Senior Legal Counsel

Senior Legal Counsel 12 Month FTC

• locations
• Stratford (2 Redman Place)

• time type
• Full time

• posted on
• Posted Yesterday

• time left to apply
• End Date: April 8, 2026 (13 days left to apply)

• job requisition id
• R033073

Building thought leadership. Driving sustainability. Solving complex challenges. 

Senior Legal Counsel  

£72,000 - £77,000 per annum + benefits

Reports to: Head of Legal 

Directorate: ​Chief Operating Office​ 

Contract: ​12 month fixed-term contract​ 

Hours:  ​Full time 35 hours per week​  

Location: ​Stratford, London​ ​Office-based with high flexibility (1-2 days per week in the office)​ 

Visa sponsorship: You must be eligible to work in the UK to apply for this vacancy. Cancer Research UK is not able to offer visa sponsorship.  

Closing date: 07 April 2026, 23:55 

This vacancy may close earlier if a high volume of applications is received or once a suitable candidate is found, therefore we strongly recommend that you apply early to avoid disappointment. If you require more time to apply as part of a reasonable adjustment, please contact  recruitment@cancer.org.uk as soon as possible.  

How do I apply? We operate an anonymised shortlisting process in our commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion. CVs are required for all applications; but we won’t be able to view them until we invite you for an interview. Instead, we ask you to fully complete the work history section of the online application form for us to be able to assess you quickly, fairly, and objectively. 

At Cancer Research UK, we exist to beat cancer. 

​​We are professionals with purpose, beating cancer every day. But we need to go much further and much faster. That’s why we’re looking for someone talented, someone who wants to develop their skills, someone like you. ​

This is an opportunity to join Cancer Research UK’s Legal Service team, who are essential to our  Sustain Strategy. The Legal Service’s purpose is to provide credible legal advice across our workforce of over 600+ shops and 2,500+ office staff that enables us to be an inclusive, sustainable, and agile organisation. This involves legally safeguarding the charity, maximising efficiency and effectiveness, and leveraging external legal partners to optimise pro bono and low bono support for the charity.  

As a Senior Legal Counsel, you will lead complex, challenging and meaningful projects and provide expert legal advice and solutions across all levels of the charity. This will involve building trusted relationships and influencing at all levels with a particular focus on partnering closely with the Marketing, Fundraising & Engagement (MFE) directorate to become more self-sufficient with their commercial partnerships, and the Technology department to advise on their supplier contracts and portfolio. Furthermore, you will play an impactful role in collaborating with the Head of Legal to deliver our Legal Service Strategy and improve processes and compliance across the charity.

In this role, you’ll discover something new every day, whether it’s a new connection, a new method of engagement or a talent you never knew you had. If you are a Qualified Lawyer who is well-versed in contract & commercial law with a solutions-focused approach and desire to contribute your legal skills to a purpose-driven cause, we would love for you to join our mission.

What will I be doing? 

• Working independently and with minimal supervision to provide timely, proactive, pragmatic, high-quality legal and commercial risk-based advice, and solutions to complex issues across all areas and levels of the organisation.

• Advising all business areas on legal matters with a particular focus on business partnering with the:

• Marketing, Fundraising & Engagement (MFE) directorate to advise on Corporate Partnerships

• Technology department to advise on their supplier contracts and portfolio.

• Other areas you may support include Trading, Chief Operating Office (COO-including GC & Company Secretary, Assurance & HR), Philanthropy; Policy, Information & Communications (PIC) and Research & Innovation (R&I).

• Proactively establishing and maintaining effective business partnering relationships with internal business teams acting as their strategic primary interface and learning about their work, priorities, sensitivities, and requirements.

• Managing and owning complex legal matters while recognising when escalation is required.

• Drafting and negotiating complex agreements and assisting clients with commercial transactions with a risk-based approach.

• Collaborating with all members of the Legal Service team and proactively sharing experiences to build resilience and avoid a single point of failure.

• Identifying, providing advice, and ensuring effective contract management, risk management, and regulatory compliance.

What are you looking for? 

• Qualified lawyer trained within legal practice (we are open to applicants with experience in-house and/or in private practice).

• Knowledge and extensive experience in contract & commercial law, data protection law, and drafting complex agreements.

• Proven ability to work independently and manage a diverse and complex workload under pressure.

• Delivery-focused with strong prioritisation and organisations skills to manage own time effectively, meet deadlines, and manage clients’ expectations.

• Excellent stakeholder management and relationship skills with a proven ability to build effective trusted relationships and influence at all levels (including senior leadership and board level).

• Excellent communication; including writing and speaking clearly and concisely with excellent attention to detail.

• Ability to identify and solve complex problems and recognise when to escalate.

Our organisation values are designed to guide all that we do.

Bold: Act with ambition, courage and determination   

Credible: Act with rigour and professionalism    

Human: Act to have a positive impact on people   

Together: Act inclusively and collaboratively 

We’re looking for people who can believe in and embody these organisation values and can use them to drive forward progress against our mission to beat cancer.

If you’re interested in applying and excited about working with us but are unsure if you have the right skills and experience we’d still love to hear from you.

What will I gain? 

We create a working environment that supports your wellbeing and provide a generous benefits package, a wide range of career and personal development opportunities and high-quality tools. Our policies and processes enable you to improve your work-life balance, take positive steps in your career and achieve your personal wellbeing goals.

You can explore our benefits by visiting our  careers web page. 

Additional information 

For more information about working with us please  visit our website or contact us at 

.

recruitment@cancer.org.uk

For more updates on our work and careers, follow us on:  LinkedIn, 

,Facebook

,Instagram

and

X

.

YouTube

Our vision is to create a charity where everyone feels like they belong, benefits from and participates in, the work we do. We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and cultures, in particular those from ethnic minority backgrounds who are currently under-represented.

We want to see every candidate performing at their best throughout the job application process, interview process and whilst at work. We therefore ask you to inform us of any concerns you have or any adjustments you might need to enable this to happen. Please contact recruitment@cancer.org.uk or 020 3469 8400 as soon as possible. 

Unfortunately, we are unable to recruit anyone below the age of 18, so that we can protect young people from health & safety and safeguarding risks.