Senior Legal Counsel

Mitchells & Butlers - Legal; Birmingham; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual Bonus Scheme

Pension scheme

Private medical scheme

33% discount across brands

20% discounts for family & friends

26 days holiday (+ up to 10 buy)}

Free shares

Employee helpline

Job summary

Mitchells & Butler's Birmingham office seeks a Senior Legal Counsel to own a broad range of commercial matters, delivering practical, business-focused legal input. You’ll act as a trusted adviser across procurement, technology, marketing and brand protection, ensuring risk is managed while enabling commercial opportunities.

The role offers office flexibility and visibility within a leading hospitality group spanning beloved brands.

Qualifications

• Qualification as a solicitor in England and Wales with UK commercial law experience.
• Excellent drafting, negotiation and communication skills.
• Ability to manage a varied workload independently and meet deadlines.
• Sound commercial judgement and pragmatic risk assessment.

Responsibilities

• Draft, review and negotiate commercial contracts and terms across the M&B group.
• Provide clear, practical and commercially focused advice on contractual matters.
• Support procurement exercises, technology projects, marketing initiatives and other business arrangements.
• Assess legal risk in context and provide proportionate, risk-based recommendations.
• Act as a key legal contact for Procurement, Business Change & Technology, Marketing and other business functions.
• Maintain records of advice and support compliance with approvals and policies.

Skills

Commercial contracts

Drafting

Negotiation

Communication

Stakeholder management

Autonomy

Commercial judgement

Education

Solicitor qualification (England & Wales)

Job description

Senior Legal Counsel

About Mitchells & Butlers

At Mitchells & Butlers, we bring people together through great food, drink and hospitality. From family celebrations at Toby Carvery to date nights at Miller & Carter and after-work drinks at All Bar One, our brands are at the heart of communities across the UK.

We're proud to be one of the UK's leading hospitality businesses, home to much-loved brands including Miller & Carter, Toby Carvery, Harvester, Vintage Inns, All Bar One, Ember Inns and Nicholson's.

Behind every memorable guest experience is a team of talented people working together to make it happen. Our Legal Team plays an important role in supporting colleagues across the business, providing clear, pragmatic advice that helps us make confident decisions, manage risk responsibly and continue investing in our future.

The Opportunity

This is an exciting opportunity to join a small, collaborative and highly regarded Legal Team as our Company Solicitor where you'll have real ownership, visibility and influence.

Working closely with stakeholders across the business, you'll become a trusted adviser, helping colleagues navigate legal challenges while enabling commercial opportunities. You'll support a diverse range of projects, with a particular focus on commercial contracts, procurement and technology initiatives, while also contributing across areas such as marketing, brand protection, disputes, privacy, guest matters and regulatory enquiries.

No two days are the same. One day you could be supporting a major technology transformation project, the next advising on a marketing campaign, helping protect one of our well-loved brands or supporting colleagues on a complex business challenge.

Based at our Birmingham City Centre head office location, this Office Flexible role offers the chance to develop your career in an organisation where your expertise will genuinely make a difference.

You’ll be well rewarded:

• Annual Bonus Scheme – we’re all about rewarding the hard work everybody puts in
• Pension scheme and Private medical scheme
• Love eatingout?You'll love it even more with a massive 33% discount across all our brands, so whether its date night at Miller & Carter or family roast at Toby Carvery we’ve got you covered.What’s more, you can also chooseFIVEof your nearest and dearest and sign them up to 20% family and friend’s discount.
• 26 Days holiday, with the option to buy up to an extra 10 days holiday –life is for living after all

On top of all this, we offer high-street shopping discounts; and we even give you free shares! There's also a free employee helpline- to support you with whatever life throws at you.

Company Solicitor - Key Responsibilities

Commercial Contracts and Projects

• Draft, review and negotiate commercial contracts and terms and conditions across the M&B group.
• Provide clear, practical and commercially focused advice on contractual matters.
• Support procurement exercises, technology projects, marketing initiatives and other business arrangements through timely legal input.
• Assess legal risk in context and provide proportionate, risk-based recommendations.

Stakeholder Advice and Risk Management

• Act as a key legal contact for colleagues in Procurement, Business Change & Technology, Marketing and other business functions.
• Build effective relationships and provide responsive, solutions-focused support to colleagues at all levels.
• Take ownership of matters from instruction to conclusion, escalating or seeking specialist input when appropriate.
• Maintain appropriate records of material advice and risk decisions and relevant approvals, and support compliance with internal delegations, approval processes and policies.
• Contribute to Legal Team planning, prioritisation and monitoring of material contractual and legal risks.

Wider Legal Support

• Support the business on commercial disputes, regulatory enquiries and enforcement matters, and legally sensitive or complex guest complaints.
• Identify legal, commercial and reputational risks and advise on practical ways to manage them.
• Support negotiations for filming and content-related arrangements at M&B properties.
• Engage and manage external legal advisers under appropriate terms and budgets, with effective oversight of progress, cost and outcomes.

Data Protection and Privacy

• Provide legal advice on data protection and privacy matters arising within the role.
• Work alongside the Data Protection, Information Security and relevant operational teams to identify and manage privacy risks in projects and day-to-day activities.
• Support, as required, the handling of privacy enquiries, subject access requests, data incidents and marketing compliance matters, without displacing the responsibilities of the relevant operational teams.

Intellectual Property and Brand Protection

• Oversee the M&B group trademark portfolio with the assistance of third-party external trademark specialist legal counsel.
• Advise on intellectual property matters, including brand protection, marketing campaigns, filming agreements and content-related projects.
• Help colleagues protect and use the M&B group's intellectual property appropriately.

Legal Operations and Knowledge

• Maintain and develop precedent contracts, guidance notes and other practical legal resources.
• Improve legal processes and promote consistent, proportionate ways of working across the business.
• Create and deliver training and updates on relevant legal and regulatory developments.
• Share knowledge and support the development of colleagues within the Legal Team through collaboration and informal support, where appropriate.
• Maintain appropriate continuing professional development and comply with applicable professional requirements.

About You

Essential Experience and Skills

• Qualification as a solicitor in England and Wales together with relevant UK commercial law experience.
• Significant commercial contracts experience, typically gained over at least 8-10 years' post-qualification experience in-house and/or in private practice, with the ability to manage matters independently, exercise sound judgement and advise stakeholders confidently.
• Excellent drafting, negotiation and communication skills.
• The ability to manage a varied workload independently, prioritise effectively and deliver to agreed timescales.
• Sound commercial judgement and a pragmatic, proportionate approach to legal risk.
• A proven ability to establish credibility, build effective stakeholder relationships and influence decision-making.
• Confidence advising colleagues at different levels of seniority and explaining legal issues clearly.
• The judgement to work autonomously while recognising when matters should be escalated.

Desirable Experience

• Previous in-house legal function experience.
• Experience of procurement, technology, marketing, intellectual property or privacy matters.
• Experience managing external legal advisers and budgets.
• Experience in hospitality, retail, leisure or another consumer-facing sector.

How you will work

• Commercially minded, approachable and solutions focused.
• Comfortable taking responsibility and operating with a high degree of autonomy.
• Collaborative, adaptable and responsive across a broad range of matters.

What makes Mitchells & Butlers a great place to work

If you're looking for a role where you can combine legal expertise with commercial impact, build meaningful relationships and play a visible role in a market-leading hospitality business, we'd love to hear from you.

At M&B, we value the unique perspectives each person brings. Our culture of inclusion, respect and allyship helps people feel they belong and supports the teamwork behind great guest experiences.

Closing Date – Sunday 1st November 2026 11:59pm

Compensation: Competitive salary