- Lead and advise on all legal matters arising from the activities of the University and its group, including but not limited to governance, commercial, contracting, research, employment, and student matters.
- Be responsible for supporting the University Council, University Secretary and the University's senior executive from a legal perspective on significant issues and business that arise in the running of a University.
- Lead and manage the in house Legal Services Team, inspiring high performance to ensure the provision of effective and efficient legal support across a wide range of law operating in a complex organisation.
- Be responsible for the supervision of members of the Legal Services Team and ensuring compliance with appropriate Solicitors Regulation Authority and Bar Council requirements.
- Be responsible for the procurement and management of external legal services when required, ensuring quality and value is achieved.
- Management of the legal budget and resources within the roles responsibility.
- Qualified Solicitor holding a current SRA Practicing Certificate.
- Demonstratable recent post qualification experience with a minimum of 5 years at a senior level. This experience may have been gained outside of the Higher Education sector in the regulatory, commercial, or public sector or in private practice.
- Possessing outstanding technical legal skills and experience in one or more of the following- commercial, corporate, and Intellectual property law, with a good understanding of data protection law.
- Excellent written and oral communication and relationship building skills with the ability to listen and understand the needs of university stakeholders and to communicate complex legal matters to a range of lay audiences in an understandable way.
- An understanding of charity law and broad expertise across regulatory matters which may impact a University, such as student complaints and discipline and charitable donations.