Senior Legal Advisor (Commissioner Contracts/Housing)

Job Advert Commercial Contracts Lawyer (for Commissioner contracts and housing agreements in the social care sector) We have an exciting full-time, permanent opportunity for a Senior Legal Advisor to join our Legal Services Team. A small, dedicated team of Lawyers central to the work of Mencap across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. We work closely with Mencap’s Teams and Directorates across the organisation to ensure that they operate safely and securely, and providing advice on complex issues. At Mencap, we offer flexibility about where the role is undertaken. For this role, a presence in Peterborough is preferable where possible, but the individual would be required to attend team meetings in our Peterborough office once a month. Occasionally, it will be necessary to travel nationwide. The Senior Legal Advisor will provide high quality commercial  contract drafting; advice and assistance  to support Mencap’s Personal Support (PS) Service Teams with the  tendering and contracting  process;  working with different Commissioning Authorities of Social Care Services; and with the provision of suitable housing agreements The Senior Legal Advisor will be required to review the tenders and contract terms in relation to the majority of PS contracts in Mencap, some of which are multi million pound framework agreements, and put in place Direct Funding Contracts.  In relation to Housing arrangements, the candidate will review and advise on Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and Housing Management Agreements (HMAs) with Housing Associations and other Housing Providers. Qualifications required: For this role you would need to be a Solicitor or Barrister qualified to practise in England (or comparable jurisdiction) preferably holding a practising certificate. Previous in-house experience would be viewed positively. Essential key skills, experience & abilities required for this role: 5+ years PQE and experience in commercial contract law, Excellent drafting and negotiation skills Solid awareness of GDPR provisions Experience and good technical expertise with Commissioner contracts and in a similar role would be beneficial Experience and good technical expertise with social housing provider agreements (SLAs and HMAs) would be beneficial Analytical thinker and problem-solving skills. Confident and effective communicator across all levels and understand how to share insights with stakeholders. Excellent time management and communication skills and strong collaborator Dynamic self-starter with a sound ability to manage your own Commercially pragmatic, able to succinctly evaluate complex issues and deliver clear, focused adviceIf this role sounds like the move that you were looking for then please provide an up to date CV that demonstrates all your skills and experiences relevant for this role and tell us why you want to join Mencap. You can read more in depth information about this role in the Job Description. Should you have any questions, please contact (url removed). We are proud to be a Disability Confident Leader and welcome applicants with disabilities to apply for all roles with us. To find out more about the scheme please visit the direct gov website. We are an equitable, diverse and inclusive organisation and we particularly welcome and encourage disabled applicants and those from the Black and Asian communities to apply for the role as they are under-represented within the workforce. An initial ‘informal conversation’ call for those shortlisted will take place with the hiring manager on the 9th October. First stage interviews are being held Via TEAMS on 16th October. ID - 32569 *We are also advertising for a Senior Legal Advisor to cover Procurement and Fundraising. If you would like to be considered for that also, please complete another application on the vacancy.* Benefits As well as knowing that what we do is making a positive difference to people’s lives, you will receive fair pay and have access to a wide range of rewards and benefits as one of our employees. 32 days holiday (including bank holidays) increasing to 35 days with long service plus the ability to buy up to another 10 days via our HolidayPlus scheme Service related sick pay when 6 month probation is completed Eligibility to join Mencap Pension Plan where Mencap matches contributions up to 5% on a salary sacrifice basis meaning NI savings. If you don’t join the Plan you start, you will be auto-enrolled after three months with us. Membership of Mencap Pension Plan to include up to 3 times salary death in service live cover AND Income Protection of 50% salary to be triggered at 26 weeks of long term sickness Loans for debt consolidation, bikes, computers and phones when you have been with us for 6 months Interest free season ticket loans Discounts and cashback from 3% to 30% at high street shops including major super markets, cinemas, gyms, leisure/theme parks, holidays and much more via Mencap Extras Opportunity to purchase a health cash plan to claim towards dental, glasses, therapy etc. Free access to round the clock employee assistance program for advice and support Quarterly award scheme and recognition at every 5 years through our YouRock program Access to award winning training and development*T&C's apply based on contract About Mencap We work in partnership with people with a learning disability, and all our services support people to live life as they choose. Everyone wants a purposeful job - to do something meaningful. At Mencap, we can give you that. You will have opportunities to develop as a person, colleague, leader and activist. We want to make you feel inspired to reach your potential. Our work includes; providing high-quality, flexible services that allow people to live as independently as possible in a place they choose providing advice through our help lines and web sites campaigning for the changes that people with a learning disability want