Commercial Lawyer Cheltenham, England
Job description
About Us
At GCHQ, we unlock the complex world of data and communications to keep the UK and its citizens safe, both in the real world and online. Working closely with our British Intelligence partners in MI5 and MI6, we protect the UK from threats including serious organised crime, terrorism, and cyber-attacks. A role in GCHQ means you’ll have varied and fascinating work in a supportive and encouraging environment that puts the emphasis on teamwork.
The Role
We’re looking for a skilled lawyer to join our Commercial, Regulatory and Intellectual Property team, part of GCHQ’s wider Legal Directorate. The Directorate also includes the Operational, International and NCSC Legal Teams, and is currently split roughly 50/50 between London and Cheltenham.
It’s an opportunity to support colleagues across the business, but with a particular focus on technology, procurement and data acquisition. The work can be fast-paced and is often at the cutting edge of developments in law and technology.
The Commercial, Regulatory, and Intellectual Property team is composed of lawyers and an IP Cell, which includes two Patent Attorneys based in London and Cheltenham. As a Commercial Lawyer, you’ll provide legal support on a broad portfolio of matters, not just procurement and commercial contracts. This includes regulatory advice on data protection, IP matters, dispute resolution and avoidance, as well as bills, legislation, statutory powers and estates. It’s a mix of transactional and advisory work that has a direct impact on the work of GCHQ.
Day to day, you’ll attend meetings, review documents and deal with smaller queries on IP and data protection, working at pace to meet deadlines. You may work individually or as part of a team on larger legal projects, tackling work that reflects your level of experience. In all cases, you’ll collaborate with Business and Commercial colleagues and work closely with customers, delivering considered legal advice. Where external lawyers are involved, you’ll be a point of contact, directing work, monitoring timescales and checking the quality of advice.
This is a chance to develop your expertise and knowledge through a varied workload and high-calibre training. Join us, and you’ll also enjoy cross-team activities, which could range from working together on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) matters, to organising learning and development opportunities for the wider legal team.
About You
To join us, you must:
- Be qualified to practice as a solicitor or barrister/advocate in England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
- Have experience of contracts work is essential, along with commercial knowledge, sound legal judgement and an appreciation of how to assess and convey legal risk.
- Have expertise in at least one of the following areas: procurement law including on major programmes; commercial and contract law; data protection law; commercial litigation, arbitration and ADR; intellectual property law.
Whatever your background, you’ll have the ability to pick up new areas of law quickly, drawing on your powers of analysis and excellent legal professional skills.
We’re also looking for the ability to explain legal points clearly and give practical, risk-based advice. With strong communication skills, you’ll be a great team player who can build solid relationships, especially with clients.
Able to prioritise your workload, you’ll work well under pressure. If you can also think creatively about legal problems, we’d like to hear from you.
Training and Development
We offer access to learning and development that’s tailored to your role – formal and informal, internal and external. As part of the Government Legal Profession, we have access to a Legal Information Online Network that offers Government training packages and contacts, together with bespoke training from external legal firms. With the chance to apply for training and briefing opportunities throughout the Department (both GCHQ & NCSC), you’ll be free to learn, excel and progress within our fast-paced world.
Rewards and Benefits
You’ll receive a starting salary of £62,592 plus other benefits including:
- 25 Days Annual Leave automatically rising to 30 days after 5 years' service, and an additional 10.5 days public and privilege holidays.
- Opportunities to be recognised through our employee performance scheme.
- Interest-free season ticket loan.
- Excellent pension scheme.
- Cycle to work scheme.
- Facilities such as a gym, restaurant and on-site coffee bars (at some locations).
- Paid parental and adoption leave.
Equal Opportunities
At GCHQ diversity and inclusion are critical to our mission. To protect the UK, we need a truly diverse workforce that reflects the society we serve. This includes diversity in every sense of the word: those with different backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, ways of thinking and those with disabilities or neurodivergent conditions. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including those from groups that are under-represented in our workforce such as women, those from an ethnic minority background, people with disabilities and those from low socio-economic backgrounds.
Find out more about our culture, working environment and diversity on our website:
https://www.gchq-careers.co.uk/life-at-gchq/diversity-inclusion.html
We’re Disability Confident
GCHQ are proud to have achieved Leader status within the DWP’s Disability Confident scheme. This is aimed at encouraging employers to think differently about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain and develop disabled people. Being Disability Confident, we aim to offer a person-to-person interview to any candidate who self-identifies as disabled and meets the essential criteria for the role. This is our ‘Offer of Interview’ (OOI). To secure an interview for this vacancy, the essential criteria (in order of application process) are:
- You must be qualified to practice as a solicitor or barrister/advocate in England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
- Experience of contracts work is essential, along with commercial knowledge, sound legal judgement and an appreciation of how to assess and convey legal risk.
- Your expertise should cover at least one of the following areas: procurement law including on major programs; commercial and contract law; data protection law; commercial litigation, arbitration and ADR; intellectual property law.
What to Expect
Our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and based on merit. Here is a brief overview of each stage, in order:
- Application sift, including eligibility sift.
- Application sift on your motivation for the role and the organisation.
- Interview with presentation.
- If successful, you will receive a conditional offer of employment, subject to vetting.
Please note, you must successfully pass each stage of the process to progress to the next. Your application may take around 6 - 9 months to process including vetting, so we advise you continue any current employment until you have received your final job offer.
Before You Apply
To work at GCHQ, you need to be a British citizen or hold dual British nationality. You can read our full eligibility criteria here.
This role requires the highest security clearance, known as Developed Vetting (DV). It’s something everyone in the UK Intelligence Community undertakes. You can find out more about the vetting process here.
Please note we have a strict drugs policy, so once you start your application, you can’t take any recreational drugs and you’ll need to declare your previous drug usage at the relevant stage.
The role is based in either Cheltenham, London or Manchester, so you’ll need to live within a commutable distance. Please consider any financial implications and practicalities before submitting an application, as we do not offer relocation costs.
Please note, you should only launch your application from within the UK. If you are based overseas, you should wait until you visit the UK to launch an application. Applying from outside the UK will impact on our ability to progress your application. You should not discuss your application, other than with your partner or a close family member.
Right to Withdraw Statement:
Please be aware that we withhold the right to bring forward the closing date for this role from the original closing date once a certain number of applications have been received. Please be mindful of this and submit your application at your earliest convenience to avoid disappointment.