Senior/Principal Associate - Procurement (0413)

Mills & Reeve are hiring an experienced Procurement Solicitor to join our growing, national team.

The role involves working alongside our public procurement lawyers and the commercial team, providing support and advice in relation to public procurement law to clients including central and local government, national agencies, NHS bodies, education institutions, charities, and utility companies, as well as suppliers to the public sector and utilities from SMEs to PLCs. Ideally based in Birmingham or Cambridge, with a willingness to be based in Leeds, Manchester, Norwich or Oxford, the successful candidate will be involved in all aspects of procurement advice for both procuring entities and suppliers.

Tasks will include:

• Drafting and advising on procurement documentation (from contract notices through to evaluation strategy, standstill and award);
• Procurement strategy and other advisory work;
• Advising on challenges to procurement decisions and processes.

The person we are looking for is an enthusiastic team player with a passion for public procurement law who has the confidence to take responsibility for their own matters and clients, and to help grow the practice. You will have 5+ years PQE with previous public procurement experience, demonstrate excellent commercial legal skills and sound commercial acumen, an understanding of the public sector, and a passion for public procurement work.

Activities include:

• Advising on all aspects of public procurement law;
• Working with our procurement litigation specialists, advising on proceedings in the High Court (both defending and bringing challenges);
• Assisting in the maintenance of our market-leading procurement online resource, the Procurement Portal;
• Supporting other business development activities, including speaking at training events, seminars and external conferences, contributing to newsletters, blogs, tenders and pitches;
• Contributing to internal know-how and precedent development;
• Supervising more junior members of the team, trainees and apprentice solicitors.

Skills and Attributes required:

• A breadth of experience of public procurement and commercial law;
• Excellent written English for drafting purposes;
• Marketing and business development experience;
• Experience of public speaking;
• Excellent commercial management skills including experience in scoping and pricing work;
• Excellent time and paper management skills.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role.

Pre-employment screening will include a basic DBS, verification of your right to work, a three-year employment history and a self-declaration to assess your character and suitability for the role. Full details of our pre-screening employment process are available upon request.

The Benefits include a competitive salary and a wide range of benefits.