Legal Counsel (Employment)

About the role:

This is an exciting opportunity for an early career level employment lawyer with experience in advising on a broad range of employment matters to play a key role in the Legal & Regulatory Affairs team supporting Imperial College London’s People Function Team.

The Legal & Regulatory Affairs team is well‑respected within Professional Services and plays a central role in enabling the University to achieve its strategic objectives. The team delivers consistently excellent, timely and pragmatic legal advice across the breadth of Imperial’s activities, with employment law forming a significant and high‑impact area of work. As the University continues to navigate a complex and evolving employment landscape, including litigation, organisational change, trade union engagement, and specialist matters such as TUPE, safeguarding and staff immigration, a requirement has arisen for this new post.

What you would be doing:

You will provide high quality, timely, commercially focused legal support on a broad range of employment law matters, with a primary focus on litigation. The role will assist the Senior Legal Counsel (Employment), where capacity permits, in advising on disciplinaries; grievances, TUPE transactions, investigations and restructuring exercises.

You will work collaboratively with colleagues across Legal & Regulatory Affairs, People Function and external stakeholders, delivering pragmatic, robust, solutions focused advice and litigation support that is based upon a sound assessment of legal and other risks and represents excellent value for money to support the operational and strategic objectives of the University.

What we are looking for:

• A minimum of degree‑level education or equivalent experience;
• Qualified as a solicitor or barrister;
• Current Practising Certificate to practise law in England and Wales;
• Demonstrable experience of delivering high-quality employment litigation advice and representation together with providing legal advice at pace on a range of employment law work;
• Experience of working within a unionised work environment and having advised on collective consultation and pay and reward matters;
• A sound understanding of core employment law principles, with the confidence to apply legal judgement pragmatically across varied employment law queries;
• Clear ability to analyse and evaluate often complex data to identify risks and make well‑considered, pragmatic decisions that demonstrate reliable legal judgement;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, with demonstrable ability to explain complex legal matters in a clear, concise way, both orally and in writing;
• Strong drafting and negotiation skills.

A full list of essential and desirable criteria can be found in the Job Description and Person Specification.

What we can offer you:

• The opportunity to continue your career at a world‑leading institution and be part of our mission to use science for humanity
• Benefit from a sector‑leading salary and remuneration package (including 41 days’ annual leave and generous pension schemes).
• Access to a range of workplace benefits including a flexible working policy from day one, generous family leave packages, on‑site leisure facilities and cycle‑to‑work scheme.
• Interest‑free season ticket loan schemes for travel.
• Be part of a diverse, inclusive and collaborative work culture with various staff networks and resources to support your personal and professional wellbeing.

Please note that job descriptions are not exhaustive, and you may be asked to take on additional duties that align with the key responsibilities mentioned above.

About Imperial

Welcome to Imperial, a global top ten university where scientific imagination leads to world‑changing impact

Join us and be part of something bigger. From global health to climate change, AI to business leadership, here at Imperial we navigate some of the world’s toughest challenges. Whatever your role, your contribution will have a lasting impact.

As a member of our vibrant community of 22,000 students and 8,000 staff, you’ll collaborate with passionate minds across nine London campuses and a global network.

This is your chance to help shape the future. We hope you’ll join us at Imperial College London.

Our Culture

We work towards equality of opportunity, to eliminating discrimination, and to creating an inclusive working environment for all. We encourage applications from all backgrounds, communities and industries, and are committed to employing a team that has diverse skills, experiences and abilities. You can read more about our commitment on our webpages.

Our values are at the root of everything we do and everyone in our community is expected to demonstrate respect, collaboration, excellence, integrity, and innovation.

Closing date: 15 September 2026.