Associate Senior Counsel in London

At Welltower, we're transforming how the world thinks about senior living and wellness-focused real estate. As a global leader in residential wellness and healthcare infrastructure, we create vibrant, purpose-driven communities where housing, healthcare, and hospitality converge. Our culture is fast-paced, collaborative, and endlessly ambitious—guided by our mantra: The only easy day was yesterday.

Summary

The Associate Senior Counsel will provide key legal support and expertise in UK seniors housing legal transactions, including acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures, and development matters.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as a strategic legal partner to the UK investment, development, and asset management teams, providing commercially pragmatic advice across seniors housing and healthcare real estate transactions, including acquisitions, disposals, forward fundings, joint ventures, development structures, and operator arrangements.
• Advise on transaction structuring and risk allocation at an early stage, shaping deal strategy to optimise returns while balancing legal, regulatory, and reputational considerations under English law.
• Lead the legal workstream on mid-to-large scale transactions, proactively driving timelines, anticipating issues, and ensuring seamless execution from heads of terms through to completion and stabilisation.
• Act as the central legal coordinator ('deal lead') within cross-functional teams, aligning legal strategy with underwriting assumptions, asset management objectives, capital structures, and long-term portfolio goals.
• Negotiate key commercial agreements — including SPAs, development and forward funding agreements, joint venture documentation, and management/operator agreements — with a focus on value protection, downside mitigation, and relationship preservation.
• Manage and leverage external counsel and specialist advisers as an extension of the internal team, setting clear commercial objectives, controlling costs, and ensuring advice is solutions-oriented rather than purely technical.
• Support strategic initiatives across the UK platform, including new product structures, operator partnerships, capital partnerships, and portfolio optimisation strategies.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of internal processes, playbooks, and governance frameworks to enhance deal efficiency, consistency, and risk management across the platform.

Travel

Some out-of-area and overnight travel may be expected.

Minimum Requirements

Education & Qualification: Qualified solicitor in England & Wales (or other UK jurisdiction with the ability to practise in England & Wales), admitted and in good standing with the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Strong academic background (LL.B. or GDL and LPC/SQE or equivalent).

Experience: 3–5 years' post-qualification experience (PQE) with significant real estate and/or corporate transactional experience, ideally gained at a leading UK or international law firm or within an in-house legal team. Experience advising listed companies, institutional investors, or UK REITs is preferred.

Demonstrated ability to lead and execute transactions independently with appropriate supervision, managing competing deadlines and driving matters through to completion. Strong understanding of the commercial drivers underpinning UK real estate transactions, including investment structures, development arrangements, joint ventures, forward fundings, and (ideally) healthcare or seniors housing operating models. Commercially minded and solutions-oriented, with the confidence to advise stakeholders across investment, development, asset management, and senior leadership teams. Highly organised with strong attention to detail, and the ability to manage multiple transactions and workstreams concurrently in a fast-paced environment. Prior experience advising UK REITs, listed real estate platforms, or other regulated/public company environments is advantageous but not essential.

What We Offer

• Competitive Base Salary + Annual Bonus
• Generous Paid Time Off and Holidays
• Employee Stock Purchase Program – purchase shares at a 15% discount
• Pension Scheme + Profit Sharing Program
• Comprehensive and progressive Medical/Dental/Vision options
• Professional Growth
• And much more!

Welltower is committed to leveraging the talent of a diverse workforce to create great opportunities for our business and our people. EOE/AA. Minority/Female/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity/Disability/Vet