Legal Counsel – Commercial Contracts, Disputes

Role Overview

• Advise on the full construction and commercial contract lifecycle, including tenders, subcontracts, supply chain arrangements, variations and frameworks
• providing timely, practical advice that operational and commercial teams can act on
• Review, draft and negotiate construction and engineering contracts including NEC, JCT, and bespoke forms, with a clear focus on risk allocation and commercial outcome
• Lead early-stage dispute identification and risk assessment, working with operational teams to prevent escalation where possible
• Support alternative dispute resolution processes, including adjudication, mediation and negotiation
• Provide training and guidance to operational and commercial teams on common dispute themes, contract risks and best practice
• Develop and maintain legal playbooks, guidance notes and standard approaches for contracts and disputes
• Oversee contract management processes across the business, ensuring contracts are properly executed, stored and tracked in accordance with Group policies – including maintaining and enforcing signing authorities, approval procedures and delegation frameworks to ensure governance compliance
• Partner with commercial and operational teams to strengthen contract administration and reduce exposure to disputes
• Contribute to continuous improvement of legal processes, particularly around dispute handling, tracking and reporting
• Ensure strong record-keeping and audit trails to support effective dispute resolution and legal compliance
• Support internal governance processes by providing updates on dispute status, risk and financial exposure

Requirements

• Relevant experience in construction law, commercial contracts and disputes, or broader transferable experience across transactional and contentious matters
• Experience working with a range of construction/engineering contracts
• Commercially minded, with the ability to provide clear, practical advice

Benefits

• 24 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• Flexible working
• Free on-site parking
• Company Pension