Are you an experience legal professional looking to further a career in Higher Education? We are currently recruiting a permanent General Counsel to join our client, a leading Milton Keynes based education institute.
Position:
General Counsel
Employer:
The Open University
Location:
Milton Keynes / Hybrid
Duration:
Permanent
Salary:
£98,083 to £112,918
Interview details:
A two-stage interview process, due to commence at the beginning of October
About the Role:
On behalf of the Open University, Pertemps is currently recruiting a permanent General Counsel to join the University's Contract and Legal Services team.
The General Counsel is a strategic leadership role, reporting directly to the University Secretary. This position is ideal for an experienced practicing lawyer, who will advise the University on all matters with significant legal implications, risk, compliance, and policy. This is a challenging and rewarding role for an accomplished legal professional looking to make a strategic impact within a dynamic and complex organization.
The successful candidate will be a qualified solicitor with a current Practicing Certificate from the Solicitor's Regulation Authority (SRA) and substantial post-qualification experience, ideally with a background in higher education or other complex, regulated environments. Experience in team leadership is also essential.
Key Responsibilities:
- Lead and advise on all legal matters related to the University's operations, including governance, commercial contracting, research, employment, and student affairs.
- Support the University Council, University Secretary, and senior executives on significant legal issues and decisions.
- Manage the in-house Legal Services Team, fostering a high-performance culture to ensure effective legal support across the University.
- Supervise team members, ensuring compliance with Solicitors Regulation Authority and Bar Council requirements.
- Oversee the procurement and management of external legal services when required, ensuring quality and value.
- Manage the legal budget and resources efficiently.
Key Duties:
- Provide overall leadership for all legal activities and manage a diverse range of legal matters with a risk-based approach.
- Determine the necessity for legal input and whether it should be sourced internally or externally.
- Build and maintain strong relationships across the University as a trusted legal advisor.
- Manage and prioritize the in-house team's work to ensure high service quality and adherence to deadlines.
- Provide legal advice to the Council, Executive, and University subsidiaries.
- Oversee the management of external legal advice in line with the University's Procurement Policy.
- Identify and mitigate potential legal risks, ensuring the University meets its legal obligations.
Skills and Experience:
Essential:
- Degree in law or equivalent qualification.
- Qualified Solicitor with a current SRA Practicing Certificate.
- Minimum of 5 years of senior-level post-qualification experience.
- Strong technical skills in commercial, corporate, intellectual property law, and an understanding of data protection law.
- Excellent drafting, negotiation, communication, and relationship-building skills.
- Experience in leading and managing an in-house legal team, including supervising and coaching junior lawyers.
- Proven ability to handle complex legal matters, manage resources and budgets, and deliver under pressure.
Desirable:
- Understanding of charity law and expertise in regulatory matters impacting a university, such as student complaints, discipline, and charitable donations.
About us and our client
As a flexible employee of Pertemps Recruitment Partnership Ltd, you will be joining a Company that holds the distinction of being one of the largest and most successful independent recruitment agencies in the country. Our pioneering spirit and ability to tap into the uniqueness of everyone's talents has enabled us to open doors for our employees, our clients, and our applicants too. Our philosophies and rewards are built very much on mutual trust and respect within the style of a partnership in which we hope you will feel both fulfilled and valued as a person.
The Open University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion which is reflected in our mission to be open to people, places, methods and ideas. We aim to foster a diverse and inclusive environment so that all in our OU community can reach their potential. We recognise that different people bring different perspectives, ideas, knowledge, and culture, and that this difference brings great strength. We strive to recruit, retain and develop the careers of a diverse pool of students and staff, and particularly encourage applications from all underrepresented groups. We also aspire to make The Open University a supportive workplace for all through our policies, services and staff networks.