Legal Counsel - Commercial in Birmingham

As the Legal Counsel you will deliver a full range of legal advice to HS2 and all its business Directorates which includes key internal stakeholders in order to optimise contractual outcomes for HS2 in relation to a variety of subjects (including supply chain, utilities, local authorities, etc) and support HS2’s compliance with legislation and regulations with respect to HS2’s program of work.

About the role:

• Work with minimum supervision to provide high quality legal advice including drafting documents and providing advice to HS2 staff at all levels on all aspects of commercial/contract law in connection with HS2 (including in relation to the corporate and project specific phase procurements and negotiation of high value, complex construction and other corporate contracts, corporate law, intellectual property, and finance and technology issues), to ensure that HS2 is not exposed to undue risk and that consistent business standards are adhered to;
• Main Lawyer and point contact for legal advice on General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and Data Protection Act 2018 including privacy policies and supporting HS2’s Data Protection Officer with ad hoc advice to ensure that HS2 is not exposed to undue risks and liabilities where personal data is processed by and on behalf of HS2. Ensuring standards set by supervisory bodies (such as the ICO) on data protection are adhered to;
• Responsible for running weekly legal surgeries for contract management and Corporate Procurement to provide legal advice to enable them to maximise efficiencies and minimise external legal costs.
• Point legal contact for all Phase 2a procurements including leading on the early works procurement.
• Preparing and delivering targeted training to internal staff to help them understand areas of law (example, procurement law PCR and UCR) relating to legal issues as they arise;
• Drafting template precedents for the legal team including providing self-help tools/templates for internal HS2 staff to save time and cost to continuously improve performance and compliance;
• Assisting the legal function as and when required on legal research and also keep abreast of the law and providing legal updates which affect the business of HS2;
• Advise on resolution of contractual claims and disputes (not including conduct of litigation or arbitration), using external lawyers where appropriate;
• When required, manage the provision of external legal support including responsibility for managing and monitoring cost, assisting with the setting of budget and timescales and managing quality;
• Contributing to the preparation and drafting of reports and briefings for senior management to support the decision-making process including liaising with senior lawyers and policy advisers across relevant government departments.
• Liaise and provide advice to members of the senior leadership team on legal matters I am dealing with.
• When required, to supervise trainees/junior lawyers and prioritise workload in order to meet strategic needs of the business.
• Actively promote and embed Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in all your work, and support and comply with all organisational initiatives, policies and procedures on EDI.

About you:

• Skills: Ability to produce and present communications and information in a variety of ways adapted for the relevant audience, Interpersonal and influencing skills; Problem-solving skills including working without established precedent or procedure; Ability to juggle and prioritise numerous tasks in a high activity environment; Ability to consistently deliver high quality outputs under pressure whilst maintaining attention to detail; Planning and organisational skills; Ability to work within a multidisciplinary team on a wide range of commercial legal issues.
• Knowledge: Qualified Solicitor or Barrister with contracting or construction experience, preferably gained in both a “client” and a “contractor” environment. Demonstrable specialism in contract law and/or procurement law, preferably with a focus on large projects. Commercial contracts/construction contracts knowledge.
• Type of experience: Experience of managing the provision of external legal advice; Experience of public sector procurement processes; Problem solving experience; Commercial legal experience of UK based construction or infrastructure projects, or experience of dealing with Government Departments, utilities or transport projects, gained either in house or in private practice.

The post-holder is expected to behave at all times in a manner consistent with the HS2 values of Safety, Leadership, Integrity and Respect. It is expected that you will actively promote and embed Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in all your work and support and comply with all organisational initiatives, policies and procedures on EDI.

As HS2 Ltd do not hold a sponsorship license from the Home Office, we are not able to provide sponsorship to any applicant. Applicants must already have the Right to Work in the UK at the time of application and our process involves a Right to Work validation prior to the interview stage. Note, there are certain types of time-bound visas that we cannot accept. Any offers made to applicants will be subject to satisfactory completion of pre-employment checks which include Nationality & Immigration Status, employment references, DBS, Financial and Education checks.

We ask for a variety of detail in your online application, however we perform the first assessment of suitability for a role based solely on the information in your CV. In a further development of our efforts to create a more diverse workforce, your CV will be anonymised and personal information will be removed during the first stage of the application review. This removes bias from the process and makes it even more important that you attach an updated word version of your CV for each new application ensuring you include evidence directly related to the criteria in the job advert. Any applications received after the closing date will not be considered.

About Us: High Speed 2 (HS2 Ltd) will be the UK’s new high speed rail network. As well as improving capacity, the new scheme will shorten journey times between a number of Britain’s major population centres, boost the economy and create thousands of jobs. HS2 Ltd will create a skills legacy and develop a diverse range of talent. We aim to be a leader in EDI practice by creating a safe & inclusive working environment for all our staff - living our values of Safety, Respect, Integrity and Leadership.

HS2 Ltd is also a safety-critical organisation. Employees are required to ensure reasonable care of their own and others’ health and safety by taking personal responsibility for working to our ‘Safe at Heart’ programme principles and following safe working procedures at all times.