Senior Counsel, Property

At Queen Mary University of London, we believe that a diversity of ideas helps us achieve the previously unthinkable. Throughout our history, we’ve fostered social justice and improved lives through academic excellence. We continue to embrace diversity of thought and opinion in everything we do, in the belief that when views collide, disciplines interact, and perspectives intersect, truly original thought takes form.

The Directorate of Governance and Legal Services comprises expert teams in governance, compliance, policy, casework and legal, working with a common purpose to protect the University’s interests whilst enabling innovation and the achievement of the University’s objectives. The Directorate works collaboratively across the University community to develop awareness of policy and regulations, legal issues and external compliance. Within the Directorate, the Legal team is responsible for providing legal advice across a wide range of matters relating to Queen Mary.

Role Description

Reporting to the General Counsel, the Senior Legal Counsel, Property, will provide expert legal and strategic advice to colleagues across the University. In particular, the role will work closely with staff within the University’s Estates and Facilities directorate. The role will focus on a wide range of property matters but will also include responsibilities for broader legal advice. This role will be the University’s principal point of contact for legal advice relating to property matters. In consultation with other members of DGLS, and key internal and external stakeholders, this role provides a rare opportunity to shape innovative processes and systems that strengthen compliance, manage the University’s physical space, and support the University’s strategic aims. The Senior Legal Counsel, Property, will also contribute to the operations of the wider Legal team, and support broader governance, legal, and administrative projects.

Main duties and responsibilities

• Advising on a wide range of complex property matters, including acquisitions, disposals, access rights, leases (lessor and lessee), and licences, including progressing those matters independently or with limited supervision.
• Advising on a wide range of other property matters, including design and build projects, planning, and contentious matters, including progressing those matters independently or with limited supervision.
• Exercising sound judgment and pragmatism in providing legal advice on other legal matters and areas of law relating to the University.
• In consultation with line managers, instructing external legal counsel where required, and monitoring the performance, engagement and value for money of external legal counsel.
• Providing timely, expert, pragmatic, and effective legal advice that aligns with the University’s goals, interests, and objectives.
• Exercising excellent stakeholder management skills to develop and maintain strong relationships within and outside of the University.
• Employing expert time management and project management skills to manage a dynamic workload with multiple competing deadlines to provide timely, flexible, and effective work output.
• Progressing broader strategic, governance, or administrative projects, whether as project lead, lead contributor from Legal, or supporting the contributions of other members of the Legal team.
• Proactively identifying potential legal risks to the University, and providing appropriate risk mitigation advice.
• Undertaking final reviews of student complaints when required.
• Providing training to University staff in relevant legal areas.
• Monitoring changes to relevant law and guidance, and advising the University as appropriate.

Qualifications and criteria

• Qualified solicitor or barrister with relevant post-qualification experience and holding, or being entitled to hold, a current practising certificate issued by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) or Bar Standards Board.
• Strong knowledge of, and experience in handling, complex property matters, including acquisitions, disposals, access rights, leases (lessor and lessee), and licences, including progressing those matters independently or with limited supervision.
• Good generalist knowledge of, and experience in, property law matters.
• Building and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders.
• Project managing complex legal matters, including while managing external counsel.
• Advising across a range of legal areas relevant to the University such as contracts, IP, charity law, public law, litigation, etc., including progressing those matters independently or with limited supervision (desirable, not required).
• Developing and implementing policies, procedures, or processes (desirable, not required).
• Previous in-house experience, or experience working at a university (desirable, not required).
• Excellent communication skills, including an ability to provide clear, succinct, timely, pragmatic, and actionable legal advice.
• Excellent time management and organisational skills to effectively manage dynamic workloads and multiple deadlines.
• Strong analytical skills, and sound and pragmatic judgment.
• Ability to proactively influence people and ideas to arrive at outcomes that are beneficial to the University.
• Willingness to support the broader activities of the University, stepping beyond functional expertise.
• Works inclusively in a culturally and socially diverse environment.
• Applies the principles of integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness and honesty in their work and interactions with others.
• The ability to meet UK ‘right to work’ requirements.