City Solicitor & Monitoring Officer

Overview

As City Solicitor and Monitoring Officer, you will provide strategic legal, governance and constitutional leadership at the heart of Manchester City Council. You will safeguard legality, probity and ethical governance while guiding a broad portfolio including shared services for Manchester and Salford and various statutory and democratic functions. You will work with the Corporate Management Team, Chief Executive and elected members to shape civic leadership and growth. This role offers national-level influence within a dynamic, reform-minded public sector context.

Pay / Benefits

• Up to 26 days’ annual leave, rising to 31 days
• Buy up to two extra weeks’ leave
• Up to 3 days’ volunteering leave
• 35-hour work week for full-time roles
• Defined benefit pension scheme
• Enhanced parental and carers leave

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic legal, governance and constitutional leadership for the council
• Act as the statutory Monitoring Officer ensuring legality, probity and ethical governance
• Lead the shared legal service for Manchester and Salford and oversee Democratic Services, Electoral Services, Strategic Communications, Registration Services and the Coroner’s Service
• Advise elected members and senior colleagues with political awareness and influencing skills
• Support Manchester’s growth, devolution and complex democratic processes

Key requirements

• Qualified solicitor or barrister
• Outstanding legal judgement and leadership credentials
• Ability to operate effectively at the centre of a complex democratic organisation
• Credibility, resilience and strategic vision to support growth and success

• political awareness
• influencing skills
• organisational presence
• governance and constitutional law
• ethics and probity in public sector
• public service governance frameworks

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