Residential Development Senior Associate in Leeds

Gateley; Greater London; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Gateley is seeking a Senior Associate in residential development law to join its expanding team in London. The role offers mentorship from John Kiff and exposure to high-volume housebuilder work across acquisitions, promotions and disposals, with opportunities to supervise junior solicitors.

Candidates with 4–6+ years PQE and a solid track record in commercial Real Estate are encouraged to apply. The team supports career progression and a collaborative, client‑facing environment.

Qualifications

• 6+ years' PQE preferred, 4+ PQE considered
• Mentoring opportunity with John Kiff, Partner
• Supervise 0-3 PQE Solicitors and Trainee Solicitor
• Experience with housebuilder clients and related documentation

Responsibilities

• Draft and negotiate land acquisition deals, option agreements, promotion agreements, and ancillary docs (transfers, overage deeds, funding agreements)
• Act for property developers on brownfield regeneration schemes, including JVs with RPs/public bodies
• Assist with large-scale disposals of affordable housing to RPs and bulk sales to PRS/BTR providers
• Supervise junior solicitors and support staff
• Organise and attend client training and business development events

Skills

PQE experience

Residential development

Team supervision

Job description

About The Opportunity

About The OpportunityThe roleWe are looking to ideally appoint a Senior Associate with 6 years' PQE or more.

The full job description covers all associated skills, previous experience, and any qualifications that applicants are expected to have.

However, we will consider Associates from 4 years' PQE.

This is a rare opportunity to be mentored and work alongside John Kiff, Partner.You will have the opportunity to:

• Act for our unrivalled range of national and regional housebuilder clients drafting and negotiating immediate land acquisition deals, strategic option agreements and promotion agreements together with a range of ancillary documentation such as transfers, overage deeds, funding agreements, etc.
• Act for property developers on brownfield regeneration schemes including JVs with RPs and /or public sector bodies.
• Act for our housebuilder clients on large scale disposals of affordable housing to RPs and the bulk sale of units to PRS and BTR providers.
• Supervise 0-3 PQE Solicitors and a Trainee Solicitor and be part of a large team of specialist housebuilder lawyer who provide excellent support and supervision
• Organise and attend a range of client training and business development events

We are the leading residential development and urban regeneration legal team in the country acting for 18 of the top 20 UK housebuilders, institutional landowners such as Oxford University and other large-scale sector participants. We advise over the complete life cycle of new build housing from initial heads of terms, acquiring the land, obtaining planning permission, building out the scheme and the sale of the new homes.

Schemes range from local developments of 50 new homes up to 20,000 unit green field urban extensions and multi-billion pound urban regeneration schemes in central London.

We also advise our PLC clients at Group level on national issues such as cladding remediation post-Grenfell and Competition and Markets Authority investigations.

The team, which is over 240 strong and is based in 8 of our offices across England, operates within Gateley Plc's Property Platform.

This Platform comprises over 700 lawyers, surveyors, engineers, architects, accountants and support staff who provide a unique cross-disciplinary service delivery to out wider property client base. Part of the team's is the sale of the new homes once built.

These sales, which total approximately 15,000 plots and 3 billion in revenue each year, are handled by the Plot Sales team out of three regional hubs using highly developed IT processes and automation.

The personPersonality fit is critical for this role and our successful candidate will be personable, self-motivated and a confident individual.

The successful candidate will have a genuine desire to work within the residential development area, have spent the early years of their career learning their craft, and are now keen to develop their skills further in a large, growing team.

With high levels of motivation and commitment to giving clients excellent service, they will be commercially aware, proactive and able to work alone and as part of a team.

There will be daily interaction with colleagues and clients at every level.

Candidates will be able to demonstrate the following attributes:

• Ambition to build and grow a network of clients within professional services.
• A strong team work ethic and the ability to work effectively under pressure.
• Drive commitment, self-motivation and a "can do" attitude
• The ability to exercise discretion and professionalism at all times.
• Exceptional attention to detail.
• Residential experience is helpful, but not essential for a candidate with a solid background in commercial Real Estate.

We have a strong infrastructure to deliver and provide a comprehensive training programme encompassing technical legal, transaction management and soft skills throughout the careers of our lawyers.

About YouAbout UsThe benefits

With support, coaching and feedback from some of the most engaging colleagues around our great development and progression opportunities will reward your commitment and loyalty.

We offer a competitive remuneration package where you'll be rewarded for your individual performance with an opportunity to receive an annual bonus.

In addition, we have a wide range of learning and development opportunities via our Learn platform to develop new skills and progress your career.

Our My Flex comprehensive rewards package includes options covering annual leave (and the benefit of purchasing extra days), cycle to work, critical illness benefit, employee