Legal Counsel - Commercial

Department: Governance and Legal Services

Operation: Sanctuary Group

Closing Date: 29/04/2024

Requisition: 224389

Sanctuary is one of the UK’s leading providers of housing, care and community services. With around 13,000 employees, we maintain a culture where diversity is valued and talent is nurtured and rewarded.

Legal Counsel - Commercial

Worcester based with a balance of home and office working

£54,197 - £57,050 per year

35 hours per week (Flexible working arrangements including part time hours and job shares will be considered)

Reporting into the Group Head of Legal Services, this role provides an excellent opportunity for a Solicitor with a solid commercial background ranging from acquisition and mergers to complex contract reviews to lead the delivery of high quality legal services to Sanctuary Housing Association and its subsidiaries and operations. You will be accountable for providing high quality expert legal advice and support across the Group in relation to commercial, corporate and contracts law matters.

The role of Legal Counsel - Commercial will include:

• Overseeing an in-house legal team responsible for the Group’s legal work, ensuring that statutory deadlines and internal targets are met.
• Managing a caseload of legal work including contract reviews, drafting and negotiation of commercial agreements and advising on standard terms and conditions.
• Acting in an advisory capacity to the Data Protection Officer and the Group on data protection legislation and on all data protection matters.
• Being the first port of call for other commercial issues, such as intellectual property and commercial litigation.
• Assisting in managing the Group’s external legal providers including managing instructions to external legal providers on commercial matters, legal spend and invoice analysis.
• Ensuring that legal services are delivered in a cost effective and efficient way.
• Assisting in the supervision and training of junior team members, including trainee solicitors.

Skills and experience

• Educated to Degree level (or equivalent), you will be a Qualified Solicitor with proven post-qualifying experience gained in a commercial in-house environment.
• Comprehensive knowledge of commercial contracts and data protection law.
• Experienced in advising senior managers and staff on legal issues.
• Knowledge of public procurement would be advantageous.
• Proven ability to build strong relationships and influence stakeholders both internally and externally.
• Experience in managing and supervising junior team members and trainees.

Why work for us?

One of the UK’s leading providers of housing, care and commercial services, Sanctuary employs more than 14,000 people and manages over 116,000 units of accommodation throughout England and Scotland, including general rented, retirement living, supported housing, student and key worker accommodation and care homes. Sanctuary also provides a range of other services including maintenance, care and telecare, all of which are delivered by our dedicated employees who are completely committed to customer service.

As part of our commitment to making Sanctuary a great place to work, where your wellbeing is of genuine importance, we have developed an attractive employment package. The package recognises your contribution, supports your physical, mental and financial health and gives you the flexibility to tailor your employee benefits by offering:

• 25 days annual leave (rising to a maximum of 30 days) plus public holidays.
• A pension scheme with matching employer contributions from Sanctuary up to set limits.
• Life Assurance.
• Employee Advice Service including counselling.
• Cycle to Work scheme.
• Voluntary health plans.
• Wellbeing support and tools.
• Employee platform to access your reward and wellbeing package online, find exclusive discounts, wellbeing resources and recognition tools.
• Employee Networks, with a shared interest in inclusion, and who provide invaluable support to colleagues.
• £54,197 per annum (rising to £57,050 per annum after 12 months, subject to satisfactory performance).

If you're unsure about any details, have questions about the role or want to discuss a need for adjustments, our fantastic talent team will be happy to help you - corporate.recruitment@sanctuary.co.uk

We reserve the right depending on application numbers to close or extend the closing dates for positions; we would therefore recommend an early application.

Inclusion is one of our core values. Our goal is to be a diverse, inclusive organisation where our people thrive and meet our customers’ needs with fairness and empathy. We know having a range of ideas and opinions makes a difference. We encourage and welcome applications from people from diverse backgrounds to support this mission. We will make adjustments throughout your application process, in line with Sanctuary’s commitment to our Disability Confident employer status.

Building Equality and Diversity

Sanctuary Group encourages and welcomes applications from people from diverse backgrounds to support our commitment to offering an inclusive environment for our employees and customers.
We work closely with the Home Office in order to prevent unlawful working.
Sanctuary Group is a trading name of Sanctuary Housing Association, an exempt charity.