Legal Counsel

Apto; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Apto is seeking a Legal Counsel to provide strategic legal support across data centre acquisition, leasing, construction, procurement and compliance in a dynamic international environment.

Based in London with a hybrid working model and regular travel to Dublin and other European locations, you will draft templates, negotiate complex contracts (including FIDIC), and advise senior stakeholders while balancing legal risks with business goals.

Qualifications

• 2-4 years PQE in construction and development.
• Strong transactional experience in private practice or in-house.
• Excellent English communication and ability to advise senior stakeholders.
• Commercial, pragmatic with balance of legal risks and business objectives.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic legal support across data centre acquisition, leasing, construction, procurement and compliance.
• Create template forms to support contract negotiations.
• Negotiate and draft risk allocation in leasing, construction and supply-chain agreements (FIDIC and bespoke forms).
• Ensure change management processes are robust and compliant with policies.
• Support contract administration, dispute resolution and claims management.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams for legal compliance and operational efficiency.

Skills

Legal drafting

Contract negotiation

Stakeholder communication

Risk assessment

Multi-jurisdictional practice

Tools

FIDIC contracts

Job description

Join us to help lead the next wave of the digital economy.

Apto is a data centre company that designs, builds, and operates hyperscale data centres for our customers in high growth and emerging markets across Europe. Apto has been formed to develop and operate the European data centre assets of global investment manager, PIMCO, benefiting from access to scale, resources and land sourcing capabilities of one of the largest European real estate platforms. Guided by an esteemed leadership team with insights drawn from the world’s digital and data centre titans, Apto brings over a century of combined experience in designing, constructing and operating data centres at scale.

From Day 1, the leadership team has focused on the type of company we want to build. We measure success by how well we demonstrate our values every day. We nurture an unfaltering passion for excellence, guided by our customers’ needs and expectations. We obsessively take ownership, deliver on our promises, and create lasting positive impressions. We thrive on overcoming any hurdle to give our customers the best possible experience and outcomes. And, we have fun along the way.

Our access to capital and real estate is important but our most valuable asset is our team and we are delighted now to be recruiting for a Legal Counsel.

The role

• Legal Counsel will be a trusted advisor to the Apto team, providing strategic legal support across data centre acquisition, leasing, construction, procurement and compliance matters. This role is pivotal in enabling Apto to shape the future of digital infrastructure in a dynamic, international environment.


• Assist with creating template forms to support acquisition, leasing, and procurement contract negotiations.


• Negotiation, drafting and advising on risk allocation and mitigation strategies across complex leasing, construction and supply-chain agreements (including FIDIC and bespoke forms).


• Working with the Apto team to ensure change management processes and procedures are robust, effective and compliant with Apto policies.


• Supporting on contract administration, dispute resolution and claims management.


• Collaborating with cross-functional teams to ensure legal compliance and operational efficiency.

Basic Qualifications

• 2-4 years’ PQE in construction and development


• Strong transactional experience (private practice or in-house)


• Excellent communication skills in English and confidence advising senior stakeholders


• Commercial, pragmatic approach with strong ability to balance legal risks and business objectives.


• Ability to manage a high volume of varied work in a fast-paced environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working with complex construction and supply-chain contracts (FIDIC preferred).


• Previous in-house experience in the data centre, digital infrastructure, or mission-critical facilities sector


• Experience working across multiple jurisdictions (with a focus on European jurisdictions)


• Exposure to colocation and hyperscale leasing agreements


• Exposure to real estate and corporate acquisition transactions

Location

London. Hybrid working model, combined with regular travel to Dublin and other European locations as required. We are flexible on where you work but we would like to see you in person for meetings that matter.

Reporting

Hannah Kramer - Chief Legal Officer (CLO)

Apto is an equal opportunities employer