Job Introduction
We are looking for a part time Para-Legal Officer to assist in fulfilling the Local Authority’s statutory responsibilities around school attendance, children missing education, elective home education, and children in employment.
This role is part time currently working 16 hours per week.
The Role
The role of the Para Legal is to effectively assists in the discharge of the Local Authority's statutory functions relating to school attendance, children missing education, elective home education and children in employment.
Key responsibilities include:
Preparing court files for cases involving irregular attendance and education supervision orders. Drafting legal documents such as witness statements, cost schedules, and background reports. Maintaining and updating legal monitoring systems, including E-files, databases, and Capita. Liaising with Legal Services, schools, professionals, and solicitors regarding legal proceedings.
Attending or chair meetings related to prosecutions and represent the service in court when required.
Additionally, you will handle enquiries from schools, agencies, and members of the public.
The ideal candidate
You will need:
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Experience in a statutory setting and enforcement proceedings.
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Strong knowledge of education law and legal processes.
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Excellent literacy, numeracy, and attention to detail for drafting legal documents.
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Proficiency in Word, Excel, Outlook, and databases.
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Ability to manage a fast-paced workload, work independently, and meet deadlines.
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Strong communication skills for liaising with multiple stakeholders.
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Team player with experience in busy office environments.
Please ensure that you read the full job profile attached for the details and expectations of this role, paying particular attention the section 'Who is the person ' as you will need to refer to this when completing your Personal statement.
Working Arrangements: This role is Officed Based
Contact Details for an Informal Discussion: If you have any questions, or would like an informal discussion about the role, please contact Donald McIntyre - [email protected]
About Portsmouth City Council
Portsmouth City Council is a unique organisation, committed to making a difference, and is guided by core values that set who we are as people, what we stand for, and how we act.
We are committed to our values of respect, integrity, collaboration, inclusivity and being people-focussed. These values set out how we can contribute to the success of the council and our own success as individuals. Learn more about our values and behaviours.
Application process
We anonymise applications during application & shortlisting to ensure only relevant information is considered.
We encourage candidates to add all career and education History to their application, as we do not review CVs as part of the shortlisting process.
As part of your application, we ask that you complete a personal statement, this statement is crucial and is where you must demonstrate how you meet the requirements of the job against each of the points described in the 'Who is the Person' points on the Job Profile using examples from your experience or transferable skills. This might be through qualifications or descriptive examples from your work / personal experience.
We are a disability confident employer and Armed Forces Covenant gold standard. More information can be found at Equality, diversity and inclusion - Careers portal
We are committed to offering an interview to all those candidates that qualify under our corporate commitments and meet the minimum criteria, however, for roles that receive a large number of applications, we will select the candidates that best meet the minimum criteria.
Please note: We reserve the right to close this vacancy early and begin interviews prior to the advertised closing date, should we receive a high volume of suitable applications. We therefore encourage early applications.
You will need to demonstrate that you have the Right to Work in the UK. No post will be offered without it. We are not able to offer sponsorship for this position.
Should you require any support in completing the application form please contact [email protected] or call the recruitment team on 023 92 616 800.
Safeguarding
Portsmouth City Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and young people, and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Every post is subject to PCC and Portsmouth Safeguarding Children Partnership safer recruitment procedures.
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) at Standard/Enhanced level will be required prior to any offer of employment and this post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Please read the relevant DBS privacy notice before submitting any information.
