Paralegal (Child Care) - Joint Legal Team

Fixed Term - 23 months - Full time 37 hours per week

We are currently recruiting for a Paralegal to join our Child Care Teams. As a Paralegal you will have experienced in child care law, preferably working in a local authority. Our team is committed to providing the best possible training, leading to you having responsibility for cases. We offer a supportive working environment which is focussed on your learning and development.

We seek the best talent from the widest pool of people as diversity and inclusion is the key to our success. Reading Borough Council is a Disability Confident Employer and is committed to the recruitment and continued employment of people with disabilities.

We support hybrid working, it’s important to us that working arrangements are designed to enable our employees to excel and within this role you’ll have the opportunity to work in a way that suits your lifestyle.

About this role:
Now is the perfect time to join us as we deliver our ambitions to be the best place to practice law in local government; being close to our customers, recruiting the best talent, successfully deploying legal technology and ensuring the continued growth of the business to new customers.

The Joint Legal Team is a long-standing shared legal service for all the Berkshire councils and a recognised centre of excellence for child care law, adults and education law. We are hosted by Reading Borough Council, working from our modern offices in Reading town centre close to the train station and courts.

The purpose of Legal Services is to provide the Council and its partners with the highest quality professional legal advice and representation which allows them to run their organisations well, and to serve our community.

You’ll be working with colleagues to make a difference to the lives of vulnerable adults, children and young people in Berkshire. You’ll be working other paralegals and legal assistants to support Lawyers in a small team led by an experienced Principal Lawyer.

In Child Care Court Teams you will have opportunities to work on a wide range of interesting and complex cases to grow your experience. Our long established Adoption and Permanence Team works closely with Adopt Thames Valley to support our clients.

You will report to a Senior Lawyer or a Principal Lawyer who will support you in your work and in your professional development. We encourage our colleagues to develop their legal skills and to move to the next level in their career and offer training arranged by our Professional Skills Lawyer.

Our Legal Operations Team will support you in delivering your work as we invest further in our systems and processes and work towards Lexcel accreditation.

Whatever your specialism or previous experience, you will thrive on the challenge of working in a customer focussed environment and in a team which has an ambitious agenda for the future. You will have opportunities to join in the wider work of the team outside your specialist field in helping us to reach our team objectives.

About you:
To apply for this role, you will have:

• A Law Degree or a non law degree with post-graduate diploma in law or equivalent and either Legal Practice Certificate or equivalent
• Good general education with at least 5 GSCEs at Grade 4-9 (or equivalent) including Maths and English. At least three A levels at UCAS 240 points (or equivalent).
• Considerable and recent experience of working within a legal environment such as a firm of solicitors, in-house legal department, law centre or citizens advice bureau to include experience of drafting legal documents.
• Knowledge of Children Act 1989.
• Good drafting skills and ability to draft both standard and non-standard legal documents using and applying knowledge of legal matters as appropriate.
• Ability to assimilate information rapidly and to present it orally or in writing in a clear unambiguous and concise way. Ability to communicate effectively with customers and stakeholders
• Planning and organisation and able to prioritise work effectively while working autonomously and as part of a team
• A strong quality and customer focus. Evidence of self-motivation and able to work on own initiative with limited supervision. Approachable, co-operative, tactful, diplomatic as appropriate to the confidentiality required.
• Experience of MSWord, Excel, Outlook and computerised case management systems.

You’ll be part of a team that relies on each individual to play their part to the best of their ability. As well as the colleagues that you work closely with every day, you’ll also be part of Team Reading, playing your personal part in making Reading a successful and vibrant place.

Our vision is to ensure that Reading realises its potential as a great place to live, work and play, and that everyone shares the benefits of this success. Our values and behaviours guide how we will achieve this:
Work Together as one team - work collaboratively, with each other and with our partners, and demonstrate the Team Reading values in everything we do
Drive Efficiency - show initiative, be adaptable to change and put forward ideas to help improve delivery and efficiency. Take responsibility for our own learning and development and for reaching our potential
Be Ambitious - be demanding of our own performance – striving to be even better – and be prepared to engage with and challenge leaders in a constructive and positive way
Make a Difference to Reading - maintain the highest levels of customer service and be flexible and willing to provide the services needed at the time they are needed

Our offer:
We offer a supportive environment to grow and develop your career with the opportunity to put your ideas across. Innovation and ambition are strongly encouraged.

A competitive salary alongside a range of benefits including:

• Generous holiday entitlement - 25 days holiday each year plus bank holidays - rising to 33 days after 10 years' service, with the option to buy additional leave
• A wide range of flexible working opportunities
• Modern working environment at the Civic Offices in the heart of Reading
• Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
• Life Assurance - three times your annual salary (for members of the LGPS)
• On-site day nursery (Kennet Day nursery) rated outstanding by Ofsted
• Season Ticket Loan - a loan to help with the cost of your rail or bus journey, to and from work
• Lease car salary sacrifice scheme allowing you to lease a brand new, greener car for three years. The monthly fee includes insurance, servicing and road tax

For more information on this position, please contact recruitment@reading.gov.uk or for an informal chat about this role, please contact Eleanor Gibson, the Team Leader for Child Care, eleanor.gibson@reading.gov.uk

Closing Date: Sunday 7th September 2025
Interview Date: To be confirmed
Interview Setup: Question and Answer based – Teams based interview

Please note that the closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and return your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.