Senior Commercial Lawyer - Leeds

Government Legal Department.; Leeds; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

The Government Legal Department seeks a Grade 6 Senior Commercial Lawyer to provide leadership and strategic direction for commercial legal services to central government departments and public bodies. You will lead, manage and develop lawyers within your team, delivering high-quality advice under tight deadlines.

You will be an experienced commercial or public procurement lawyer, comfortable leading senior stakeholders and advising on a range of complex projects at pace, maintaining sound

Qualifications

• Excellent powers of analysis of legal commercial problems and sound commercial judgement.
• Ability to lead and develop a mini-team, setting strategy and direction.
• Strong professional leadership to gain confidence of senior clients and ministers.

Responsibilities

• Provide direction to teams and support Deputy Directors in delivery of commercial legal services.
• Lead, manage and develop lawyers within your team.
• Develop strategies and deliver high-quality legal advice on complex projects.
• Work with central government departments, executive agencies and Arm's Length Bodies.
• Provide legally sound, risk-based advice and maintain timely, fit-for-purpose outputs.

Skills

Commercial law

Contract drafting

Public procurement

Strategic thinking

Team leadership

Client relation

Education

2:1 honours degree (any subject)

Job description

The Role

Grade 6 Senior Commercial Lawyers play a key leadership role, providing direction to teams and supporting Deputy Directors in the delivery of commercial legal services to central government departments, executive agencies and Arm's Length Bodies.

If successful, you will be expected to operate as a highly experienced, independent and practical commercial lawyer, with the technical knowledge and gravitas to gain the confidence of senior clients, ministers, stakeholders and colleagues. You will lead, manage and develop other lawyers within your team and provide strong professional leadership, helping to build capability across the organisation in line with corporate objectives.

You will develop strategies and be responsible for delivering high-quality legal advice on a range of complex and challenging projects, often to demanding deadlines. You will need to be comfortable working at pace and exercising sound judgement in relation to matters of national importance, drawing on strong legal and strategic analysis, pragmatism and pro-activity.

The Work

Commercial lawyers in CLG provide advice across a broad range of commercial legal matters, which may include:

• commercial contracts
• public procurement
• public law aspects of commercial work/commercial decision making
• information technology
• intellectual property
• information law (including GDPR) where it arises in a contractual/commercial context
• construction
• grants and Subsidies Control

Commercial lawyers also work closely with colleagues across GLD and, where appropriate, external law firms and counsel, providing commercial legal advice to support government departments with their commercial activities.

Key requirements of the role

• Good commercial and contract law experience (including contract drafting) AND/OR good public procurement experience is essential
• excellent powers of analysis of legal commercial problems together with a sound commercial legal judgement
• an ability to lead and develop a mini-team, setting strategy and direction
• an ability to support Deputy Directors and contribute to wider senior leadership of CLG
• an ability to negotiate effectively
• the ability to think strategically and creatively, see legal issues in their wider context and advise accordingly
• sound analysis, using secure legal research to produce timely and fit for purpose advice
• a constructive approach to solving problems along with reliable legal judgement and the ability to provide legally sound, risk-based advice

Experience

Essential - must be demonstrated at application

You will be an established and experienced commercial OR public procurement lawyer, able to provide professional leadership and operate confidently and independently on complex commercial OR public procurement matters.

You will have a sound understanding of:

• commercial law gained through advising clients across a range of matters, including drafting commercial contracts, advising on contract interpretation and contract management, problem solving and providing strategic commercial advice; and/or
• public procurement law, including advising on regulated procurements in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and/or the Procurement Act 2023.

Technical Legal Skills

Essential - must be demonstrated at application and interview

• Commercial and contract law experience and/or public procurement law experience
• able to draft and advise on commercial documents
• able to analyse legal commercial problems
• a constructive approach to solving problems
• able to provide legally sound, risk-based advice
• sound commercial legal judgement

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Leadership
• Developing Self and Others
• Seeing the Bigger Picture
• Making Effective Decisions
• Managing a Quality Service
• Communicating and Influencing

Qualifications

Applicants should have a minimum of a 2:1 honours degree in their first degree (in any subject). Where an applicant holds an overseas degree qualification this should