Commercial Lawyer – MI6

Salary: £69,095 - £88,358

Location: London

We are MI6, also known as SIS. We work with the UK’s foreign partners to stop threats such as international terrorism and the spread of weapons. Working secretly around the world, we gather intelligence to promote and protect the UK’s interests. As a Commercial Lawyer, you’ll support our operations by ensuring we work within the law – and build a truly rewarding career at the heart of national security.

With your knowledge of commercial and corporate law, you’ll provide reliable, accurate guidance across a range of legal matters. From intellectual property rights and company law to commercial transactions and data protection, you’ll demonstrate sound legal judgement and translate detailed terminology in a clear, consistent manner. You’ll be someone who enjoys working in a team, with strong client care skills and the ability to build effective working relationships.

All lawyers at MI6 contribute to the training of our operational teams. Respectful and enthusiastic, you’ll support the enhancement of their legal awareness and provide advice that’s easy to understand to those without a legal background. Plus, you’ll represent MI6 legal advisors both internally, and externally when liaising with senior stakeholders.

You’ll be passionate about law and bring a genuine desire to learn to this role. Not only will you stay up to date with legal developments that’ll impact our work, you’ll make contributions that enhance the skills of our teams. And we’ll ensure you’re given all you need to grow your knowledge, too. As part of the legal team, you’ll receive bespoke training through a range of formal and informal development activities, and even have opportunities to move between legal teams during your time with us, should you wish. In short, you’ll have plenty of support to build the career you want.

Ours is a friendly, open environment where we encourage people to bring their whole selves to work. As well as a number of social clubs and societies that help colleagues meet new people, we have a wide range of support networks promoting awareness across gender equality, LGBTQ+, ethnic minority, faith, neurodivergence, disability, and more – all to ensure you feel supported, valued and included.

To join, you’ll need to have experience across a range of commercial matters including goods, works and services (including software and technology licensing). Importantly, you’ll value integrity, professionalism and approach tasks with positivity. In return, you’ll receive a generous salary as well as great benefits including 25 days’ annual leave (rising to 30 after 5 years’ service), flexible working options, and access to on-site facilities such as a gym and restaurant.

At MI6 diversity and inclusion are critical to our mission. To protect the UK, we need a truly diverse workforce that reflects the society we serve. This includes diversity in every sense of the word: those with different backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, ways of thinking and those with disabilities or neurodivergent conditions. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including those from groups that are under-represented in our workforce such as women, those from an ethnic minority background, people with disabilities and those from low socio-economic backgrounds. Find out more about our culture, working environment and diversity on our website: https://www.sis.gov.uk/explore-careers.html

For more information and to apply please visit our website.

To be eligible to apply, you must be a British Citizen. If you hold dual nationality, of which one component is British, you will nonetheless be considered. Candidates must normally have been resident in the UK for seven out of the last ten years. This is particularly important if you were born outside the UK. You can apply at the age of 17 years, if successful you will not be offered a start date prior to your 18th birthday. Full eligibility details can be found on our website: https://www.sis.gov.uk/apply-now.html