Senior Commercial & Contract Lawyer in Bury St Edmunds

About the role

Hours: 37 Mon- Fri, some meetings outside of regular hours may be required.

Are you a senior legal professional looking for a challenging and rewarding role where you can use your skills to make a real difference? If so, we want to hear from you. This is an exciting time to be joining Bury Council; a growing Council and an equally growing legal services team, we are undertaking a number of exciting development plans across our six townships. Bury Legal Services plays a vital role in supporting the Council's vision for the borough, and we are looking for a Senior Lawyer to join our team and contribute to delivering high quality legal services to our several client departments.

What you’ll be doing

As a Senior Lawyer, you will lead upon and manage a variety of complex matters advising on commercial matters across the Council. You will also have the opportunity to provide significant input to the development and implementation of our legal compliance policies and procedures. Your extensive experience of handling commercial/contractual queries including proceedings whilst prioritising a full personal caseload of legal matters/cases within these areas of law will put you in good stead for success in this role. At Bury Council, we are advocates of developing our teams, especially in terms of apprenticeships, and you will be supervising junior members of the team in these roles. We are an organisation that looks to promote collaborative working styles.

What our clients say about us

“Bury Council is delivering a whole range of major development projects, from new leisure and civic facilities, developing our town centres with ambitious plans and through JV partnerships working on driving regeneration in partnership with some of the biggest names in the development industry. We are also delivering new housing at scale often on our sites and meeting the specialist needs of the Borough. It’s an exciting range of projects for ambitious lawyer to work on alongside our development staff to make our vision a reality.”

“By joining Bury’s legal team, you will be part of a fantastic opportunity to get involved in our ambitious agenda working with likeminded professionals, committed to making a better Bury. You will be joining a dedicated and already talented team and work with forward thinking ambitious and creative specialists.”

What our team say about us

“I have been at Bury for over 6 years and have found it extremely rewarding to work in such a warm and friendly environment. I have been able to build strong working relationships with client departments and have enjoyed the challenge of an extraordinarily wide variety of commercial legal matters.”

“Within a few years of working with Bury Council, I've had the privilege of witnessing first‑hand the power of team‑driven initiatives and the profound changes they bring. It has been a work culture that we do not just navigate challenges; we embrace them as opportunities for progress. Whether it's crafting policies that promote social equity, ensuring efficient service delivery, or engaging with other departments within the service to co‑create solutions, every task is infused with passion and dedication.”

The team have recently been nominated for an Unsung Hero Award, which is for staff that work out of the limelight, whose role supports frontline or other staff to fulfil our LET’S ambitions but whose role may not immediately be obvious within those principles. It’s a chance for staff who may otherwise get overlooked to shine. The nomination received: “The Commercial & Litigation Legal Department exemplifies what it means to be an unsung hero. Working tirelessly behind the scenes, they provide essential legal support across the Council, enabling departments to operate confidently and lawfully in even the most complex scenarios…the team is a quiet force at the heart of Council operations. They don’t seek the spotlight, but their knowledge, professionalism, and dedication make it possible for frontline services to function effectively and fairly. This nomination honours not just their legal acumen, but their unwavering commitment to public service.”

What you’ll need

• A strong track record of success in a senior legal role.
• Extensive knowledge of commercial law and procedures.
• Strong people management skills.
• The ability to build and maintain relationships with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.

What we offer

• Generous Pension Scheme.
• Generous annual Leave, including additional days for Volunteering as well as the option to purchase extra leave.
• Bespoke Management development programme.
• Flexible and agile working arrangements.
• Supportive and inclusive environment.
• Personal Development plan to support career growth.
• Proud Living Wage employer.
• Variety of discounts and benefit schemes.

About Bury

The Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff to share this commitment. Appointment may be subject to a satisfactory disclosure at the appropriate level under the Disclosure and Barring Service. In line with safer recruitment, please ensure that your application/CV covers your full employment history and there is a reason noted for any gaps in employment. Successful candidates will be asked to provide relevant references for the past ten years and character references will not be accepted. As a Corporate Parent, ensure that the work and services you deliver considers our care experienced young people, promotes their life chances empowers them to influence the policies, services, and decisions that affect them, champions their rights, and ensure they grow up in the best possible way.

Benefits of working for Bury Council

To hear about the benefits for working with Bury Council, please visit A good employer | greater jobs. We support employees to work with agility, where appropriate for the post and service requirements. We are committed to Bury being an equal society that recognises values and embraces all people, regardless of any difference, for the skills, abilities and experiences they bring into the workforce and the wider community. Therefore we guarantee an interview for disabled people, looked after children/care leavers, armed forces personnel (including reservists and veterans) and carers of adults or disabled children if they meet the essential criteria.

Next steps

Closing Date: Sunday 25th January 2026

Shortlisting: Monday 26th January 2026

Interview: Monday 2nd February 2026

We hope you will be encouraged to apply. For more information, or an informal discussion, please contact Jennifer Willis at j.willis@bury.gov.uk or via telephone 0161-253-7878.