Senior Counsel (Commercial, Corporate & Finland)

Veolia; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

An environmental services company is seeking a Senior Counsel (Commercial, Corporate & Finland) to join their legal team. This role offers substantial autonomy working on complex legal matters across the UK and Finland. You will provide strategic legal guidance, manage a direct report, and support M&A activities, all within a collaborative environment. The ideal candidate is a qualified Solicitor or Barrister with strong negotiation and drafting skills, and has extensive post-qualification experience. This position allows for career progression and leadership opportunities.

Benefits

25 days of annual leave (plus bank holidays)

Car allowance

Generous bonus scheme

Employee Share scheme

Medical and dental cover

Access to company pension scheme

Discounts on groceries and retailers

Access to resources for physical, mental, and financial health

One paid volunteer day per year

Ongoing training and development opportunities

Qualifications

• Qualified Solicitor or Barrister with strong post-qualification experience as in-house counsel.
• Experience in a relevant industry or top-tier law firm with international clients.
• Excellent negotiation and drafting skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide high-quality legal advice on complex legal and compliance matters.
• Draft, review, and negotiate a wide range of contracts.
• Serve as legal business partner for relevant Business Units.

Skills

Qualified Solicitor or Barrister (English law)

Strong negotiation skills

Excellent drafting skills

Ability to manage multiple priorities

Education

Post-qualification experience (PQE)

Job description

Role:

Senior Counsel (Commercial, Corporate & Finland)

Salary:

Competitive plus car/allowance, bonus, medical and dental cover

Hours:

40 hours per week

Location:

Hybrid - London/Home

When you see the world as we do, you see the chance to help the world take better care of its resources and help it become a better place for everyone. It's why we're looking for someone who's just as committed as we are, to push for genuine change and bring to life our ambition of Ecological Transformation.

Here at Veolia we work alongside our communities, look after the environment and contribute to our inclusive culture.

What we can offer you:

• 25 days of annual leave (plus bank holidays)
• Car allowance
• Generous bonus scheme
• Employee Share scheme
• Medical and dental cover
• Access to our company pension scheme
• Discounts on everything from groceries to well-known retailers
• Access to a range of resources to support your physical, mental and financial health; so you can lean on us whenever you need to
• One paid day of leave every year to volunteer and support your community
• Ongoing training and development opportunities, allowing you to reach your full potential

What you will be doing:

We are seeking a Senior Counsel (Commercial, Corporate & Finland) to join our legal team, reporting directly to the Chief Legal Officer for the Northern Europe Zone. This position offers substantial autonomy and the opportunity to handle a diverse caseload of complex, high-value, and challenging legal matters across our Industrial, Water & Energy (IWE) and Commercial Business Units in the UK and our operations in Finland (note that no experience of Finnish law is expected).

As a trusted business partner to the COO/Managing Director and Senior Leadership Team for the relevant Business Units, you will provide strategic legal guidance on projects, disputes, and commercial transactions while playing a key role in shaping our legal strategy.

Remit includes:

• Providing high-quality legal advice on a variety of more complex legal and compliance related matters, as well as drafting, reviewing and negotiating a wide range of contracts, communications with suppliers and customers, authorities and other stakeholders
• Serving as legal business partner for relevant Business Units, providing expert counsel to senior operational teams and their relevant Executive Committee (Exco) members
• Supporting M&A activity in the UK, working closely with the Zone Chief Legal Officer and Veolia Group legal department
• Assessing and communicating risks and issues effectively, applying sound judgment and providing strategic advice
• Building and managing strong working relationships with internal stakeholders (Sales, Operations, Commercial, Finance, HR) and external parties (counsel, customers, partners, contractual counterparties)
• Coaching and supervising one direct report, delegating work effectively and promoting professional development

In this role, you will have substantial autonomy in a more senior legal role, with the opportunity to work on a variety of matters in support of our UK and Finland operations, with direct access to our senior leadership and Exco members.

We offer a collaborative working environment with exposure to diverse legal challenges and the involvement in strategic M&A and commercial projects.

If you are an experienced legal professional seeking a challenging role with significant autonomy and strategic impact, we would like to hear from you.

What we're looking for:

Essential:

You will be a qualified Solicitor or Barrister (English law), with strong and varied post-qualification experience (PQE) as in-house counsel in a relevant industry and/or legal counsel in a top-tier law firm with international clients. The successful candidate will have significant scope for career progression and leadership opportunities.

Excellent negotiation and drafting skills, along with the ability to manage multiple priorities effectively across business areas is also key.

Transactional experience in M&A projects would be advantageous but not essential.

What's next?

Apply today, so we can make a difference for generations to come.

We're proud to have been named as one of The Sunday Times Best Places to Work for three consecutive years in 2023, 2024 and 2025. This consistent recognition reflects our commitment to our people, demonstrating that Veolia is not just transforming the environment, we're also transforming what it means to have a rewarding, purposeful career.

We're dedicated to supporting you throughout your application journey, offering adjustments where reasonable and appropriate. As a proud Disability Confident Employer, we will offer an interview to applicants with a disability or long-term condition who opt-in to the Disability Confident scheme, and meet the minimum criteria for our roles.

We're also committed to ensuring that all applicants and colleagues receive fair treatment without discrimination on any grounds, aiming to create a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive.