Senior Legal Counsel - 18m FTC

In this 18 month fixed term contract, you will be reporting directly to the Head of Legal and will play a pivotal role at the heart of the business. You’ll provide expert, pragmatic legal advice to ensure Booker remains safe, healthy, and compliant. Acting as a strategic partner to the Functional Leadership Team, you’ll influence and challenge decisions with integrity, demonstrating strong leadership and communication skills. This role spans all areas of the business and involves close collaboration with the wider Tesco legal team.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead on compliance areas such as GSCOP, Competition Law, Advertising Standards, and Money Laundering risks.
• Oversee compliance frameworks, mandatory training, and horizon scanning for regulatory changes.
• Negotiate and draft high-value, strategic contracts.
• Provide commercial and legal advice to support business objectives.
• Manage disputes, litigation risks, and regulatory investigations.
• Collaborate across the business and with the wider Tesco legal team on major projects.
• Line manage and develop junior lawyers and support staff.
• Deliver training and maintain expertise on governance and regulatory matters.

We are looking for a qualified Lawyer with 10+ years PQE or equivalent, with a strong track record of delivering results and leading teams. You combine deep legal expertise with commercial acumen, bringing a pragmatic approach to managing risk while driving progress.

Key Skills:

• Commercial Insight: Ability to balance risk and reward, with a willingness to learn the wholesale, distribution, and foodservice industry.
• Influencing & Relationship Building: Skilled at shaping agendas, building trust, and challenging norms with confidence.
• Leadership & Development: Proven experience in managing teams, developing capability, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
• Strategic Thinking: Anticipate emerging risks, adapt to market dynamics, and embrace innovation and technology.
• Technical Expertise: Diverse legal background with strong governance and compliance knowledge (e.g., GSCOP, Competition Law, GDPR).
• Collaboration: Comfortable working cross-functionally and engaging with internal and external stakeholders at all levels.

Business-to-business experience is preferred, and you’ll be motivated by opportunities to learn, add value, and support the wider business in achieving its strategic objectives.

Booker is the UK’s leading food & drink wholesaler. We are privileged to serve independent retailers, caterers and small businesses, from locations across the country. We operate over 190 cash and carry branches, eight distribution centres, five Best Food Logistics sites, as well as six support centre locations across the UK.

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) at Booker means that whoever you are and whatever your background, we always want you to feel represented and that you can be yourself at work. In short, we’re a place where Everyone’s Welcome.

We know life looks a little different for each of us. That’s why at Booker and Best, we always welcome conversations about flexible working. Some people are at the start of their careers, some want the freedom to do the things they love. Others are going through life-changing moments like becoming a carer, nearing retirement, adapting to parenthood, or something else. So, talk to us throughout your application about how we may be able to support you.

We’re proud that Booker is a Disability Confident Committed employer and we’re committed to providing a fully inclusive and accessible recruitment process.

Please note we can only accept candidates over the age of 18 if the role requires working before 6:15 am or after 9:45 pm or involves working in areas such as the warehouse, beers, wines & spirits, and driving roles. On the occasions where we have high volumes of applicants, some roles may close earlier than the advertised end date in order for us to manage all of the applicants appropriately. We will only be able to offer individual feedback to those candidates who attend an interview.