About The Role
What you can expect from us

• We offer a competitive salary of £59,800 per annum.
• 32 days annual leave plus bank holidays a total of 40 days paid holiday per annum which is equivalent to 8 weeks.
• Salary Finance - access both short and long terms loans, plus provides access to a savings facility.
• Opportunity to further increase annual leave with service or though the holiday purchase scheme.
• Immediate entry to our Pension scheme (matched contributions up to 10%).
• A great flexible working environment, with a range of family friendly policies.
• Health cash plan with financial benefits and the option to extend to your family. Cover includes dental, optical, physiotherapy, 24HR private GP access and much more.
• Paid leave for absence including sickness, maternity, paternity, and adoption leave.
• Access of up to £150 annually through the ‘Learning for life’ scheme.
• Access to a wide range of discounts and cash back offers, ranging from retail and automotive to holidays and cycle to work scheme.
• Develop your career with support and access to training and qualifications.

Onward Homes is a leading provider of quality, affordable homes for rent and sale in the Northwest managing over 35,000 homes right across the Northwest region. We offer help and support to vulnerable people facing a range of challenges and create strong and vibrant communities that our customers can be proud to be a part of.
We believe that everyone deserves a place to call their own and are committed to building more new homes throughout the Northwest for those in housing need.
As a result of the demand for our services, an exciting opportunity has arisen for a Housing Management Solicitor to work within the in-house legal team.  The main areas of work will include delivering a high quality professional in-house legal advice and representation services to the Onward Homes Group and acting as a business partner providing guidance and support for tenancy enforcement and general housing management.  
About the role
We're looking for a qualified legal professional with strong housing management expertise and a passion for delivering excellent client service. This role is home-based, where there is no daily requirement to attend an office but with flexibility to attend as required according to business need. 
Key responsibilities will include: 
Legal case management
To manage a caseload of routine, complex and sensitive legal matters, comprising both contentious and non-contentious work, including advice and representation in relation to anti-social behaviour, tenancy enforcement, housing management, disrepair and other landlord and tenant matters. To ensure all work is undertaken in accordance with Legal Services standards, policies and procedures, including time recording, file management and case reporting requirements.
Legal knowledge & research
To maintain up-to-date knowledge of relevant legislation, case law, regulatory requirements and best practice affecting the organisation. To undertake legal research as required and proactively identify developments in the law, ensuring that the organisation is informed of relevant changes in a timely manner through advice, guidance and training.
Legal advice
To provide specialist, pragmatic and responsive legal and procedural advice to the organisation, colleagues and Board members as appropriate, ensuring the organisation operates in compliance with its statutory, regulatory, constitutional and common law obligations while effectively managing legal risk.
Legal representation & advocacy
To represent the organisation in legal proceedings and act as an advocate before courts, tribunals and other relevant forums where appropriate. To participate in any rota arrangements established to provide out-of-hours legal advocacy and support services.
Leadership and  Business Partnering 
Under the direction of the Head of Legal (Housing Management), to act as a lead legal adviser. To build and maintain effective relationships with senior stakeholders, providing a proactive business partnering service that supports the delivery of operational and strategic objectives. To support the Head of Legal (Housing Management) in the effective management of legal caseloads, resource allocation and the delivery of a high-quality, cost-effective legal service that demonstrates value for money.
Supervision and Development of Colleagues 
 
To provide effective supervision, guidance and support to junior colleagues, sharing legal knowledge and expertise to support their professional development, enhance technical capability and promote the consistent delivery of high-quality legal services across the team.
 
What we require?
Skills, knowledge and experience 

• Experience of supplying expert legal advice and representation within the social housing sector.
• A track record of delivering high-quality, customer-focused legal advice and representation services.
• Experience of working effectively as a legal adviser within a multidisciplinary environment and collaborating with a range of internal and external stakeholders. 
• Experience and ability to manage complex and demanding legal caseloads, balancing competing priorities and deadlines. 
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively as part of a team.
• Experience of supervising, supporting and developing junior colleagues, including providing technical guidance and oversight of their work.

 Desirable:

• Experience of instructing and managing external legal service providers.
• Experience of using legal case management systems.
• Experience of corporate debt recovery and forfeiture. 

Qualifications: 
Essential:

• Admitted Solicitor or a CILEx Lawyer with litigation and advocacy rights with relevant PQE in housing management legal work.
• Current Practising Certificate.

About The Organisation
About Onward
Onward Homes is one of the largest registered providers of social housing in the Northwest, with 35,000 properties across the region.
We believe that everyone deserves a place to call their own, which is why we’re committed to building 500 new homes each year. We do more than just provide a roof over our customers’ heads, we’re here to make a real difference.
In addition to creating positive spaces for our customers we continuously strive to create a positive and progressive workspace to enable our colleagues to achieve their full potential.
We embrace diversity and strive for diverse teams to create an inclusive culture which enables Onward to thrive and be representative of the communities that we serve. We want to ensure that everybody has an opportunity to be part of our recruitment processes and will therefore make reasonable adjustments to accommodate our candidates. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to assist you with our recruitment process via the email address below.
If candidates have any concerns / questions in relation to the role at any stage of the recruitment and selection process they can contact the HR team on HumanResourcesTeam@onward.co.uk and a member of the HR Team will be in touch.
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