Legal Business Partner in Nottingham

NHS Supply Chain has an exciting opportunity for a Legal Business Partner to join the team at a pivotal moment of transformation. This role plays a vital part in making it easier for the NHS to put patients first, while supporting delivery against our strategic objectives. As a trusted advisor, you will provide expert, commercially focused legal guidance, partnering closely with senior leaders and commercial teams to enable confident, well-informed decision-making.

You will lead on complex legal matters, advising on procurement strategy, contract structures and contract management, while embedding robust legal thinking across your designated commercial category. Acting as the first point of contact for senior members of the Category team, you will deliver timely, pragmatic support that enables progress on strategic priorities and resolves complex issues efficiently. Through proactive business partnering, forward-looking insight and practical advice, you will strengthen compliance with governance and organisational policies, manage risk effectively, and ensure commercial activity runs smoothly, supporting contracts and decisions that have a direct impact on patient care across the NHS.

Every day you will …

• Lead and deliver complex legal work, providing clear, expert advice that enables confident and timely senior-level decision-making.
• Advise on procurement strategy, shaping the legal approach and contributing to robust, evidence-based business cases aligned to organisational priorities and risk appetite.
• Support better contracting outcomes by advising on contract structures, drafting and reviewing commercial agreements, and enabling effective contract management.
• Embed legal expertise within a designated commercial category, acting as the first point of contact for senior Category leaders and ensuring legal considerations are built into planning and decisions from the outset.
• Build trusted relationships across the business, partnering with senior leaders, commercial teams and cross-functional colleagues to resolve complex issues and influence strategy through pragmatic advice.
• Provide clear, insight-driven reporting, highlighting legal implications, risks and options to support effective decision-making and prioritisation.
• Advise on emerging legal and regulatory developments, ensuring the business stays informed and updating templates and tools to maintain consistency and efficiency.
• Strengthen governance and risk management by offering clear legal guidance, maintaining robust audit trails and constructively challenging where appropriate.
• Identify opportunities to improve processes, increasing efficiency and driving continuous improvement in legal and commercial workflows.
• Proactively develop and implement innovative approaches that enhance legal and commercial effectiveness.

What can we offer you?

• Hybrid working opportunities, giving you the flexibility to work collaboratively in the office and remotely.
• We recognise our employees' hard work and contributions with annual bonus schemes, long service, and colleague recognition awards.
• We are dedicated to your development, through in-house training, support, and access to external qualifications to maximise your potential.
• A focus on your well-being offering 1 day of paid well-being leave and free access to the 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme.
• Generous pension scheme (with us contributing 12% when you contribute 6%).
• Access to our Flexible Benefits Scheme, where you can choose from a variety of benefits such as Life Insurance, Critical Illness Cover, Income Protection, Health Cash Plan, Dental Insurance, and additional pension contributions that suit you.
• 2 days of paid volunteering leave allowing you to give back to your community.
• Access to many discounts from the Blue Light Card to NHS Discounts.

NHS Supply Chain, who are we?

Our role is to support the NHS to save lives and improve health. We are a part of the NHS family, and our role is to source, deliver and supply healthcare products, services and food for NHS trusts and healthcare organisations across England and Wales. We serve every NHS Trust and operate a national network of distribution centres, managing relationships with more than a thousand suppliers and delivering more than 8,000,000 orders each year to more than 17,000 locations. Doing all of this on behalf of the NHS gives NHS staff more time to focus on their main priority of providing excellent patient care.

What skills will help you thrive in this role?

• Strong legal expertise, with the ability to lead complex matters and provide clear, well-reasoned advice on high-impact issues, including public procurement.
• Commercial and procurement insight, with experience shaping procurement strategies and advising on contractual and commercial implications.
• Analytical capability, using data and digital tools to generate insights that support legal and commercial decision-making.
• Strong understanding of regulatory and organisational frameworks, with the ability to interpret policy and anticipate legal developments.
• Proven ability to build trusted relationships and partner with senior stakeholders, embedding legal insight early and balancing competing priorities.
• Confidence working autonomously, managing a varied and complex caseload in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent legal judgement, with the ability to communicate complex or challenging messages clearly, confidently and sensitively.
• A pragmatic, solutions-focused mindset, able to navigate complexity, anticipate risk and recommend balanced, workable outcomes.
• Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities, maintain accountability and keep stakeholders informed.
• Resilience and adaptability, maintaining professionalism under pressure and responding effectively to change.
• A collaborative approach, working across teams to deliver aligned outcomes, alongside a commitment to ethical practice and organisational values.

Our Inclusive Commitment

At NHS Supply Chain, we are committed to building an inclusive environment where difference is not only valued, but celebrated, giving everyone the opportunity to thrive in their career. Developing our people is key to our success, so if this role sounds like the right next step in your career but your experience doesn’t match perfectly with the job advert, we encourage you to still apply.