Public Procurement and Commercial Law Lawyer in Edinburgh

This role is graded as: Technical Specialist - Practising legal.

About the FCA and team:

We regulate financial services firms in the UK, to keep financial markets fair, thriving and effective. By joining us, you'll play a key part in protecting consumers, driving economic growth and shaping the future of UK finance services. Our Legal Division provides advice and legal services across the full range of FCA activity, including regulatory, policy, enforcement and operational work. Operations Legal provides operational and commercial legal advice across the whole of the FCA. We support the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and other business areas on public procurement, commercial contracts, data and technology, finance & business services and cyber and information resilience.

Role responsibilities:

• Lead on complex, sensitive and strategically important procurement and commercial law matters.
• Advise on end-to-end public procurement issues, including Procurement Act 2023 compliance, tender design, evaluation and challenge risk mitigation.
• Provide high-quality, pragmatic legal advice on key commercial contracts, including technology, data, managed services and professional services agreements.
• Work directly with senior stakeholders across the FCA, including programme directors, procurement leads and policy owners.
• Identify and articulate legal risks and options clearly for non-lawyer audiences, enabling robust and defensible decision making.
• Contribute to knowledge sharing, training, capability building and best practice development within the Legal Division and across operational teams.

Skills required:

• Minimum: Qualified lawyer (solicitor, barrister, or equivalent) with substantial experience in public procurement and commercial law, generally a person who has a minimum of 10 years PQE.
• Demonstrable experience advising on the Procurement Act 2023 and/or Public Contracts Regulations 2015.
• Strong commercial awareness and the ability to provide practical, outcomes-focused advice.
• Essential: Deep understanding of public procurement frameworks, competitive tendering, market engagement and evaluation methodologies.
• Extensive experience drafting, negotiating and advising on commercial contracts.
• Ability to work independently on high-complexity matters with minimal oversight.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with the ability to brief senior decision makers clearly.
• Sound judgment and the ability to balance legal, operational, strategic, and reputational considerations.
• Ability to manage multiple concurrent workstreams, often under time pressure.
• Ability to influence and build credibility quickly with senior internal and external stakeholders.
• Enthusiasm for mentoring, knowledge sharing, and contributing to the division's professional development culture.

Benefits:

• 28 days annual leave plus bank holidays.
• Hybrid model where employees work a minimum of 40% in the office each month (expectation of 50% for senior leaders). Changing from September to a minimum of 50% in the office each month (expectation of 60% for Directors and Executive Directors).
• Non-contributory pension (8–12% depending on age) and life assurance at eight times your salary.
• Private healthcare with Bupa, income protection and 24/7 Employee Assistance.
• 35 hours of paid volunteering annually.
• A flexible benefits scheme designed around your lifestyle.

Our values and culture:

Our colleagues are the key to our success as a regulator. We are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive culture: one that's free from discrimination and bias, celebrates difference, and supports colleagues to deliver at their best. We believe that our differences and similarities enable us to be a better organisation – one that makes better decisions, drives innovation, and delivers better regulation.

If you require any adjustments due to a disability or condition, your recruiter is here to help - reach out for tailored support. We welcome diverse working styles and aim to find flexible solutions that suit both the role and individual needs, including options like part-time and job sharing where applicable.

Disability confident: our hiring approach

We're proud to be a Disability Confident Employer, and therefore, people or individuals with disabilities and long-term conditions who best meet the minimum criteria for a role will go through to the next stage of the recruitment process. In cases of high application volumes we may progress applicants whose experience most closely matches the role's key requirements.

Useful information and timelines:

Job advert closes: midnight on 08 February 2026.

CV Review/Shortlist: 10th February 2026.

First Interview and case study: w/c 16th February & 23 February 2026.

Your Recruiter will discuss the process in detail with you during screening for the role, therefore, please make them aware if you are going to be unavailable for any date during this time.