Commercial Lawyer | Preston

Lancashire County Council; Preston; Hybrid; GBP 48,000 - 53,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous benefits package

Job summary

Lancashire County Council is recruiting for a role within the Legal (Commercial & Procurement) team to provide commercial legal advice across a range of high-value matters. The post involves drafting contracts, advising on tenders, and negotiating with third parties to support council services and strategic projects.

The successful candidate will be admitted as a Solicitor, Barrister, or Chartered Legal Executive, with a strong commercial background and knowledge of procurement legislation.

Qualifications

• Admitted as a Solicitor, or a practising Barrister, or a Chartered Legal Executive.
• Desirable background: demonstrated commercial experience with local authority procurement and contracts.

Responsibilities

• Draft and amend contracts and procurement documents.
• Negotiate with third parties on behalf of the council.
• Advise on tenders and procurement issues.
• Collaborate with public/private partners on high-value projects.
• Provide guidance on the council's constitution and procurement legislation.

Skills

Commercial law

Education

Solicitor/Barrister/Chartered Legal Executive admitted

Job description

Salary and Contract

Salary 47,665

53,051 per annum| Permanent | 37 hours per week | Commercial & Procurement Team

Location

County Hall, Preston. Employees work on a hybrid basis. The post is based at County Hall, Preston, but employees have the ability and opportunity to work from home.

About Lancashire

Lancashire is the fourth largest local authority in England and spans twelve districts that cover a huge geographic area and a range of communities, both urban and rural. We deliver a wide range of services to the 1.2 million people who live here.

Role Overview

The Lancashire's Legal (Commercial & Procurement) team supports the delivery of those services through the provision of solutions-focused commercial legal advice, on a diverse range of high value and complex matters. The work includes drafting and amending contracts and other legal and procurement documents, negotiating with third parties, collaborating with other public and private sector partners and advising on tenders. We advise on a broad range of projects including Redefining Lancashire economic development work, highways, infrastructure, insourcing and outsourcing of council functions and the council's commercialisation agenda. The role involves advising on the application of the council's constitution, relevant procurement legislation, subsidy control, grant funding and a variety of other commercial matters, with the opportunity to work on high value and strategic projects.

Qualifications and Requirements

All successful applicants will need to have been admitted as a Solicitor, be a practicing Barrister or a Chartered Legal Executive.

Desirable requirements: Demonstrable commercial background, with credit given for the breadth and depth of experience that a candidate can demonstrate. Experience of local authority legal work with an appreciation of the requirements of adhering to our constitution and the relevant procurement legislation. We will consider lawyers with commercial experience from any setting as well as newly qualified lawyers who can demonstrate a strong work ethic and professional attitude.

Benefits

The successful candidate will have access to a generous benefits package, set out in more detail here - and at

Additional Information

We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications.

Local Government Reorganisation: The Government has confirmed that local government across Lancashire will be reorganised, with the current 15 councils being replaced by four new unitary councils covering North, South, East and West Lancashire from April 2028. If you are successful in your application, you will initially join Lancashire County Council. As part of the planned transition, your employment will transfer to one of the new unitary councils from April 2028, subject to the implementation of the reorganisation and relevant employment legislation. Throughout this period, our focus remains on delivering excellent services to our communities.

Closing Date

11/10/2026

Contact

For an informal discussion, please contact Ross Hudson on ( / email