Expert Practitioner Lawyer – Procurement & Contracts
Salary: £60,573 to £70,203 (including annually reviewed £7,437 Market Supplement)
Golden Hello: £3,000 (external applicants)
Working Pattern: Hybrid working
Location: Merton (team day Tuesday) with attendance at partner boroughs as required.
Optional: 9‑day working fortnight available for those that choose it (based on the needs of the service and colleagues).
South London Legal Partnership (SLLP) is the shared in‑house legal service for the London Boroughs of Merton, Richmond upon Thames, Sutton, Wandsworth and the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, providing legal advice at scale across South West London. The partnership model offers the opportunity to work on complex and high‑profile matters while remaining part of a supportive and well‑resourced in‑house team.
The Role
This is a newly upgraded role for an expert level procurement and contracts lawyer. You will join a small specialist team, reporting to a Principal Lawyer, with no line management responsibilities. The role is advisory focused and non‑contentious, allowing you to concentrate on delivering high quality legal advice, including on complex, cross‑team and high‑profile cases.
Main areas of the role include
* Acting as a trusted expert in public procurement and contracts law
* Managing a diverse and extensive procurement law caseload with autonomy and responsibility
* Drafting, reviewing and advising on a wide range of commercial and public sector contracts
* Advising officers and elected members on a wide range of issues impacting local government procurement, including subsidy control and contractual risk
* Supporting and deputising for the Principal Lawyer as required
* Contributing to knowledge‑sharing across the service, including acting as a training principal / PSL style resource
* Providing clear, effective and pragmatic legal advice within a public facing environment
This role does not involve litigation, but you will be able to advise on procurement challenges and work collaboratively with Litigation colleagues as and when needed.
About You
You will:
* Be qualified as a Solicitor, Barrister or Chartered Legal Executive (Fellow of CILEX) with solid experience in public procurement law.
* Have experience in public sector client work from local government or private practice; prior in‑house experience is not essential.
* Have a minimum of around 5 years PQE experience in public procurement and contracts law and be confident running your own caseload.
* Have excellent drafting, communication, and client care skills.
* Be approachable, supportive, comfortable working closely with others and willing to share your expertise within a collaborative team.
What We Offer
* A wide and varied public procurement law workload
* Hybrid working with one team day per week in the office
* A supportive, experienced team
* The opportunity to do meaningful legal work that directly impacts residents
* Hybrid working, a 9‑day working fortnight, one team day per week in Merton, flexible use of offices across partner boroughs, and a genuine commitment to good work life balance while maintaining high professional standards.
For a confidential discussion contact: brian.gallagher@penna.com or 07716 098175.
To apply for this role please use the following link: Penna | Job Board | Expert Practitioner Lawyer – Procurement & Contracts.
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