Role Description
Reporting to the General Counsel, the Senior Legal Counsel, Employment, will provide expert legal and strategic advice to colleagues across the University. In particular, the role will work closely with senior staff within the University’s Human Resources directorate. While the role will cover a wide range of employment matters, it is expected that contentious employment matters will constitute a primary focus.
This role will be the University’s first point of contact for employment‑related legal advice. In consultation with other members of DGLS, and key internal and external stakeholders, this role provides a rare opportunity to shape processes and systems that strengthen compliance, enhance employee relations and support the University’s strategic aims.
The Senior Legal Counsel, Employment, will also contribute to the operations of the wider Legal team, and support broader governance, legal, and administrative projects.
Main duties and responsibilities
* Managing all aspects of contentious employment matters relating to the University, including: providing legal advice; instructing external counsel as needed; and appearing before Tribunals where appropriate.
* Providing expert legal advice across a wide range of employment‑related areas, including: discrimination; equal opportunities; disciplinaries and grievances; trade unions; change management; whistleblowing; pensions; and/or policy development.
* As required, exercising sound judgment and pragmatism in providing legal advice on other legal matters and areas of law relating to the University.
* In line with existing processes, instructing external legal counsel where required, and monitoring the performance, engagement and value for money of external legal counsel.
* Providing timely, expert, pragmatic, and effective legal advice that aligns with the University’s goals, interests, and objectives.
* Exercising excellent stakeholder management skills to develop and maintain strong relationships within and outside of the University.
* Employing expert time management and project management skills to manage a dynamic workload with multiple competing deadlines to provide timely, flexible, and effective work output.
* Progressing broader strategic, governance, or administrative projects, whether as project lead, lead contributor from Legal, or supporting the contributions of other members of the Legal team.
* Proactively identifying potential legal risks to the University, and taking providing appropriate risk mitigation advice.
* Undertaking final reviews of student complaints when required.
* Providing training to University staff in relevant legal areas.
* Monitoring changes to relevant law and guidance, and advising the University as appropriate.
Qualifications and criteria
* Qualified solicitor or barrister with relevant post‑qualification experience and holding, or being entitled to hold, a current practising certificate issued by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) or Bar Standards Board.
* Strong knowledge of, and experience in handling, contentious employment matters, including progressing those matters independently or with limited supervision and appearing before the Tribunal on procedural points.
* Strong generalist knowledge of, and experience in, employment law matters, including progressing those matters independently or with limited supervision.
* Building and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders.
* Project managing complex employment matters (including contentious matters), including while managing external counsel.
* Legal issues in areas aligned to the subject matter focus of the role, particularly employment litigation; discrimination; equal opportunities; disciplinaries and grievances; trade unions; change management; whistleblowing; pensions; and/or policy development, including progressing those matters independently or with limited supervision (desirable but not essential).
* Advising across a range of legal areas relevant to the University such as contracts, IP, charity law, public law, litigation, etc., including progressing those matters independently or with limited supervision (desirable but not essential).
* Developing and implementing policies, procedures, or processes (desirable but not essential).
* Previous in‑house experience, or experience working at a university (desirable but not essential).
* Appearing before employment tribunals (desirable but not essential).
* Excellent communication skills, including an ability to provide clear, succinct, timely, pragmatic, and actionable legal advice.
* Excellent time management and organisational skills to effectively manage dynamic workloads and multiple deadlines.
* Strong analytical skills, and sound and pragmatic judgment.
* Ability to pro‑actively infuence people and ideas to arrive at outcomes that aare beneficial to the Univeristy.
Full role details can be found on the Queen Mary website: https://qmul-jobs.tal.net/vx/lang-en-GB/mobile-0/appcentre-1/brand-4/candidate/so/pm/1/pl/3/opp/9622-Senior-Counsel-Employment/en-GB
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