Solicitor / Associate / Senior Associate – Health and Social Care Real Estate in Manchester

DAC Beachcroft is a leading international legal business with more than 3,000 colleagues and a broad, full-service offering. We are particularly recognised for our work in health, real estate and insurance, advising clients ranging from household names and investors to government departments, NHS bodies and independent health and social care providers.

Our UK and international platform gives our lawyers the opportunity to work on matters of local, national and cross-border significance, supported by specialists across the firm. Our purpose is to help our clients and colleagues succeed, creating sustainable value through collaboration, insight and outstanding service.

Our national Commercial Real Estate practice forms part of a multidisciplinary real estate group. Commercial Real Estate Team 3 brings together DAC Beachcroft’s specialist Health and Social Care Property lawyers, working across offices and alongside colleagues in construction, planning, property litigation, portfolio management, tax, finance, corporate, commercial, procurement and regulatory law.

We advise across the public, independent and charitable health and social care sectors. Our clients include NHS Trusts and other NHS bodies, integrated care organisations, primary care stakeholders, independent hospital and mental health operators, care home and supported-living providers, charities, investors, funds, developers and lenders. This breadth gives the team a distinctive understanding of both public-sector estates and privately owned or funded operational healthcare assets.

Our work spans the full property lifecycle, including acquisitions and disposals, development and regeneration projects, strategic estate rationalisation and reconfiguration, landlord and tenant work, asset management, portfolio programmes, surplus land, primary care projects, investment and funding transactions, sale and leasebacks and the real estate aspects of corporate transactions. We also advise on healthcare infrastructure, evolving models of care and projects supporting more sustainable estates.

Healthcare property is operational, regulated and closely connected to the delivery of services. Our lawyers therefore look beyond title and lease terms to understand commissioning and funding arrangements, regulatory requirements, operator covenant, continuity of care, stakeholder priorities and the practical consequences of property risk. Working with specialists from across the firm, we provide joined-up advice that is technically strong, commercially proportionate and grounded in the realities of the sector.

You will join an established, collaborative team with a strong pipeline of work arising from key panel appointments, expanding client relationships and new instructions. The role offers high-quality work, regular client contact, clear opportunities for progression and supervision tailored to your level of experience.

Key Responsibilities

• Advise on a varied caseload of commercial real estate matters across health and social care, including acquisitions and disposals, leases and agreements for lease, licences, asset management, development arrangements, strategic estate projects, portfolio work, due diligence and reporting.
• Support senior lawyers on complex, high-value or strategically important transactions, taking responsibility for defined workstreams and helping to coordinate delivery across the wider matter team.
• Lead appropriate transactions, with the level of autonomy and supervision reflecting your experience, and act as a trusted day-to-day contact for clients and their advisers.
• Develop a strong understanding of each client’s objectives and of the public-sector, regulatory, funding and operational environment in which healthcare property is held and used, translating that understanding into clear, pragmatic and proportionate advice.
• Help clients navigate the interaction between property arrangements and service delivery, including issues arising from operational continuity, estate strategy, redevelopment, occupation structures, operator covenant and stakeholder or regulatory requirements.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues in construction, planning, property litigation, portfolio management, corporate, commercial, procurement, regulatory, finance and tax to provide an integrated service.
• Manage matters proactively, including scope, priorities, timetables, budgets, reporting and stakeholder expectations, escalating issues appropriately.
• Comply with client protocols and service levels and with the firm’s requirements on file opening, conflicts, confidentiality, data security, financial management, billing and risk management.
• Contribute to the development of know-how, precedents, training and the team’s use of technology and process improvement to deliver work efficiently and consistently.
• Play an active role in client care, relationship development, tenders, seminars, thought leadership and other business development activity appropriate to your level.
• Support the development of junior colleagues through collaboration, knowledge sharing, supervision and constructive feedback, where appropriate.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• A solicitor qualified in England and Wales, normally with 1–3 years’ PQE for the Solicitor role, 3–5 years’ PQE for the Associate role or 5+ years’ PQE for the Senior Associate role. We will consider equivalent experience and will assess applications on their individual merits.
• Relevant commercial real estate experience gained in private practice, in-house or the public sector. Experience of healthcare, social care, NHS estates or other operational property is advantageous but not essential; what matters is a genuine interest in developing a specialist sector practice.
• Sound experience of landlord and tenant matters, acquisitions and disposals, due diligence and reporting. Exposure to development, investment, portfolio projects, public-sector estates, operational real estate or the property aspects of corporate transactions would also be valuable.
• Strong technical ability, careful drafting and the judgement to identify issues, analyse risk and propose proportionate, commercially workable solutions.
• An interest in how property supports the delivery of health and social care services, together with a willingness to build knowledge of NHS and independent-sector structures, healthcare regulation, funding models and the commercial drivers affecting operational assets.
• The confidence to communicate clearly with clients, colleagues and other advisers, build trusted relationships and provide responsive, practical advice.
• A collaborative and collegiate approach, combined with the ability to work independently, manage competing priorities and recognise the boundaries of your competence and authority.
• Strong organisation and matter-management skills, with close attention to quality, detail, timetables, budgets and client service commitments.
• A positive approach to innovation, legal technology, process improvement and new ways of delivering legal services.
• Evidence, appropriate to your level, of contributing to business development, client relationships, knowledge sharing and the development of colleagues.

What We Are Looking For at Each Level

• Solicitor (1–3 years’ PQE): You will build breadth and confidence across core commercial real estate work, take ownership of discrete tasks and smaller transactions, develop direct client relationships and learn to apply sector knowledge to practical delivery.
• Associate (3–5 years’ PQE): You will lead a broader range of transactions, manage key workstreams on complex projects, supervise junior colleagues and contribute actively to client development, matter management and team initiatives.
• Senior Associate (5+ years’ PQE): You will lead significant matters and client relationships, provide strategic and sector-informed advice, supervise and develop colleagues, support pricing and delivery decisions, and play a visible role in growing the practice.

As a Disability Confident Scheme employer, we’re committed to providing an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. If you need any reasonable adjustments at any stage (including the application, assessment or interview process), please contact recruitment@dacbeachcroft.com in confidence with the vacancy reference in the subject line, and we’ll be happy to help.

Department: Real Estate - Commercial Real Estate

Employment Type: Permanent

Workplace type: Hybrid