Scale 2
Job family: Business Services
Terms: Permanent
Location: Cheltenham
Reports to: Head of Legal & Governance
Direct reports: N/A
Team: Legal and Compliance
Business unit: Finance and Corporate Services

Job purpose

To support in the provision of timely, outcomes focused and commercially astute legal advice with a focus on contracts, company, intellectual property and procurement, to support the charity and its trading subsidiaries, UCAS Media and UCAS International. You will work with Senior Legal Counsel and Governance teams to ensure legal advice and procedures are robust, efficient, pragmatic and customer focused.

As Legal Counsel your role will encompass all areas of law arising in the operation of the business. With a focus which includes (but is not limited to):

• Identifying legal risks within the company.
• Dealing with the preparation, negotiation, drafting, revision and finalisation of various contract documents including Terms of Service and a range of terms and conditions to support business activites.
• Advising generally upon a range of non-contentious contract, commercial and procurement related issues, including NDAs.
• Advising the business on intellectual property matters (including trade marks) and supporting our external advisers who manage our trade mark portfolio.
• Giving advice and support to the Information Governance team on data governance and FOI matters.
• Advising generally, where necessary, on matters relating to company insurance.
• Developing and maintaining corporate legal precedents.
• Supporting The Head of Legal and Governance and Senior Legal Counsel in preparing and delivering training in legal matters across the business.
• Working in collaboration with the Head of Legal and Governance where necessary to instruct and manage external counsel and other third parties

You will assist and support the Legal and Governance teams with:

• developing and embedding a proactive and responsive working approach across the business, so you will need the ability to develop and maintain strong working relationships across the business.
• updating/upkeeping effective completed legal agreements/advice and legal precedents.
• maintaining our Legal and Regulatory Register.
• You will also work collaboratively with the wider Finance and Corporate Services department to develop and maintain a strong support function to the business, key stakeholders and its customers.

Skills, qualifications & experience

• You will be a qualified solicitor or legal executive with experience in commercial contracts and procurement.
• You will ideally have experience in an in-house environment.
• Strong technical skills and attention to detail particularly in contractual matters is essential.
• You will be a team player who works collaboratively with a positive and proactive approach which is outcomes focused.
• You will need to have a can-do attitude as well as a willingness to work flexibly not only with your subject matter, but also working with colleagues of differing skills and experience.
• You must be approachable and be able to present your legal advice in a plain and concise manner.

This role profile sets out the scope and main duties of the post at the date when it was drawn up. Such details may vary from time to time without changing the general character of the post or the level of responsibility entailed. Such variations are a common occurrence and cannot of themselves justify a reconsideration of the level of the post. All UCAS employees are expected to be flexible in undertaking the duties and responsibilities attached to their role and may be asked to perform other duties, which reasonably correspond to the general character of their role and their level of responsibility.