Commercial Lawyer - Business

BT Group; Belfast; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

Join BT Group's legal team as a Lawyer supporting Business. In this role, you will provide essential legal services, handling contracts and commercial agreements, ensuring compliance, and mitigating risks to support strategic goals. Your expertise will directly influence how we engage with our customers and manage our obligations.

Benefits

25 days annual leave plus bank holidays

10% on-target performance bonus

Life Assurance

Pension scheme with BT contributions

Healthcare and dental benefits

Gym memberships

Discounts on BT and EE services

Qualifications

• 2+ years PQE in commercial law.
• Experience in Telecoms & Technology sectors preferred.
• Ability to balance legal risks and commercial opportunities.

Responsibilities

• Manage approximately 10 live matters including bids and renewals.
• Provide clear legal guidance on contracts and compliance.
• Act as lead lawyer on complex transactions with Private Sector customers.

Skills

Commercial Law

Negotiation

Communication

Analytical Skills

Problem-solving

Education

Qualified Lawyer (2+ years PQE)

Job description

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Function: Legal and Governance

Location:

Riverside Tower, Belfast (N.I), United Kingdom

Location - Belfast, Bristol or London Hybrid Working (3 days onsite per week)

12 Month FTC

We keep over 1 million business customers connected in 180 countries. We run the fixed and mobile networks that cover 99% of the UK’s non-residential premises, underpin critical national infrastructure and public services and enable trade. We support more than three million more end-users through our UK wholesale operations. Our customers range from big household names, government departments and public service organisations right through to small businesses and new start-ups.

This is an exciting opportunity to join the legal team as a Lawyer supporting Business. In this role, you are expected to provide a first-class legal, commercial and contractual service to BT’s Sales & Commercial division within Business to help develop market-leading products and services, negotiate the contracts that facilitate the sale of these products and services in order to generate revenue for Business, and respond appropriately to issues that may arise during the life of these contracts, with the ultimate aim of helping Business meet its strategic goals.

You will work with product development teams to ensure Business has suitable contracts with suppliers who underpin the products and services being sold by Business and standard customer-facing terms that encourage customers to buy these products and services with little or no negotiation.

You will have an expert understanding of the approach taken to balancing contractual risk with the overall reward on offer from a customer contract. In doing so, you will need to demonstrate a clear understanding of the link between commercial drivers of a transaction and the contractual terms.

You will be a key member of a bid team for transactions that you work on and interact directly with the customer on the work streams that you are responsible for, including negotiating directly with the customer’s legal representatives.

You will also step in to help with complicated issues that arise during the life of Business’ customer contracts, including helping with updates to reflect changes in the legal/regulatory landscape or providing input to help settle disputes before they become litigious.

What you’ll be doing

You will be managing approximately 10 live matters at any given time, which could include customer bids, renewals, in-life advice, and varying finance. Typically, this will involve 1-2 large projects and 6-8 smaller projects.

Our team currently comprises 7 members. The focus of this role will be as a broad commercial lawyer covering negotiations of new bids, resignings, amendments, disputes, pre-litigation, and additional project work.

• Act as the lead lawyer on legally complex and high-value transactions with Business’ Private Sector customer base in the UK.
• Provide clear and pragmatic legal guidance that helps Business understand and mitigate legal risks while maximizing opportunities.
• Work with Business stakeholders on legal matters including disputes, projects, bids, new initiatives, legal interpretation, and legislative changes.
• Develop and ensure compliance with BT’s legal and compliance policies and strategies, including standard contracts for Business’ products and services.
• Serve as a point of contact for stakeholders within your relevant business unit, resolving issues or escalations as needed.
• Manage relationships with external legal providers, including engaging support and providing guidance.
• Build and maintain relationships with senior stakeholders, advising on legal constraints and supporting strategic objectives.
• Participate in strategic transformational projects across Business and Legal & Co Sec.
• Ensure all activities follow governance and compliance policies, including customer sales and product launches.
• Identify regulatory, governance, and compliance issues and escalate appropriately.
• Provide briefings and escalate issues within reporting lines and to stakeholders.
• Support legal work conducted by external legal process providers.
• Contribute to Legal & Co Sec strategy, goals, and initiatives.
• Ensure business activities comply with BT’s regulations, competition law, and policies, engaging specialists when necessary.
• Promote risk management, legal and commercial awareness, and collaborate across teams.
• Develop effective relationships to understand business strategies and goals.

Skills and Experiences

PQE: Qualified Lawyer (2+ years PQE) or proven relevant experience. Experience in construction, manufacturing, or utilities sectors is advantageous but not essential.

• Experience as a commercial lawyer in the private sector across multiple industries.
• Proven ability to work in fast-paced environments on various commercial contracts, especially in Telecoms & Technology sectors.
• Self-motivated, capable of working independently and as part of a team.
• Strong communication skills, able to articulate complex issues simply and make balanced recommendations.
• Preference for candidates from in-house or consultancy backgrounds rather than traditional law firms.
• Passionate about testing the status quo and developing alternatives.
• Good analytical skills and business acumen, with attention to detail.
• Pragmatic and solution-oriented approach.

There will be a 2-stage interview process for this role.

• 25 days annual leave (plus bank holidays)
• 10% on-target performance bonus
• Life Assurance
• Pension scheme with BT contributions
• Additional benefits including healthcare, dental, gym memberships, and discounts on BT and EE services.

Our values:

Leading inclusively and Safely: Building trust through honesty and integrity.

Owning outcomes: Making decisions that benefit the organization.

Delivering for the customer: Executing priorities that add value.

Commercially savvy: Demonstrating strong commercial focus and external perspective.

Growth mindset: Embracing opportunities for personal and organizational growth.

Building for the future: Developing diverse, future-ready teams.

BT is committed to diversity and inclusion, fostering innovation, and making a positive societal impact. We welcome applications from diverse backgrounds, including flexible working arrangements, and offer reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process.