Legal Counsel

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The University of Derby is a modern university with a modern outlook. Everything we do is driven by delivering excellence and opportunities for our students, our staff and our region.
We have some of the best university facilities in the UK and achieve outstanding results for our teaching and research and have been awarded Gold in the prestigious Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) 2023 – making it one of the top universities in the country recognised for its outstanding student experience and student outcomes.
Financially strong and seriously ambitious we offer our employees an inclusive culture that centres itself around staff wellbeing, where you can be confident you will receive all the help and encouragement you need to build a rewarding career with lots of opportunities to enhance your skills.
About the Department Legal Services sits within the Legal, Governance & Assurance Services department, a central risk management and professional support function.
Comprising three specialist teams: Legal Services, Governance Services, and Assurance Services, the department plays a key role in assessing and mitigating legal, regulatory, financial, and reputational risk across the University.
The Department provides timely, high-quality, pragmatic, and commercially focused legal advice on complex, high-value, and strategic matters. Through its work, it supports the University’s strategic ambitions and ensures robust legal frameworks are in place to guide and protect institutional decision-making.
About the Role This is an excellent opportunity to join a specialist team providing high quality, commercially astute legal advice across the University. As Legal Counsel, you will play a key role in supporting a wide range of legal matters, including commercial and contractual issues, regulatory concerns, intellectual property, and corporate documentation.
Working closely with the Senior Legal Counsel and fellow Legal Counsel, you will lead on the negotiation, drafting, and review of a diverse array of legal agreements, ranging from supply and purchase contracts to research collaborations, consultancy arrangements, and memoranda of understanding. You will also be instrumental in supporting the University's governance framework and managing legal risk in contracts and other transactional activity.
Interview Date - 2nd June 2025
About You The successful applicant will be a qualified solicitor or barrister with post-qualification experience in commercial law, ideally gained in an in-house or public sector setting. You will have a strong working knowledge of contract law and commercial practice, alongside proven experience in negotiating and advising on a broad range of legal agreements.
Your ability to communicate complex legal matters clearly and persuasively is essential, as is your aptitude for working independently and managing competing priorities effectively. You’ll also be a confident collaborator, able to build trusted relationships across the institution, influence decision-making, and deliver pragmatic, solutions-focused advice that supports the University’s strategic goals.
Experience in the higher education or public sector, or in intellectual property and research contracting, would be advantageous but is not essential.
Benefits

• Generous annual leave entitlement of 42 days inclusive of bank holidays and concessionary days (pro rata)
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Suite of holistic wellbeing benefits and support including family-friendly policies, generous sick pay provision and comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme
• Access to a variety of staff discounts at high street retailers
• Discounted onsite gym
• Access to employer-funded Private Health Insurance
• Holiday purchase
• Cycle to Work scheme
• A flexible working environment
• A commitment to personal and professional development

Key Contact For further information and informal enquiries regarding the role, please contact James Fussell, Director of Legal, Governance & Assurance Services via j.fussell@derby.ac.uk
For enquiries regarding your application and for sponsorship eligibility, please contact the recruitment team via recruitment@derby.ac.uk
Important Information This role is eligible for sponsorship by the University, however, your individual circumstances must meet the criteria set out by UKVI; this includes meeting the English Language requirement and earning a salary that meets the highest of either the going rate for the SOC code or the minimum salary threshold for the Skilled Worker route (£38,700 per annum).
If the role is eligible, but the offered salary is less that the going rate for the role, you may still be able to apply for a Skilled Worker visa if:

• Your job is on the Immigration Salary List
• You’re under 26, studying or a recent graduate, or in professional training
• You have a PhD level qualification that’s relevant to your job
• The role you are applying for is a postdoctoral position

Please note that the University cannot confirm your eligibility for sponsorship until an offer is made and your individual circumstances have been considered.
For more information, visit Applying from Overseas.