Legal Counsel in Manchester

We are seeking a qualified Commercial Lawyer with demonstrable post‑qualification experience to join our team. This role involves drafting and negotiating a wide range of commercial agreements, including standard terms of business, NDAs, MoUs, preliminary transaction agreements, and bespoke services and supply‑side agreements. Ideally, you will have experience working in‑house or on secondment and be capable of quickly integrating into a small legal team providing comprehensive legal support to a rapidly expanding and dynamic civil nuclear business involving development, engineering, and design activities for SMR technology.

Key Responsibilities

• Work with the Senior Legal Counsel and Head of Legal to draft and prepare a broad range of Supply Chain agreements including for design and engineering services, future supply contracts and arrangements, and licensing and confidentiality agreements in support of the Business's industrialisation and supply chain strategies.
• Provide legal counsel and guidance to internal stakeholders on contractual matters, including identifying and mitigating legal risk and ensuring compliance with the Business's internal governance framework and laws and regulations.
• Collaborate with cross‑functional teams such as supply chain, procurement, commercial, finance, and engineering/programme/operations to ensure contractual terms align with business objectives, draft and negotiate favourable terms, and resolve contract‑related disputes promptly.
• Draft legal documents, policies, procedures and correspondence including template contracts, NDAs, data addendums, document preparation for closing and signing, proofreading, and document review.
• Review contracts, document key contractual clauses, summarise key legal risks, and prepare legal research including presenting findings and preparing presentations, minutes, spreadsheets and reports.

Essential Skills & Qualifications

• Qualified lawyer with the right to work and eligible to practice in the UK.
• Good academic credentials and post‑qualification experience.
• Excellent drafting and negotiation skills across a broad range of commercial agreements.
• Strong commercial understanding, pragmatic approach, and outstanding interpersonal skills.

Why Join Us?

• You’ll be joining a forward‑thinking organisation that values transparency, fairness, and innovation.
• We offer a flexible, inclusive, and supportive working environment.
• Opportunities for career growth in a rapidly scaling business.
• A culture that values diversity, innovation, and continuous learning.

We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all backgrounds. Inclusivity is important to us, and as a Disability Confident organisation, we are committed to fair, supportive, and continually improving recruitment practices that ensure everyone has the opportunity to thrive. Confidence can sometimes hold us back from applying for a job. But we'll let you in on a secret: there's no such thing as a 'perfect' candidate. If you feel you meet 75% of the requirements for this role, we would love to hear from you. Also, if you are considering a career move or a sector jump, please get in touch – we welcome applications from people with transferable skills.

Our Application Process

Due to the safety regulations within the nuclear industry, applicants will be required to participate in additional screening. These are:

• Obtaining Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) clearance
• Satisfactory completion of a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check
• Satisfactory completion of a basic financial probity check