Legal Counsel, New Business & Net Zero/Energy

ZipRecruiter; Windsor; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading energy company is seeking a Legal Counsel to join their team in Windsor. The role involves providing commercial legal support, managing stakeholder relationships, and ensuring compliance with energy regulations. The ideal candidate will have substantial experience in contract negotiation and a strong grasp of consumer and commercial law in the UK. This position offers flexible working arrangements with regular office attendance required.

Qualifications

• Demonstrable experience in a legal role.
• Ability to manage diverse stakeholders and prioritise tasks.
• Strong understanding of UK commercial and consumer law.

Responsibilities

• Support various legal aspects of British Gas operations.
• Provide commercial legal support ensuring compliance with regulations.
• Draft and negotiate significant contracts.
• Manage operational and regulatory risks for the business.
• Advise senior stakeholders on business decisions and policies.

Skills

Contract drafting and negotiation

Commercial law understanding

Stakeholder management

Risk management

Consumer law knowledge

Education

Professional qualification as a Lawyer

Job description

Overview

Job Description

We have a brilliant new opportunity for a Legal Counsel, New Business & Net Zero/Energy to join our Legal, Regulatory Affairs, Ethics & Compliance, and Secretariat Function (LRECS). Reporting directly to our Associate General Counsel - New Business and Net Zero/Energy you will have a key role in driving the realisation of Centrica's, the legal function's and especially the Commercial Legal Services team's objectives. Location: We work flexibly in line with our Flexible First working arrangements believing that empowered colleagues are happier and more productive. The successful candidate will, however, need to be comfortable commuting to our Windsor office on at least a weekly basis and to our other locations as may be needed.

Responsibilities

• Support a wide variety of legal work including supporting the customer facing businesses of British Gas, including procurement of goods and services, development of partnerships and collaborative arrangements with third parties, and drafting of energy supply arrangements for businesses.
• Provide broad commercial legal support with a focus on balancing clear, pragmatic commercial advice with ensuring compliance with the laws and regulations governing the supply of energy and services to consumers and businesses.
• Deliver high quality, high impact, high value legal and commercial support across the business with the right balance of risk awareness and pragmatism.
• Support the business in managing operational and regulatory risks, including developing and delivering key policies, training and guidance to better manage legal risk.
• Structure, draft, negotiate and facilitate non-standard contracts of major impact to Centrica.
• Provide advice to senior stakeholders on key business decisions, policy and customer journeys.
• Procure advice and support from the wider Legal, Regulatory, Ethics, Compliance and Company Secretariat (LRECS) team on any other legal or regulatory matters that arise including privacy, IP, dispute resolution, employment or commercial issues and changes to regulation and legislation.
• Keep informed of industry-specific laws and regulations and ensure that appropriate risk management strategies are in place.
• Instruct and manage external lawyers and third parties where appropriate to ensure appropriate and cost-effective advice is provided to the business.
• Develop strong stakeholder relationships and networks within the function and the other business units to support the delivery of objectives and the management of risk.

Who we are looking for

• As a professionally qualified Lawyer, with demonstrable experience, you must be able to consistently exhibit a highly flexible and inquisitive approach to how you and the business deliver services, and in your range of legal work.
• Ability to manage a diverse set of stakeholders, prioritise effectively and deliver high quality commercially savvy work.
• The ideal candidate will have a strong understanding of consumer and commercial law in the UK, an interest in technology law, energy and net zero, and an understanding of energy regulation would be beneficial.
• Key legal skills: experience of drafting contracts and negotiating commercial agreements with a range of complexity; expressing complex concepts in plain and simple language; pragmatic and clear advice focused on delivering solutions; interpretation of and advice on regulatory and compliance requirements, balancing risk and commercial objectives.