About the Trust

We're one of the UK’s biggest charities and we care for 2,000 miles of canals, rivers, docks and reservoirs because we believe life is better by water. We're looking for people who support our cause and want to make a difference for future generations. Could this be you?

Along with our waterways we also manage museums, archives and the country's third largest collection of historic buildings, as well as the nature and wildlife that calls our canals home. All of this enables us to provide wellbeing opportunities for millions of people each year.

Join Our Team: Senior Contract & Commercial Lawyer

We’re excited to welcome a new Senior Contract & Commercial Lawyer to join our Legal division.

Navigate your future and lock in your career as we keep our canals open and alive.

Working Hours & Location

This role follows 37 hours, Monday to Friday working pattern. The vacancy will be offered on a remote working basis, with a requirement to attend our main hub spaces as and when required.

Role Overview

The Senior Contract & Commercial Lawyer acts as a trusted legal adviser to the Trust, supporting the organisation to manage risk whilst maximising commercial and enterprise opportunities and ensuring value for money.

Key Responsibilities:

• Providing and co-ordinating specialist contract law advice across the full range of the Trust’s commercial activities including drafting and negotiating commercial contracts.
• Providing advice on the Trust’s procurement of goods and services, including the tendering of framework contracts for engineering and construction works, IT software and services, professional services, vegetation and environmental management.
• Drafting key documents regulating the Trust’s relationship with its suppliers and customers (e.g. standard terms and conditions, boat licence and mooring terms and conditions).
• Advising on commercial law aspects of the Trust’s business activities (e.g. intellectual property, consumer rights, data protection, subsidy control).
• Drafting and negotiating funding agreements with third party funders (e.g. lottery funders, local government) and agreements relating to fundraising (e.g. terms and conditions for raffles and fundraising events).
• Legal interpretation and advice on existing contractual arrangements to clarify the Trust’s contractual rights and obligations.
• Conduct and oversight of commercial contract dispute resolution and litigation.
• Management of external legal services, including the Trust’s panel of specialist law firms (tendering, terms and conditions, performance reviews).

About you

You are a qualified lawyer in England & Wales with strong experience in complex commercial contracts and procurement. Commercially minded and pragmatic, you provide clear, solution-focused advice and confidently manage negotiations, disputes, and external legal providers.

An excellent communicator, you simplify complex legal issues for non-legal colleagues and build strong working relationships across the organisation.

You are proactive, driven, and committed to high standards of compliance, health & safety, and safeguarding.

Skills & Qualifications:

• Holds legal qualification recognised by the legal services regulator in England and Wales and can demonstrate extensive post-qualification experience (10+ years PQE or equivalent experience) in leading advice on a broad range of complex and high-value commercial matters.
• Strong commercial acumen, with a solution-oriented approach to legal advice.
• High emotional intelligence, enabling effective collaboration and influence across all levels of the organisation.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to present complex legal concepts and risk-analysis clearly to non-legal audiences.
• Highly motivated, with a proactive approach to supporting the strategic goals of the legal team and wider organisation.
• Comply with Canal & River Trust Health & Safety policy and defined standards, report incidents, accidents and near misses. Assess the risks and make adjustments to work methods where appropriate.
• Ensure all equipment (PPE, plant, materials etc.) is appropriate for the task. Consider your own and others behaviour.
• Be aware of your own responsibilities regarding safeguarding and to support our commitment to providing safe environments and working practises that promote and protect the safety and welfare of children, young people and adults at risk at all times.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient suitable applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

Contact & Application

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at .uk. We encourage early applications as we may close the vacancy once we receive enough suitable candidates.

What We Offer

We offer an annual salary of £68,000. Enjoy a competitive pension scheme, increasing holiday entitlement, and a range of employee benefits. For a full breakdown of our benefits, check out our brochure here: EVP - 1.

Learn more: https://about-us/work-for-us/our-benefits

Our values

We care passionately for our waterways, and as importantly, for those who look after and use them. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce where everyone can thrive. We are striving to represent the diverse communities that we are a part of and welcome applicants from across all sectors of the community.

We want everyone to have the opportunity to perform at their best during our recruitment process. If you require any reasonable adjustments - whether for a disability, neurodiversity, or health condition - please let us know what you need and how we can support you. We’ll work with you to make any necessary changes.

All of our jobs can be considered on a part time, flexible or job share basis.

We operate a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the role. You are considered disabled under the Equality Act 2010 if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term negative effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. We recognise not everyone who is classified as disabled under the Equality Act personally identifies this way, or with this definition of disability. Please do not let this discourage you from applying under the scheme.