Legal Counsel Sheffield, England
Job description
About us:
UniHomes is a leading student property search and comparison portal and shared utilities provider. We offer a cutting-edge utility management service, taking the hassle out of shared bills for students. We currently operate in over 50 university locations nationwide helping thousands of students find their Ideal properties.
A progressive SME who is passionate about developing our technology and products to amplify the student rental market. Having doubled in size in the last two years and we have a continued growth trajectory, we have huge ambitions for the future making this is a very exciting time to join our team.
The role:
We are looking for a dynamic and proactive lawyer (3+ PQE) to join our growing business and to play a key role in our future success. This will be our first permanent legal hire following successful consultant support. Our ideal candidate will be someone with excellent interpersonal skills who is keen to make an impact from day one.
As the sole legal counsel for our business, you will need to take ownership and responsibility for all legal matters. You will be able to communicate well with Senior Management and engage the wider team.
We’re looking for a corporate/commercial lawyer with knowledge of commercial contracts, experience of data protection and employment law. We will support you in undertaking further training as needed.
Reporting to one of the Founders, you will provide practical legal advice and help us to develop processes to meet our legal obligations and mitigate risk. The role will include supporting our Sales and Marketing teams with negotiating contracts with third parties, keeping up to date with legal and regulatory matters, providing pragmatic advice to senior stakeholders and implementing new systems and controls to support data privacy and infosec compliance.
We are happy to receive applications from lawyers who wish to work between 3 to 5 days a week, with hybrid working from our Sheffield office.
Key Responsibilities:
- Commercial contracts – draft, review and negotiate legal points of commercial agreements and update contract templates
- Data privacy – act as the company’s DPO, advise upon aspects of UK data privacy laws, develop new procedures to support compliance with UK data privacy laws and act as a point of contact for data subjects as required
- Employment – support our People and Culture Manager in ensuring our employee handbook, contracts, templates, and procedures are up to date
- Legal Developments – provide strategic advice and guidance to the senior leadership team on legal and regulatory developments applicable to our business
- Risk management – pragmatically evaluate the legal risks facing the business and advise/mitigate as appropriate
- Training and development - educate and develop best practice in relation to legal issues across the business
- Law firms – instruct, co-ordinate and manage external legal support as required
Skills and experience:
- Three years minimum post-qualification experience with a solid understanding of corporate/commercial, data privacy and employment law
- Previous in-house experience is preferable but not essential
- A self-starter who is not afraid to get stuck into a range of legal matters and thrives in a fast-paced environment
- Proactive and forward-thinking
- Outstanding organisational and prioritising skills with fastidious attention to detail
- Exceptional stakeholder management and relationship building skills
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Commercial mindset, with an ability to problem solve quickly
- Authentic and genuine personality with a positive 'can do' attitude
- Confident, engaging, charismatic and articulate
- An awareness of the energy sector would be helpful but not essential
What do you get when you work here?
With people and culture at the heart of our organisation, we are continually enhancing our employee offer and culture.
Working in our stunning new office at New Era Square in the centre of Sheffield, you will get complimentary breakfast, hot & cold drinks, snacks, pool table, healthcare scheme, length of service days, voluntary day, Employee Assistant Programme, sick pay, enhanced maternity & paternity pay, career progression, a commitment to personal and professional development, employee of the month award, refer a friend scheme, staff discounts, mental health and financial support, and company social events.
Salary: £70,000 - £90,000 FTE DOE
