Lawyer

The National Trust; Swindon; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 62,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Substantial pension up to 10%

Free entry to NT places for you and a

Rental deposit loan

Season ticket loan

EV car lease (salary criteria)

Perks at work discounts

Holiday entitlement up to 32 days

Flexible working

Employee assistance programme

Free parking

Job summary

The National Trust is seeking an experienced Commercial Lawyer to support its Legal team in Swindon. You will provide clear, high-quality legal advice to internal clients across a broad portfolio, shaping strategy and decision-making on commercial matters, including contracts and intellectual property.

This is a busy, high-profile role within a charitable organisation. Based in Swindon with office attendance twice a week, the role offers a substantial pension and a range of employee perks.

Qualifications

• Significant post-qualification experience in commercial law.
• Ability to advise across a wide range of contracts and agreements.

Responsibilities

• Provide high-quality legal advice to internal clients (retail, F&B, procurement, IT, curatorial, partnerships, fundraising).
• Handle high-value or strategically significant matters, including filming contracts and collections agreements.
• Risk assessment and practical, solution-focused guidance across a diverse caseload.

Skills

Commercial awareness

Contract & IP law

Data protection knowledge

Regulatory issues (health & safety, TU

Education

Qualified lawyer (Solicitor/Barrister/CILEX)

Job description

Lawyer

Ref: IRC179269

£61,500 pa

Permanent f/t (37.5 hrs pw)

Swindon

We’re seeking an experienced Commercial Lawyer with good commercial awareness to join our Legal team, supporting the Trust’s strategic ambitions and working closely with a range of internal clients (e.g. retail, food and beverage, procurement, IT, curatorial, operational, corporate partnerships, fundraising and of course operational staff involved in managing our visitor attraction business).

Please note the advertised salary is inclusive of a £6,500 reviewable market supplement. Your base salary will be £55,000 and you will receive the market supplement as an allowance on top.

What it's like to work here

Working as part of an in-house team for a charity provides a unique and interesting caseload, a real sense of contributing to a cause you believe in and job satisfaction. It’s a team full of expertise with a strong culture of collaboration, supporting each other and sharing knowledge. We recognise the value that comes with supporting each other and building trusted and positive relationships.

Your contractual location will be our head office in Swindon. Therewill be an expectation for you to attend thisofficetwice a week. However, there is flexibility on where you are based at other times. This will be discussed inmore detail at interview.

What you'll be doing

You’ll support a portfolio of client groups including retail, food and beverage, collections and corporate partnerships, providing clear, high‑quality legal advice to stakeholders and helping to shape strategy and decision‑making across a wide range of issues. You’ll pick up a range of contracts, principally focused on high value or strategically significant matters but this can include filming contracts and collections agreements. You’ll also deal with heritage specific matters involving charity law and reputational implications and multi-party projects backed by external funders through to some regulatory and dispute resolution matters.

You’ll help clients assess risk and opportunity and deliver practical, solutions‑focused advice across a diverse caseload and will need to tailor your advice to suit the varied experience and knowledge of the people you are supporting. You’ll be comfortable prioritising and managing your busy workload effectively, recognising when and how to adapt your approach appropriately and proportionately.

You can view the full role profile for this role in the document attached. Whilst being a qualified commercial lawyer is essential, you don't need to have all of the other knowledge, skills and experience listed in the role profile; this is just to provide a full picture of what’s possible in this role.

Who we’re looking for

• A qualified lawyer (Solicitor, Barrister or Fellow of CILEX with Practitioner Rights) with significant post qualification experience in commercial law and a solid understanding of contract and intellectual property law.


• Knowledge and experience of data protection and common regulatory issues such as health and safety, TUPE, modern slavery and competition law would be advantageous.


• Curious and motivated, with a willingness to learn new areas of law and practice.


• Able to analyse issues quickly, deliver high‑quality work, and meet (sometimes tight) deadlines.


• A confident communicator, with good interpersonal skills, who builds strong, positive working relationships and can lead clients through unfamiliar legal matters.


• An ability to work collaboratively as well as independently.


• Organised and efficient, you are comfortable managing your own workload to ensure matters are prioritised appropriately.


• Enthusiasm for working within the charitable sector and supporting the Trust’s work is just as important as your experience or background.

The package

• Substantial pension scheme of up to 10% basic salary


• Free entry to National Trust places for you, a guest and your children (under 18)


• Rental deposit loan scheme


• Season ticket loan


• EV car lease scheme (for roles that meet the salary criteria)


• Perks at work discounts such as gym memberships, shopping discount codes, cinema discounts


• Holiday allowance up to 32 days relating to length of service, plus holiday purchase scheme, subject to meeting minimum criteria.


• Flexible working whenever possible


• Employee assistance programme


• Free parking at most Trust places

Closing Date: 20 September 2026

Interview Date: 01 October 2026

Equal Opportunities Statement

The National Trust celebrates diversity and is committed to creating a fair and equal society, free from discrimination. You can read more about our commitment to inclusion and diversity.

Safeguarding Statement

The National Trust is committed to a safe recruitment processes to help the organisation attract and appoint the right staff/volunteer for the role and responsibilities as set out in the vacancy advert. We will not accept applicants who are not suitable to work with children, young people or adults at risk. If you have any questions around your suitability for this vacancy, please contact the people service centre.