Junior Commercial Solicitor - English Football League

EFL Preston Office – Hybrid Working

35 hours per week - Permanent contract

Competitive salary dependant on experience

We have an exciting opportunity for a Junior Commercial Solicitor to join our busy Governance team at the EFL. The successful candidate will provide general contractual, legal, and administrative support primarily to the Head of Legal – Commercial, but also the Chief Operating Officer and wider legal team as required. That support will be wide ranging and varied, reflecting the breadth of work undertaken by the team.

The EFL’s Governance Department

The legal team sit within the Governance Department of the EFL, and is responsible for the following key functions on behalf of the EFL:

· Legal advice and support to the wider business

· Commercial agreements

· Drafting and enforcement of EFL Rules and Regulations

The main areas of responsibility include –

o Assisting in the drafting, review, and negotiation of commercial agreements. This may include, for example, NDA’s, terms, and conditions of supply and/or purchase, hire agreements, consultancy, software as a service (SaaS) and other IT related agreements, and wider contracts in support of the EFL’s operations.

o Assisting where required in the preparation, distribution, and management of agreements with member Clubs and other football stakeholders.

o Supporting the business in contracting for operational projects, including helping colleagues with standard form templates where applicable.

o Supporting the overarching contract management process and help further develop and ensure compliance with EFL procurement policies where applicable.

o Assisting the EFL’s efforts in tackling anti-piracy, including for example gathering evidence, and issuing of cease-and-desist correspondence.

o Reviewing and communicating key terms from contractual and other legal documents to project owners across the business.

o Assisting with the distribution, recording, filing, and archiving of fully executed contracts and amendments.

o Assisting in the provision of general legal advice in other areas relevant to the business including football regulatory legal work, consumer legislation, and regulations relating to advertising and promotion.

o Working in conjunction with colleagues, undertaking necessary work to comply with data protection legislation. For example, support with subject access requests, data protection impact assessments and compliance with internal policies and procedures.

o Assisting with development, management and maintenance of relevant internal policies and procedures such as, for example, anti-bribery and procurement.

o Work proactively with the department leads to provide necessary training to internal departments such as commercial as and when required

Benefits Package:

As well as working in a modern, contemporary office and a hybrid working model we also offer:

• 23 days holiday (plus 8 bank holidays), rising to 25 days after 5 years.

• Generous Pension scheme

• Free parking

• Access to CPD

• Employee Assistance Programme

• Season ticket loan

• Access to match day tickets

Inclusion Statement

The EFL is committed to creating an inclusive and diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. Applicants fulfilling the criteria will be considered in a meritocratic way and without regard to race, ethnicity, religion or belief(s), gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, age or with regards to pregnancy or maternity.

Safeguarding Statement

The EFL is committed to safeguarding the welfare of children and adults at risk and require all employees to share this commitment and promote the welfare of these groups.

Applicants will be asked about any previous convictions and cautions. Amendments to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (2013 and 2020) provides that when applying for certain jobs and activities, certain convictions and cautions are considered ‘protected’. This means that they do not need to be disclosed to employers, and if they are disclosed, employers cannot take them into account.

Guidance about whether a conviction or caution should be disclosed can be found on the Ministry of Justice website.

The EFL is taking steps to become a more inclusive employer, by integrating Equality, Diversity & Inclusion into all aspects of the business. We hope by doing so, we can attract the very best in diverse talent and create a more inclusive culture, where people come to work feeling comfortable in being their authentic selves, allowing the EFL to continuously enrich our workforce, evolve how we work and embrace difference in thought and ideas. So we can become fully representative of our local community and fan base we serve.