In-House Counsel in Wilmslow

Citation Group is a collective of businesses dedicated to supporting small and medium-sized enterprises across a range of essential services. We understand that managing a business involves balancing multiple priorities - from maintaining customer satisfaction and regulatory compliance to developing teams and achieving sustainable growth. Our mission is to ease these pressures by providing expertise, guidance, and solutions that enable business leaders to focus on strategic success.

We are a high-growth, fast-paced organisation with ambitious plans for the future. Backed by Private Equity, we acquire 6–8 businesses each year and consistently achieve double-digit year‐on‐year growth. Our strategy combines both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions. As we grow, we are committed to providing opportunities for our people to grow alongside us, developing their careers in step with the business.

The role involves seeking an ambitious and commercially-minded in-house lawyer to join at a pivotal time for the Group. This is an exceptional opportunity to gain broad exposure across multiple business units, industries, and transaction types. You will work alongside the General Counsel and external advisors on everything from day-to-day commercial matters to strategic Group initiatives.

This is a broad, hands-on role covering the full spectrum of in-house work. You will support a wide range of projects and initiatives across the Group, gaining exposure to different businesses, issues, and stakeholders and playing a key part in how we support and grow the organisation. This is a unique opportunity to help shape the legal function as it scales.

With this role, you will:

• Review, negotiate and draft a wide range of commercial contracts including supplier agreements, SaaS/technology agreements, service agreements, the Group's standard terms and conditions, and bespoke customer contracts.
• Support the M&A team with due diligence and post-acquisition planning and integration as the Group continues to grow.
• Support the business beyond purely legal matters, offering insights and helping solve problems.
• Work alongside the Group's DPO and Information Security functions, advising on data protection and privacy compliance (GDPR and equivalent regimes).
• Manage and maintain the Group's intellectual property and trade mark portfolios, advise on IP protection and ownership of new products and services.
• Support the Group's HR/People teams on employment law matters, including contracts, share schemes, policy reviews, and employment disputes.
• Manage dispute resolution and risk mitigation, with support from external advisors when required.
• Oversee the Group's property portfolio and related legal matters, including supporting with property transactions and lease negotiations.
• Conduct legal research and stay on top of key developments in our sectors, keeping stakeholders updated on relevant changes.

Key Stakeholders and Reporting Line: You will work closely with and report to the General Counsel, who will mentor you and provide guidance. Your time will be spent where it has the biggest impact on our performance/ability to take action in line with our growth plan. You can expect to build relationships with key stakeholders across the Group from various teams, which will include M&A, Technology, HR and People, Product and Service, Sales, and the DPO and Information Security functions.

About you:

• Ability and desire to work in a fast-paced and ever-evolving environment.
• Strong commercial awareness and genuine interest in business matters.
• A positive attitude with a proactive, solution-focused approach to problem-solving.
• Aligned with our Group's core values – "Make it Happen", "Never Settle", "Choose Right" and "Smart with Heart".
• A team player who can build relationships and influence across the Group.
• Excellent drafting and communication skills.
• Comfortable working across multiple business areas and jurisdictions with the ability to manage multiple matters and prioritise effectively.
• Experience in in-house legal roles.
• Familiarity with commercial contracting and negotiations.
• Background in technology, SaaS or subscription-based services.

Why choose us?

• 25 Days of Holiday + Bank Holidays.
• Birthday Bliss: Enjoy a day off on your birthday.
• Post-Wedding Bliss: Extra weeks of holiday for newlyweds.
• Growing Families: Vouchers and special perks for expectant parents.
• Healthcare cash plan: Private healthcare for peace of mind.

Seniority level: Mid-Senior level

Employment type: Full-time

Job function: Legal

Industries: Legal Services and Business Consulting and Services