About The Role
Balfour Beatty has an exciting opportunity for a Legal Counsel to join our growing team in London
As a Legal Counsel you will be a member of the corporate legal team, supporting the delivery of a proactive, commercially focused legal service to Balfour Beatty’s procurement, supply chain and business operations across the Group.
The role supports Strategic Business Units (SBUs), Business Units (BUs) and Enabling Functions by providing practical legal advice and assistance on a broad range of procurement, commercial and project-related matters.
Reporting to the Senior/Managing Counsel, you will work closely with procurement, commercial, operational and project teams, building strong working relationships with stakeholders across the business while developing your legal and commercial expertise. You will have the opportunity to support on a diverse range of matters, including strategic supplier arrangements, major infrastructure projects, technology and software contracts, consultancy appointments and other commercial agreements.
The role requires a commercially minded legal adviser who can identify and assess legal and commercial risks, provide pragmatic advice and support the negotiation of contracts and project documentation. Working with colleagues across the legal and wider business teams, you will help ensure that risks are appropriately managed while supporting the delivery of business objectives.
What you’ll be doing
Overview
- Responsibility to support the UK business enabling functions and responsible for standard contracts with some derogations and precedents to include contract reviews, contract negotiation, dispute management, legal and compliance risk management.
- Adopts a risk-based solutions-based approach that supports competitive outcomes while protecting the BU’s strategic and commercial outcomes
Stakeholder Management
- Works collaboratively with commercial, operational and bid teams to shape client-facing positions, ensuring legal advice is practical, prioritised and aligned with the objective of winning and delivering work successfully.
- Under the supervision of the Managing Counsel or Legal Counsel, engage and manage agreed panel law firms to deal with specific legal issues as required.
General Legal Support
- Support the development, delivery and continued implementation of UK legal and compliance policies, procedures and targets to mitigate risk and ensure legal and ethical compliance consistent with UK Balfour Beatty’s values.
Dispute Management & Resolution
- Provide legal support in relation to all forms of dispute management and resolution.
Bonds, Parent Company Guarantees, NDAs And Warranties
- Review the wording of bonds, PCG, NDAs and warranties in accordance with UK and Balfour Beatty policies and provide advice in a timely and appropriate manner.
- Negotiate with client/subcontractor advisers to secure any necessary amendments to bonds, guarantees or warranties.
- Liaise with commercial, treasury, company secretarial and Group Legal teams to procure bonds and parent company guarantees.
Training Development & Continuous Improvement
- Carry out, or liaise with, and support, agreed panel law firms in the provision of legal and compliance training.
- Assist in updating and the continuous improvement of standard terms, conditions, policies, processes and systems within the legal and compliance function.
- Develop and maintain personal knowledge / skillset to stay up to date with legislation and ensure awareness of new/changing legislation throughout the UK.
Support for Organisational Agenda
- Ensures personal compliance with all Regulations and Company Policies
- Supports delivery of the Ethics & Compliance agenda by the Ethics & Compliance team
- Ensures relentless personal focus on Zero Harm
Who we’re looking for
Qualifications/ Experience
- Newly Qualified solicitor/barrister
- Knowledge and experience of construction/infrastructure industry or other comparable sector
- Knowledge of relevant legal and regulatory requirements related to government contracting, including procurement requirements (Defence Procurement Act / Single Source Contract Regulations) and contract terms
- Understands the business drivers and client’s needs.
- Good technological capabilities and familiarisation with AI tools
Personal qualities
- Organisation: High energy and impact. Strong organisational skills; self-starter who is confident in leading legal service provision into projects, prioritises own work and delivers independently to deadline.
- Commercial acumen: Good commercial acumen; valued contributor to strategic discussions
- Commercial judgement: Demonstrates the ability to balance legal risk with commercial opportunity; able to distinguish between critical and non-critical issues and support the BU in taking informed, proportionate risk to achieve strategic objectives.
- Problem solving: Solutions-orientated, pragmatic, proactive approach to risk management and mitigation.
- Team work: Builds relationships within SBUs, SBU exec team and wider enabling functions.
Why work for us
Day in, day out, our teams deliver some of the UK’s most ambitious, exciting and meaningful projects; developing, building and maintaining the vital infrastructure that supports national economies and strengthens communities.
Why join us?
Benefits
- Smart working, giving you more flexibility such as staggered start and finish times, with up to 40% remote working, where roles allow.
- 25 days paid annual leave (pro rata)
- Family friendly policies which include 28 weeks full pay for maternity/adoption leave and four weeks full pay for paternity/partners leave
- Pension, share incentive plan, volunteering leave, recognition schemes and much more…
About Us
Balfour Beatty Group Enabling Functions are Legal, Finance, IT and Procurement, Communications, Health Safety and Environment, HR and Sustainability. Together, they support delivery of our Build to Last strategy whilst improving efficiencies and standardising our approach, systems and processes.
Diversity and inclusion
At Balfour Beatty, we want everyone to be able to thrive and achieve their full potential, regardless of their identity or background. We’re making great progress through our Value Everyone DEI Action Plan, but we know we’ve got more to do. Find out more about our values and DEI initiatives.
As a Disability Confident Employer, we ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the minimum criteria for this role will be offered an interview.
We are committed to our processes being barrier-free and will support adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process. Please let the recruiter for this role know if you require any adjustments.
We’re looking to continually improve our recruitment process, so if you have any feedback, please share this with us via candidaterecruitmentenquiries@balfourbeatty.com
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