Head of Legal Services

Full-time considered up to a maximum of 1.0 FTE (37.5 hours) Requests for flexible working options will be considered (subject to business need).

Grade 9 starting at £58,225 to £67,468 per annum, pro rata if part time.

Contract Type

Permanent

About the role

This is an exciting opportunity to join and lead a busy and successful in‑house legal team. The Legal Team is part of the Division of General Counsel, Governance & Compliance (GCGC), within the University’s Professional Services Team.

The work of the Legal Team is fast‑paced, often reactive and integral to delivering the University’s policy and operational priorities. The legal issues are often complex and sensitive and span a variety of topics, cover the full range of legal and regulatory issues facing the University including academic partnerships, student and staff complaints and disciplinary matters, freedom of speech and academic freedom, employment, regulatory compliance, commercial contracts, intellectual property, real estate, construction projects and litigation.

The Head of Legal will ensure and manage the provision of high‑quality legal services to the University and work collaboratively with senior University leaders and colleagues across Faculties and Professional Services to deliver solutions‑based advice which is centred on a sound assessment of legal risk.

You will be expected to enhance the legal services function and provide effective management of the Legal Team with a focus on increasing impact and teamworking to support the delivery of Sussex 2035, Creating Progressive Futures, the University’s long‑term strategy.

About you

You will be a senior lawyer with significant experience gained in the public or private sector who has worked as in‑house counsel. You will have experience of leading a legal team and driving functional improvement. You will combine exemplary technical legal analytical skills with the ability to make decisions in the face of ambiguity and imperfect information.

You will thrive in a dynamic environment helping the University adapt to a fast changing legal and regulatory environment.

About our Division

We drive good governance and high-quality decision making to support the delivery of the University’s strategic and operational objectives by providing professional legal, governance and information management advice to help the University realise opportunity and manage risk.

We support governance across the University to ensure high quality decision making which keeps pace with our changing needs. Also, we oversee and drive compliance with key legislative and regulatory requirements.

The University of Sussex values the diversity of its staff and students, and we welcome applicants from all backgrounds.

Visa Sponsorship

This role is eligible for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route. The assigned SOC code is 2419 Legal professionals not elsewhere classified and the going rate is £33,400.

The University requires that work undertaken for the University is performed in the UK.