Location
London Borough of Brent, Civic Centre and other locations from time to time.

Hours
36 hours per week

Salary
£68,427 - £76,588 per annum including London weighting

About the Role
Lead the legal strategy behind services that make a real difference. Every major council ambition starts with the right legal foundations. From delivering multi-million-pound regeneration projects and strategic procurement programmes to supporting vital frontline services, your advice will help shape how Brent delivers for one of London's most diverse communities.

This is an opportunity for an accomplished commercial lawyer to take on a genuinely strategic leadership role, leading a high-performing Contracts team while influencing some of the council's most significant decisions.

Brent is one of London's most dynamic boroughs. With ambitious regeneration, significant investment and a bold transformation agenda, we're looking for a legal leader who thrives on complexity, enjoys solving challenging commercial problems and wants their expertise to have a tangible public impact.

As Chief Lawyer - Contracts, you'll lead our specialist Contracts team, providing expert legal advice across commercial contracts, procurement, governance and complex strategic projects.

Working closely with senior officers, elected members and corporate leadership, you'll become a trusted adviser on high-profile, high-value matters that influence the future of the borough.

In this role, you will:
- Provide strategic leadership to a team of around 11 legal professionals, fostering a high-performance culture and supporting colleagues to reach their full potential.
- Lead the development, continuous improvement and effective management of the Contracts function, ensuring an efficient, responsive and customer-focused legal service.
- Deliver proactive, expert legal advice on complex contracts, procurement, commercial and governance matters to Members, senior officers and corporate leadership.
- Shape corporate decision-making through strategic legal advice on high-profile and politically sensitive matters.
- Manage resources, budgets and external legal spend to deliver value for money whilst maintaining exceptional professional standards.
- Drive innovation, service improvement and collaboration across Legal Services and the wider organisation.

This is a role where your legal expertise won't simply interpret legislation—it will help unlock opportunities, manage risk and deliver better outcomes for Brent's communities.

Experience
Significant experience advising on complex commercial contracts, procurement and governance matters.
Experience leading and developing high-performing legal teams.
Previous local government experience is advantageous but not essential; senior lawyers from the wider public sector or private practice are encouraged to apply.

About you
A strategic legal leader with commercial insight and public purpose.
You combine technical excellence with strong leadership and the confidence to advise at the highest levels of a large, complex organisation.
You have the credibility to influence senior leaders, elected members and a wide range of stakeholders.
You demonstrate strong commercial awareness, sound judgement and a pragmatic approach to managing legal risk.
You possess excellent communication, negotiation and relationship-building skills.
You can balance competing priorities while maintaining exceptional professional standards.
You have a collaborative leadership style with a genuine commitment to developing others.

Qualifications
A current practising certificate as a Solicitor, Barrister or Chartered Legal Executive is required.