Property Counsel

HS2 (High Speed Two) Ltd; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 46,000 - 55,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible benefits fund 20%

Job summary

HS2 Ltd is seeking a Property Counsel to provide comprehensive property advice across a diverse portfolio, focusing on utilities and statutory undertaker work. The role minimises risk, ensures compliance, and delivers timely property requirements with minimal supervision.

You will support HS2 on acquisitions, disposals, leases, licences, and related template documentation, while researching HS2 Act powers and advising on legislation and case law to keep the project compliant and progressing.

Qualifications

• Ability to produce and present complex documents and reports to a variety of audiences
• Ability to prepare complex legal drafting without supervision
• Ability to influence stakeholders at all levels and externally
• Problem-solving skills, including working without established precedent
• Ability to balance and prioritise numerous tasks
• Advanced planning and organisational skills
• Flexible approach with experience of working within a multidisciplinary team on property legal issues

Responsibilities

• Assisting with high quality legal support on all aspects of property law including acquisition and disposal of diverse properties
• Assisting with legal agreements, easements, acquisitions and disposals relating to utilities and statutory undertakers
• Managing own caseload of complex property/compulsory purchase matters
• Researching HS2 Act powers and advising on relevant legislation and case law
• Assisting with HS2 office portfolio matters including leases and telecoms licences
• Assisting the land and property team with commercial matters and confidentiality agreements
• Managing external legal support including cost, budget, and quality control
• Drafting, updating and maintaining standard template documentation for consistency
• Preparing legal advice and briefings for staff and attending governance meetings
• Promoting Equality Diversity and Inclusion in all work

Job description

Job Description

Base salary: £46406 pa to £54595 pa depending on skills and experience. In addition, we offer flexible benefits fund of 20% which is paid on top base salary and is fully pensionable, as well as a range of competitive benefits - check them out in the Benefits section on our website.

HS2 Ltd endeavours to ensure everyone working for us and with us feels included, thrives and achieves their full potential. In practice, this means we are positive and inclusive about making adjustments, providing flexible working, encouraging our staff networks to flourish and providing personal and professional development opportunities.

As the Property Counsel you will provide a full range of property advice to HS2 and key internal stakeholders with a particular focus on utilities and statutory undertaker work, in order to minimise exposure and risk whilst ensuring compliance with legislation and regulations and timely delivery of property requirements and with minimal supervision.

About The Role

• Assisting with the provision of high quality legal support on all aspects of property law in connection with HS2, including the acquisition and disposal of a very diverse range of properties comprising high value commercial, residential & agricultural properties; disposal of properties; granting and taking leasehold interests; landlord and tenant matters; granting licences and easements to utilities and other stakeholders; and related template documentation. In all cases providing advice in such a way so as to ensure that the business is not exposed to undue risk and that consistent standards are adhered to
• Assisting with legal agreements, easements, acquisitions and disposals and legal process relating to utilities, telecoms and other statutory undertakers and similar third parties, protecting HS2’s interests, its ability to discharge its role as nominated undertaker and agent for the Secretary of State and facilitating the construction of the railway and the management and operation of railway infrastructure
• Handling, under appropriate supervision, own case load of a variety of complex property/compulsory purchase matters which in some cases will include drafting and negotiating bespoke agreements
• Assisting with researching and advising on HS2 Act powers and conducting research into relevant legislation, case law and procedures to ensure HS2 remains up to date and compliant and report to colleagues as necessary
• Assisting with HS2 office portfolio related matters, including taking leases of operational office space and associated documents; licences to occupy; telecommunications licences and management of property portfolio
• Assisting the HS2 land and property team with commercial matters, including commercial contracts, costs agreements and confidentiality agreements
• When required, managing the provision of external legal support including responsibility for managing and monitoring cost, assisting with the setting of budget and timescales and managing quality
• Drafting, updating, and maintaining standard form template documentation in order to continuously improve performance, compliance and consistency across the business and effective working practices
• Assisting in the preparation of legal advice and other reports and briefings for staff across HS2, including senior management, to maintain open communication and support decision making and attend internal governance meetings with colleagues and provide advice at such meetings, including to senior members of staff. Updating and maintaining databases relating to property acquisitions to ensure accurate and relevant data is available for audit purposes and to advise and inform decision making
• Actively promoting and embedding Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in all your work, and support and comply with all organisational initiatives, policies and procedures on EDI

Skills

About you:

• Ability to produce and present complex documents and reports to a variety of audiences, including internal stakeholders at various levels in the organisation
• Ability to prepare complex legal drafting without supervision
• Ability to influence stakeholders at all levels of the organisation and externally, and to build effective working relationships
• Problem-solving skills, including working without established precedent or procedure
• Ability to balance and prioritise numerous tasks, while maintaining attention to detail, and to deliver to agreed deadlines
• Advanced planning and organisational skills
• Flexible approach with experience of working within a multidisciplinary team on a wide range of property legal issues

Knowledge

• Qualified solicitor with post-qualification experience in property law
• A working knowledge gained in house or in private practice dealing with government departments, utilities and/or transport undertakers
• A working knowledge of negotiating and completing legal agreements, easements, acquisitions and disposals and legal process relating to utilities, telecoms and other statutory undertakers and similar third parties

Type Of Experience

• Experience of working within a multidisciplinary team with a large and varied caseload on a range of land and property issues
• Experience advising on or in connection with development, construction or infrastructure projects and or utilities
• Experience of advising on a range of property transactions
• Experience of managing the provision of legal services within defined budgets/scopes
• Experience of serving as the main point of contact to clients

The post-holder is expected to behave at all times in a manner consistent with the HS2 values of Safety, Leadership, Integrity and Respect

It is expected that you will actively promote and embed Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in all your work and support and comply with all organisational initiatives, policies and procedures on EDI.

As HS2 Ltd do not hold a sponsorship license from the Home Office, we are not able to provide sponsorship to any applicant

Applicants must already have the Right to Work in the UK at the time of application and our process involves a Right to Work validation prior to the interview stage. Note, there are certain types of time-bound visas that we cannot accept.

Any offers made to applicants will be subject to satisfactory completion of pre-employment checks which include Nationality & Immigration Status, employment references, DBS, Financial and Education checks.

We ask for a variety of detail in your online application, however we perform the first assessment of suitability for a role based solely on the information in your CV. In a further development of our efforts to create a more diverse workforce, your CV will be anonymised and personal information will be removed during the first stage of the application review. This removes bias from the process and makes it even more important that you attach an updated word version of your CV for each new application ensuring you include evidence directly related to the criteria in the job advert.

Watch this video on how we remove bias in the recruitment process: Removing bias in the recruitment process (youtube.com)

Any applications received after the closing date will not be considered.

About Us

High Speed 2 (HS2 Ltd) will be the UK’s new high speed rail network. As well as improving capacity, the new scheme will shorten journey times between a number of Britain’s major population centres, boost the economy and create thousands of jobs.

HS2 Ltd will create a skills legacy and develop a diverse range of talent. We aim to be a leader in EDI practice by creating a safe & inclusive working environment for all our staff - living our values of Safety, Respect, Integrity and Leadership.

In practice, this means we are positive and inclusive about making adjustments, providing flexible working, encouraging our staff networks to flourish and providing personal and professional development opportunities.

HS2 Ltd is also a safety-critical organisation. Employees are required to ensure reasonable care of their own and others’ health and safety by taking personal responsibility for working to our ‘Safe at Heart’ programme principles and following safe working procedures at all times.

HS2 Ltd endeavours to ensure everyone working for us and with us feels included, thrives and achieves their full potential.