Associate - Public Procurement

We are recruiting for an Associate to join our Public Procurement Team at TLT. The firm’s Public Procurement Team is part of the wider Contracts and Procurement Team which has 9 partners and 23 specialist lawyers operating out of multiple TLT offices across the UK, including Bristol, Birmingham, London, Manchester, and Glasgow. We are open to discussing where this role will be based, depending on where you live. At TLT we have launched a progressive flexible working approach, which focuses on hybrid working to support the work life balance of our people.

Your Role

You will work with our leading public procurement and commercial lawyers to give public procurement law advice to a range of public sector clients, particularly central government departments and government agencies. The role will report directly into a Managing Associate and you will also work closely with the Head of the Public Procurement Team. The successful candidate will be afforded the opportunity to further enhance their expertise in a broad range of procurement and contract work, across the public sector. TLT is appointed to several public sector frameworks (including the CCS Legal Services Panel and Public Sector Legal Services Panel) so, you will be working on high profile projects of national importance. This is an exciting time to join our busy team and help clients navigate changes under the Procurement Act 2023.

Your role will involve all aspects of procurement advice, including:

• Advising on procurement strategy
• Drafting procurement documentation
• Complex procurement advisory work
• Supporting our procurement litigators in relation to informal and formal procurement challenges

Whilst we expect you to take responsibility for and run your own matters, you will be supervised by senior members of the team. There will also be the opportunity for you to supervise a newly qualified Solicitor, to not only develop their practice, but to also develop your wider skill set as a lawyer. You will also be encouraged to develop any special areas of interest you may have, as well as to take an active role in business development, and a willingness to design and deliver internal and external client training. Our open and collaborative culture creates a supportive working environment which is the ideal place to progress your career. We work with high profile clients in innovative sectors, and we’ll help you embrace opportunities to keep learning as we grow our firm. Being part of TLT gives you the opportunity to be a business adviser as well as a lawyer, working directly with a high calibre of clients on a wide range of interesting current matters. And while you develop long-lasting relationships with clients, you’ll boost your skills and professional reputation. We will invest in you. We want you to be successful. Learning and development is paramount at TLT. Your progress helps us meet the changing needs of our clients, build collaborative relationships that endure and sets our firm apart. That’s why we invest heavily in developing our people through training programmes.

Your Skills and Experience

You will be/have:

• A Qualified Solicitor (SRA or Law Society Registered) 2-4 PQE, with demonstrable recent experience in public procurement. We may consider candidates outside of this PQE bracket who can demonstrate sufficient relevant experience.
• Experience of advising on procurement processes run under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and knowledge of the Procurement Act 2023 including experience reviewing and drafting procurement documents (including invitations to tender, specifications and notices).
• Comfortable working with commercial contracts in a procurement context (some contract drafting experience is desirable).
• Strong commercial awareness with an ability to identify issues pertinent to public sector clients.
• A forward thinker, with excellent analytical, drafting, communication and organisational skills, you will be self-motivated, driven and capable of working independently where appropriate with the ability to manage workloads and deadlines proactively.
• Enthusiasm for business development, and an appetite for keeping up-to-date with the latest developments in your practice area and sector focus.
• The ability to understand your client’s business needs, and act in the best interest of the firm and the client.
• An ambitious and enthusiastic team player, with a strong team ethos is essential, as this team works across multiple locations in the UK, and collaboration is always at the core of what we do.

Please note that should you be invited to interview, you may be required to conduct a short, written exercise and/or presentation to demonstrate your approach to giving legal advice and your understanding of public procurement and commercial contracts.

Your Team

Our experience is local, national, and international. We use our expertise to help on a wide range of policy challenges involving everything from complex procurements and digital transformation to trade policy negotiations, data security and climate change initiatives; from the tasks that enable effective day-to-day delivery across all arms of public service to the development of strong and productive private sector partnerships. We advise on all aspects of the EU/UK procurement regime. Our specialist team helps to ensure that robust and successful procurements are completed without challenge. Our lawyers advise on all stages of the procurement process including pre-market engagement, initial scoping, potential application of exemptions, drafting all procurement and contract documents, negotiations with bidders, and the evaluation and award process. We also advise on any disputes or challenges that may arise and the options available to a defending body or challenging party. Clients include bodies in local government, central government, and the police, as well as other public bodies and registered providers of social housing. The team includes individuals with extensive in-house experience in the public sector, allowing us to apply our sector insight and technical expertise in a way that helps businesses meet their requirements. We’re also inaugural members of the Procurement Lawyers Association, which gives us cutting edge insight into this constantly evolving area.

About TLT

Fast paced, fast growing and forward thinking, TLT is the law firm that helps clients stay one step ahead, and we do the same for our people. We work with high profile clients in innovative sectors. With local, national and international reach, we have over 1,800 people in offices across the UK and a network of partner firms across Europe, India and the US. TLT was named Law Firm of the Year at the Legal Business Awards 2023. This marks the third year in a row the firm has taken away this accolade in industry awards - having previously been named Law Firm of the Year at The Lawyer Awards in 2021 and the British Legal Awards in 2022. Our purpose is to protect, prepare and progress our clients for what comes next and it’s essential that we do the same for our people, our planet and our communities too. In our open and collaborative culture, we encourage everyone to be their whole self, to have a voice and to contribute.

Your Benefits

We value our employees highly and we want you to feel valued. You’ll receive a competitive salary with an annual pay review. You will also have access to an extensive range of benefits via our flexible benefits scheme including 25 days holiday (which will increase to 30 days based upon length of service) and private medical insurance. At TLT we have a progressive fully flexible working approach. We empower our people to work in a place and at a time that meets their needs, those of their clients and of the wider team and firm. Part of this agile approach is a focus on hybrid working and supporting the work/life balance of our people. TLT is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive working environment and encourages applications from all suitably qualified people, regardless of any of the characteristics protected by the laws in the locations in which we operate. We welcome applications from people with disabilities and are committed to providing reasonable adjustments, where necessary, to make interviews and jobs more accessible. Should you have any difficulty during the recruitment process, require any reasonable adjustments or an application to Access to work please contact the recruitment team.