Legal Liaison Officer
SO2 (£37,280 - £41,771)
37 Hours, Full Time
Permanent
This post is a hybrid post with the main base at Stopford House. There will be times the postholder will be expected to attend court or meeting in other Council buildings
Application Deadline: 11:59pm 14th September 2025
Please be aware that we may close this vacancy early if a high volume of applications are received. We encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
Shortlisting Date: 16th September 2025
Interview Date: 29th September 2025
Interview Type: In person
While we embrace the use of AI as an innovative tool to maximise our services at Stockport Council, we are looking for authenticity in applications we receive. We therefore ask you to think carefully if choosing to use AI when completing your application and ask that you ensure you read all instructions carefully and that your application is written by you and reflects your skills, knowledge and enthusiasm.
Join us at Stockport Council MJ Local Authority of the Year 2025
Your Role
We are looking for a Legal Liaison Officer to join us at Stockport Council. This is an exciting new role within our Education Welfare Team, developed due to the increasing demands from the introduction of the Education Penalty Notice framework and the statutory guidance Working together to improve attendance August 2024.
This role will involve carrying out the local authority statutory duties for all the attendance legal intervention (not needing a solicitor). This will include managing the Local Authority’s systems for issuing and enforcing attendance-related Education Penalty Notices, including preparing the Single Justice Packs, attending court and giving evidence from cases being managed and overseeing the preparation of school attendance prosecutions issued by the Local Authority. You will also provide support and challenge to schools around the use of attendance enforcement measures
About You
We are looking for someone with a ‘can do’ approach and significant experience of engaging with and providing support and advice to young people and their families, with particular skills in negotiating and advocating on behalf of others. The successful applicant will also have experience of multi-agency and partnership working, ideally within a school, education or local authority setting.
Applicants should have excellent administration and communication skills, both verbal and written, and have experience of managing sensitive and challenging conversations and situations. They must be able to demonstrate resilience and the ability to work flexibly, prioritise workload, meet deadlines and problem-solve in a reactive working environment
About Us
The successful applicant will join a proactive, friendly and supportive team within the Education Welfare Service, working alongside colleagues dealing with attendance, elective home education, education provision for children unable to attend school due to health needs, and children missing education. As part of Stockport Family, we are committed to providing high quality services to children, young people and their families. We provide an excellent working environment where you will feel valued and supported and offer excellent training and professional development opportunities.
At Stockport Council we are one ambitious team on a mission to create opportunities for everyone who lives, works and spends time in the borough. Working at Stockport Council means contributing to one of the most thriving towns in the North. We’re keen to recruit people with the right values and behaviours that can help us ensure our workplace values are at the heart of everything we do.
We are proud to be recognised under the Good Employment Charter as an organisation committed to the wellbeing of our colleagues. As members of the charter, we have been recognised as a great place to work for all colleagues and pledge to pay the real living wage, engage staff in key decisions and endorse fair and flexible working conditions.
If you would like to find out more, please contact Wendy Cathie on 0161 474 3917 [email protected] for an informal discussion about the role.
The successful applicant’s appointment will be subject to satisfactory pre-employment clearances including a Disclosure and Barring Service check.
Stockport Council holds a Visa sponsorship licence but this can only be used for certain roles and this campaign does not currently qualify.
Please note that we have made a commitment to improve the employment opportunities for people with disabilities, care leavers and ex-military personnel. As part of the Guaranteed Assessment Scheme you will therefore be guaranteed to be shortlisted for Assessment if you meet both the criteria for the scheme and the essential job role criteria.
Find out if you meet the criteria here: https://www.greater.jobs/our-guaranteed-assessment-scheme
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Stockport Council is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive workforce culture - a place where we can all be ourselves and succeed. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and communities to join our workforce.
We want our employees to have a good work life balance and in many job roles we can offer a range of flexible/hybrid working arrangements. We also have inclusive employment policies and staff engagement forums to support our diverse workforce. We will listen to, learn from, and develop our workforce.
