Head of Legal - Construction

EP UK Investments Ltd; City Of London; On-site; GBP 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading construction legal firm based in London is seeking a Head of Legal - Construction to guide the legal aspects of energy and infrastructure projects. The role involves managing contracts, advising on legal and commercial risks, and coordinating with internal and external stakeholders. Candidates should have significant post-qualification experience and a law degree, along with knowledge in the energy sector. Excellent communication and negotiation skills are essential for success in this pivotal role.

Qualifications

• Significant post-qualification experience is essential.
• Experience in infrastructure or energy sectors is desirable.
• English law qualification or completed SQE is required.

Responsibilities

• Lead drafting and negotiation of a wide range of contracts.
• Identify and manage legal risks and appropriate mitigations.
• Advise stakeholders on risk exposure and dispute resolution strategies.
• Manage external counsel for legal advice on projects.
• Carry out legal research as needed.

Skills

Post-qualification experience

FIDIC and MF/1 contracts knowledge

Dispute management

In-house experience

Energy and infrastructure sector knowledge

Procurement and vendor management

Contract negotiation

Education

Bachelor's degree in law

Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL)

Job description

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Head of Legal - Construction

Application Deadline: 31 December 2025

Department: Legal

Employment Type: Permanent - Full Time

Location: EPUKI London Office

Reporting To: Head of Legal - Operations

Description

An opportunity has arisen to recruit a Head of Legal - Construction with experience of advising on non-contentious and contentious construction and procurement matters for energy & infrastructure projects to join EPUKI's growing Legal team.

EPUKI's legal team works closely with our commercial, technical and finance teams to provide high quality, business focused advice and support. We play an active part in commercial decision making and risk management alongside our commercial teams. This role will focus on supporting the legal team in all activities related to the development and commercial management of our power projects. This will involve working closely with the procurement and construction teams and external stakeholders.

The role will be based in our London office with the requirement for occasional travel to meetings in the UK and Ireland.

Key Responsibilities

Reporting to the Head of Legal - Operations, the successful candidate will have responsibility for, but not limited to:

• Managing and leading the drafting, preparation, negotiation and execution of a wide range of construction, procurement and commercial contracts.
• Identifying and managing legal, commercial and contractual risks and ensure appropriate mitigations are in place.
• Developing and maintaining policies around contract approvals, template management and document retention.
• Providing clear, pragmatic and commercially focused legal advice to multi-disciplinary teams across EPUKI's business units with new build projects and development opportunities.
• Advising internal stakeholders on risk exposure and dispute resolution strategies.
• Managing and co-ordinating contractual disputes, litigation and arbitration matters, including pre-action strategy and formal proceedings.
• Developing and supporting internal governance and approval processes, including coordinating with compliance, risk, finance and other internal stakeholders as appropriate.
• Instructing and managing various external counsel to obtain, challenge and finalise legal advice, opinions and drafting on various projects and agreements.
• Tracking and coding external legal spend ensuring alignment with budget expectations.
• Carrying out factual and legal research as required.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

Background

• Significant post-qualification experience or proven post-qualification experience (essential).
• Experience of advising on and drafting FIDIC and MF/1 contracts (desirable).
• Experience of advising on and managing disputes within the infrastructure or energy sectors (desirable),
• Experience working in house (desirable).
• Experience within the energy or infrastructure sectors (desirable).
• Experience in procurement, vendor management, supplier relationship management or contract management (desirable).
• Experience drafting and negotiating key construction contracts (desirable).

Behaviours

• Demonstrates the ability to effectively coordinate, prioritise and manage a diverse workload within a dynamic, fast-paced environment, applying strong integrity, sound judgement and a pragmatic approach to both decision making and problem solving.
• Proactive in showing initiative and applying critical thinking to complex situations.
• Skilled in identifying potential risks and contributing to the development and implementation of dispute resolution strategies.
• Maintains a high level of professionalism and consistently delivers work of exceptional quality, with strong attention to detail.
• Possesses excellent interpersonal skills and communicates confidently with both internal and external stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in law from an accredited university or college; or equivalent degree in another subject and a Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) from a recognised university or college.
• English law qualified or foreign qualification with English law SQE completed or close to completion.