Managing Associate (Housebuilding)

Ward Hadaway; Birmingham; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

25 days annual leave

Enhanced pension

Life assurance

Health & wellbeing benefits

Flexible benefits

Job summary

Ward Hadaway is seeking an experienced Managing Associate to join the housebuilding team within the Housing Department. Based in Birmingham, Leeds, Newcastle or Manchester, you will lead high‑value residential development transactions and manage a team across offices.

You will develop client relationships, drive business development and deliver commercial legal advice from land acquisition through to plot sales, mentoring junior talent along the way.

Qualifications

• Ideally a minimum of 6 years PQE in housebuilder site acquisition and development work.
• Proven ability to lead complex residential development transactions.
• Strong client relationship and business development skills.
• Experience mentoring junior lawyers and supervising practice teams.
• Excellent organisational accuracy and professional judgment.

Responsibilities

• Lead on a broad range of residential development transactions, including site acquisitions, assembly and disposals for national, regional and SME housebuilders.
• Draft and negotiate development documentation (Contracts, Options, Leases, Transfers, Overage reports).
• Support delivery from land acquisition through plot sales with cross‑practice collaboration.
• Mentor and supervise junior lawyers and paralegals to support growth.
• Build and maintain strong client relationships and identify growth opportunities.
• Contribute to business development and cross-office collaboration within the housing sector.

Skills

Housebuilding experience

Project leadership

Client relationship mgmt

Business development

Mentoring junior lawyers

Team collaboration

Job description

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced Managing Associate to join the thriving and ambitious housebuilding team, within the broader Housing Department, at the forefront of the residential development sector. The role can be based from any of the following locations: Birmingham, Leeds, Newcastle or Manchester.

As Managing Associate, you will work collaboratively across our offices, supporting the expansion of our housebuilder client offering and advising on high-value site acquisitions, strategic land assembly, disposals, and a variety of complex development projects. This is an excellent opportunity for an ambitious and client-focused individual to join a collaborative, forward-thinking and highly regarded team, taking on a visible role with significant client contact and business development opportunities.

Working within a well-established and growing practice, you will play a key role in delivering exceptional service to our housebuilder clients while contributing to the strategic development of the team, nurturing junior talent, and further strengthening our market leading presence in the residential development sector.

What will I be doing:

• Working with the housebuilding partners and other fee earners within the Housing Department’s housebuilding team on the delivery of new build residential developments, your key responsibilities will include:
• Leading on a broad range of residential development transactions, including site acquisitions, site assembly and disposals for national, regional and SME housebuilders, taking ownership of due diligence and delivering clear, commercial legal advice.
• Drafting and negotiating full suites of development documentation, including Contracts, Options, Building Leases, Promotion Agreements, Transfers, Overage Agreements and detailed Legal Reports.
• Supporting with the successful delivery of residential developments, ensuring a smooth transition from land acquisition through to plot sales by collaborating closely with colleagues across our Estate Set Up, Infrastructure and Plot Sales teams.
• Developing and mentoring our junior legal talent - supervising solicitors, trainee solicitors and paralegals while providing leadership and guidance to support their professional growth and development.
• Building strong client relationships with our housebuilder clients, helping to maintain our reputation for exceptional service while identifying opportunities to grow our client base, market share and service offering.
• Playing an active role in business development - contributing to strategic initiatives which strengthen client partnerships, increase market presence and generate new business.
• Raising the profile of our Built Environment team - working collaboratively across Housing, Real Estate, Planning, Construction and Property Litigation to showcase our expertise in the sector.
• Staying at the forefront of industry developments - keeping up to date with legal and market changes affecting the housing sector and participating in ongoing professional development activities.

You’ll have:

• Ideally a minimum of 6 years PQE in housebuilder site acquisition and development work, be organised, have excellent accuracy and attention to detail and:-
• Be passionate about delivering exceptional client service, building strong relationships and providing commercially focused advice.
• Be commercially aware, analytical and solutions-focused, with the ability to exercise sound judgement and to think strategically.
• Be highly organised and adaptable, able to manage competing priorities, work to demanding deadlines and maintain excellent attention to detail.
• Be a confident communicator and relationship builder, comfortable in engaging with clients, colleagues and stakeholders both on and off site.
• Be motivated to develop leadership skills, with an interest in supervising, mentoring and supporting junior team members.
• Be proactive, enthusiastic and efficient, taking ownership of workloads, managing time effectively and driving matters forward with focus.
• Be a collaborative team player, keen to learn from and contribute to multi-disciplinary, cross-office teams.
• Be interested in business development and networking, with a willingness to travel occasionally to meet clients and colleagues and support the growth of our practice.

About us

We're proud to be an independent, full-service law firm providing exceptional legal expertise to businesses, the built environment, healthcare, the public and third sectors, and private individuals. With several office locations around the UK we're one of the UK's Top 100 law firms. When you join us you’ll be part of a team of over 500 passionate and talented individuals who take pride in offering an exciting and supportive environment allowing you to thrive.

We're passionate about promoting wellbeing and equality, diversity and inclusion, with dedicated committees to support ongoing efforts. We recognise that a healthy and thriving Firm filled with individuality and differences strengthen our teams, our clients and our communities.

What we can offer you

We’re committed to being a firm focused on support, development, wellbeing and inclusion and we’re always striving to improve. Our commitment to this has been recognised by our achievement of our Gold Investors in People award and by our Hive HR Employee Voice certification.

We reward our people with a whole range of benefits, some core and some flexible, designed to shape a reward package that’s right for you – now and in the future. Our core benefits include:

• An enhanced pension scheme with employer matched contributions of up to 6%.
• 25 days annual leave + bank holidays (increasing to 28 days with length of service). There is also the option to purchase up to 5 additional days.
• Life assurance cover of 4 times basic salary, with the option to purchase additional cover.
• A range of health and wellbeing benefits.
• Hybrid working with a minimum requirement of 2 days per week working from one of our office locations.
• We also have a flexible benefits programme where you can purchase a wide range of additional benefits.