In-house commercial solicitor

What is great about CEF is that we are a small (but expanding) team, with a lot of autonomy and a casual but professional approach that welcomes input from the whole team. We support personal and professional development for all our staff, and make sure we take the time to have some fun amongst all the hard work.

As much of our work can be done anywhere, the bulk of the role is likely to be home-based with one day per week in the Blackburn office (unless the candidate would prefer more time in-office). There is a requirement for occasional meetings around the country (in addition to the one day per week in the office), but the bulk of our meetings are held via Teams video call.

With a lot of autonomy comes a lot of trust and we require team members who are good self-starters with a pragmatic approach.

In-house solicitor opportunity (commercial and contracts focus)

Flexible UK location

The primary purpose of the role is to provide legal support to the wider CEF team. The bulk of time spent is on finalising framework call-off contracts for projects (which are complex and high value commercial and construction contracts), but also involves management of external solicitors, assistance on legal questions and/or disputes arising from existing contracts, drafting and checking various ancillary framework and procurement documents and general commercial legal support.

Key accountabilities for this role would include;

• Co-ordinate and manage the outsourcing of legal work and liaise with technical, financial and project-management colleagues when required, as well as those of framework contractors;



• Provide legal advice on a range of legal, commercial and operational issues and provide proactive and practical options to your internal client to ensure legal risks are understood and managed;



• Act as custodian of the standard CEF call-off contract and help develop and support the contract as it adapts based upon experience and new accounting standards and rules;



• Review, comment on, negotiate and/or draft agreements including construction, procurement and commercial agreements;



• Provide legal advice and liaise and support the business on major framework tenders;



• Confident knowledge of commercial and contract law with an understanding of the wider public-sector context and public procurement issues; and



• Excellent negotiation and drafting skills.


We would like our ideal candidate to have knowledge of the energy industry and/or public-sector experience (NHS experience being the most relevant) however this isn't essential.

The role is flexible dependent upon the candidates interested, but workload suggests a full-time equivalent recruitment is required. Part-time working will be considered for the right candidate (and in such case, remuneration will be pro-rated appropriately).

As an equal opportunities employer, we welcome applications from everyone, and value diversity in our workforce. We will consider flexible working arrangements for this role

To thrive with CEF, you will ideally have a 2:1 degree (or equivalent), though those with degree less than a 2:1 will also be considered if they can prove a high standard of academic or professional achievement. You will also have excellent verbal and written communication skills, with good analytical capabilities and sound legal judgement.