivering the ambitious growth plans for nplaw and Norfolk whilst supporting the Chief Legal Officer in ensuring good governance and high standards of ethical conduct at the Council.
Job Purpose
Lead the growth and development of nplaw through the provision of effective, value for money legal services to the Council, Norfolk’s district and parish councils and other clients.
Support the Chief Legal Officer and Monitoring Officer in providing professional legal, standards and governance advice to Members of the Council and to the Executive Directors.
Principal Accountabilities
3 Head of Shared Service:
Provide strategic leadership of nplaw in providing quality legal advice and representation to the County Council and nplaw’s stakeholders as well as external clients; Ensure that nplaw is led and managed to generate maximum surplus income for its stakeholders; Deliver through nplaw a service that consistently meets service standards agreed with stakeholders and other clients.
Corporate Support:
Support and deputise for the Chief Legal Officer in guiding and advising County Council Members, the Managing Director and the County Leadership Team on legal matters; Act as Deputy Monitoring Officer for Norfolk County Council, supporting the Monitoring Officer in advising on the interpretation, application and review of the County Council’s Constitution.
Business Development:
Lead on the development of new business, relationship management and commercial due diligence to contribute to the continued growth of nplaw; Build effective relationships and partnerships across Norfolk and the wider legal sector, continuing nplaw’s reputation as a successful innovator in its sector.
Operational Management:
Lead the performance and delivery of nplaw, in particular demonstrating achievement of financial and service standard targets; Ensure the effective and efficient management of nplaw’s finances and people.
4 1.2 Person Specification
Qualifications Essential Desirable
A fully-qualified Solicitor or Barrister with Business Management qualification current practicing certificate; (e.g. MBA) Evidence of continued professional, managerial and personal development; Track record of successful delivery of Lexcel.
Knowledge/Experience Essential Desirable
Excellent understanding of relevant legislation and case law; Awareness and understanding of local government operations; Experience of delivering major change projects; Experience as an effective people manager, delivering high performance from teams; Experience of successful business development and engagement with a range of stakeholders; Development and assurance of performance indicators.
Leadership Criteria Essential Desirable
Accountable:
Think conceptually and see the bigger picture; Forge a climate where constructive challenge and the voicing of creative ideas is encourages; Commitment and passion to drive improvement; Commitment to and understanding of equalities issues, and tenacity and resilience to see things through; Able to demonstrate political awareness and sensitivity.
5 Business-like:
A commercial outlook and approach, recognising the importance of value for money, and the ability to lead, develop and motivate staff and teams to effect change.
Evidence-Based:
An outcome and performance focus; Encourage others to support their thinking with credible analysis.
Collaborative:
Creativity and imagination in seeking new approaches; Ability to gain the confidence of all stakeholders; Able to work effectively in cooperation and partnership with a wide range of organisations; Excellent communication and negotiating skills with the ability to present complex issues in a simple and easy to understand way.
General Information
Job holders will be expected to be flexible in their duties
This is a politically restricted post and the post holder cannot be elected as a Councillor in any local authority.
The information in this job description is accurate and reflects the requirement of the role: Name: Victoria McNeill Position: Chief Legal Officer Date: 12/11/2017
6 Section 2 - Information about working for Norfolk County Council For the Post of – Practice Director You may find it helpful to know the following information about this position. If you already work for Norfolk County Council (NCC) some terms and conditions of this role may differ to those of your present position.
2.1 Details regarding the post Duration The post advertised is a permanent position.
Salary The scale for this post is up to £93,000 per annum
Salary is paid in 12 equal instalments on the 19th of each month directly into your bank account and covers work carried out in that calendar month. Progressing through your grade Subject to your performance appraisal result, your salary will rise within the scale by one increment each year up to the maximum of the scale. Increments are awarded annually on 1 July.
Hours of work and working arrangements The normal working week is 37 hours and covers 52 weeks per year.
Senior posts You will be required to work the hours to meet the demands of the job and overtime is not paid.
Other occupations You will be required to devote the whole of your time to the duties of the post, and will have to seek approval if you wish to engage directly or indirectly in any other paid employment.
Location The post will normally be located at County Hall, Martineau Lane, Norwich NR1 2DH or at any such other locations as reasonably required by your service with the County Council.
Information on the department For information on the NCC department where this post is based see https://www.norfolk.gov.uk/jobs-training-and-volunteering ‘Council Departments’ section.
Click on the link below to search and apply for jobs. Link: www.norfolk.gov.uk/jobsandcareers
7 2.2 Benefits
Annual leave entitlement The chart below shows the annual leave entitlement you would receive which is dependent on scale and continuous service Length of continuous service in complete years Scale Spinal Column immediately prior to commencement of leave year Points Below 5 5 or more but 10 or more less than 10 Days per annum Up to top of E Up to 21 24 29 29 F and G 22 to 28 25 29 29 H to M 29 to 52 27 29 30 N and above 53 to 62 28 29 31
Pension The Local Government Pension Scheme helps you save for your pension in a tax efficient way and links the amount of pension you receive to how much you earn each year - giving you a guaranteed amount when you retire.
You will be enrolled in the scheme and will contribute between 5.5% and 12.5% of your pay depending on how much you earn. Your contribution rates are shown in the table below and we pay 15.5%.
Member Contribution Table from 1 April 2017 1 Up to £13,700 5.5% 2 £13,701 - £21,400 5.8% 3 £21,401 - £34,700 6.5% 4 £34,701 - £43,900 6.8% 5 £43,901 - £61,300 8.5% 6 £61,301 - £86,800 9.9% 7 £86,801 - £102,200 10.5% 8 £102,201 - £153,300 11.4% 9 More than £153,300 12.5%
Facilities Facilities at County Hall include a staff restaurant, shop and a sports and social club. Facilities will vary at different locations.
Car parking There is parking available at some of our sites and most are serviced by good public transport links. We will tell you about the travel options for this site at interview.
Employees are generally encouraged to find alternative ways of travelling i.e. walking, cycling, car sharing, public transport.
8 Kid Ease Nursery NCC is pleased to have a Kid Ease nursery located within its grounds at County Hall. Kid Ease is an independently run organisation and offers priority spaces to NCC employees, Members and companies owned in whole or part by NCC. You can save on the cost of fees by using childcare vouchers.
Salary Sacrifice Schemes: Savings are gained as you don’t pay tax or national insurance on these schemes. Please note that if you are in receipt of tax credit then this could be affected.
Childcare vouchers As part of its family friendly initiative, NCC works with Kiddivouchers to provide childcare vouchers to employees.
Cycle2work NCC runs a cycle2work salary sacrifice scheme through Halfords (although some local independent stores can also be used). The window or opportunity to apply is open in April/May each year.
Buying Additional Annual Leave It is possible for some staff to purchase up to two weeks additional annual leave through the NCC salary sacrifice scheme.
Norfolk Rewards This is a savings platform which can be accessed by employees to make everyday purchases at reduced costs. Employees can save money by purchasing reloadable cards, obtain cash back through online purchases, and even make instant savings in some stores.
Relocation Assistance with relocation expenses may be available to the successful candidate in approved circumstances 2.3 Notice You will be required to give three months’ notice of termination of employment. The notice should be in writing.
You are entitled to receive a similar period to the notice you have to give or the minimum statutory provision under the Employment Rights Act 1996, whichever is the greater, as set out below:
Period of continuous employment Minimum notice period
Four weeks or more, but less than two years One week One week for each year of continuous Two years or more, but less than 12 years employment 12 years or more 12 weeks
9 2.4 Requirements of the post
Qualifications If you are required to hold a particular qualification for a post it is your responsibility to provide the relevant certification, to prove you are suitably qualified.
If a post requires you to take training or additional qualifications then, by accepting this post, you are agreeing to do the training or take the qualifications.
Failure to produce documentary evidence of qualifications or undertake required courses/training may result in the termination of your employment.
Medical examination To ensure the post will not have a detrimental affect on your health or your health on your work, you will have to complete a medical questionnaire on appointment and may be required to have a medical before the appointment can be offered formally. This is to confirm that you are able to satisfactorily carry out the post without any impact on your health (taking account of any reasonable adjustments required).
Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 Before you can start working for NCC a check will need to be carried out to ensure you are eligible to work legally in the UK. This check will be undertaken in accordance with the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006. You must supply proof of your entitlement to work in the UK by producing certain document(s) and you will be asked to bring these to your interview if you are shortlisted.
Further information on working in the UK can be found by clicking on the link below to the UK Border Agency website.
Link: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas-immigration/working/
Political restrictions NCC is legally required to restrict the political activities of some posts. These are:
1. The Head of the Authority’s Service, statutory or non statutory Chief or Deputy Chief Officers, Monitoring Officer, or Chief Financial Officer. 2. A Political Assistant. 3. A post where the postholder regularly gives advice to the Authority or its Executive, Committees, Sub Committees, Members etc, or speaks on behalf of the Authority to journalists and broadcasters.
A summary of the activities which would be restricted are:
1. Becoming a candidate for election to a Local Authority, the House of Commons, European Parliament, Scottish Parliament or Welsh Assembly. 2. Being an election agent for a candidate for one of those bodies. 3. Being an Official of a Political Party. 4. Canvassing on behalf of a Political Party. 5. Speaking publicly with the apparent intention of supporting a Political Party. 6. Publishing a written or artistic work with the apparent intention of affecting public support for a political party.
10 Transport status If the post requires you to travel as part of your duties, you are responsible for your own travel arrangements. Any mileage undertaken on behalf of NCC will be paid at the appropriate rate and will be paid within Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs guidelines. If you use your own vehicle for the purposes of work you must ensure that your insurance policy covers you for this purpose (and carrying passengers, if applicable).
No smoking The County Council operates a 'Smoke Free Premises policy'
Section 3 Standard Terms and Conditions
3.1 Probationary period All new employees of NCC will be required to complete a six month probationary period, even if they have previous local government service. This may be extended in some circumstances.
3.2 Equal opportunities NCC seeks to ensure that all employees are selected, trained and promoted on the basis of ability, the requirements of the post and other similar and objective criteria. The gender identity, disability, marital status, ethnic origin, age, pregnancy status, religion or belief, or sexual orientation of an applicant or employee does not affect the employment opportunities made available, except as permitted by legislation. In addition, applicants declaring a disability who meet the minimum (essential) criteria for a vacancy will be invited for interview.
3.3 Data protection NCC is required by law to comply with the Data Protection Act 1998. Employees have an important role to play in ensuring that personal information is processed lawfully and fairly. Personal information is information relating to a living individual who can be identified. It is each individual employee’s responsibility to handle all personal information properly no matter how it is collected, recorded and used, whether on paper, in a computer, or on other material. Personal information must not be disclosed to others unless authorised to do so. Every employee should familiarise themselves with NCC’s Data Protection Policy.
3.4 Confidentiality policy NCC operates a Confidentiality Policy and Code of Conduct. Employees have an obligation to respect the confidentiality of information acquired in the course of their work and must not disclose information about employees, clients, councillors, council finances or any other council business. Employees must not use such information for their personal advantage or gain or pass it to others who may use it for their advantage or gain.
3.5 Standards of conduct and behaviour NCC has a policy on the standards of conduct and behaviour expected of their employees which can be accessed through the link below. It gives guidelines on issues like outside commitments, conflict of interest, relationship to members etc.
Link. - Standards of conduct and behaviour policy
11 Section 4 - Procedure for application
All applicants To apply for this vacancy please complete the online application form
The closing date for applications is: 7 January 2018.
Shortlisting will take place week commencing: 8 January 2018.
This post will require psychometric testing, if you are successful at shortlisting you will be required to complete the online psychometric testing week commencing 8 January 2018.
Interviews are provisionally booked for week commencing 15 January 2018. Please contact HR Direct on [email protected] or (01603) 222212 if you have any special requirements which would help you to attend interview if you are shortlisted, such as learning support (eg materials or information in a different format, large print, coloured paper) or access requirements (eg mobility, visual or hearing impairment aids etc). All correspondence will be via email, therefore please check your account regularly, alternatively all correspondence can be accessed through NCC’s website when you log in at www.norfolk.gov.uk/jobsandcareers and select ‘Search and apply for vacancies’. You can also track the progress of your application on the candidate homepage.
Thank you for your interest in this post. If you have any queries please contact HR Direct
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