Commercial Senior Lawyers

Government Legal Department

£58,700 - £71,000 (Grade 6)

Location: Leeds

Deadline: 23:59hrs on Thursday 4th April 2019

A commercial mindset, a government context

About us

Use your legal expertise to guide some of the nation’s most critical decisions. The Government Legal Department (GLD) is the largest provider of legal services across government, working with all the main Whitehall departments. From roads to rivers, and health to human rights, our work touches on most aspects of public life. Our Commercial Law Group (CLG), consisting of around 150 lawyers, provides a unified expert commercial law service for government departments and public bodies.  We offer lawyers challenging, varied work in a supportive team-oriented environment.

The roles

As a Senior Lawyer you will provide direction to your own small team and lead a range of complex and challenging projects. We currently have at least two opportunities within the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).

For both roles the Senior Lawyer will be required to provide specialist commercially focussed advice across a wide range of legal areas in order to support the delivery of departmental policy objectives.  These areas include:

• public procurement;
• contract drafting, interpretation and management;
• grant agreements;
• state aid;
• IP and branding issues;
• data security; and
• other bespoke commercial arrangements.  

About you

These senior roles would suit experienced commercial lawyers with sound judgement, pragmatism and a pro-active approach.  Qualified to practice as a solicitor or barrister in England and Wales, you’ll have a thorough understanding of public and commercial law, matched by the ability to think strategically and creatively in a commercial context. Strong communication and leadership skills are essential, as you will need to command the confidence of senior clients and ministers. You will also be expected to contribute to knowledge management, training and other opportunities that develop the effectiveness of the wider department and the team.

Benefits

As a Civil Service employee, you’ll be entitled to a large range of benefits, including:

• 25 days of annual leave on entry, increasing to 30 days after 5 years
• Flexible working patterns
• Comprehensive training
• Interest-free season ticket and bicycle loans
• Competitive contributory pension scheme