Employment Legal Counsel (9 month FTC)

Why join us? We are seeking an experienced Senior In-House Lawyer on a fixed-term basis for 9 months to advise on all employment and partnership matters across the DWF Group. The successful candidate will deliver high-quality, commercially focused legal advice on both contentious and non-contentious employment issues, supporting the business in managing risk and making informed decisions. The role requires the ability to exercise sound legal judgment, analyse complex issues, provide pragmatic advice, and guide stakeholders through a wide range of employment-related matters across a global business. The role will also support the business in proactively responding to legislative developments and managing legal and regulatory risk. The role is ideally suited to candidates based close to one of our regional offices, including Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds or Birmingham with a remote/hybrid working approach. Responsibilities Manage a broad range of contentious employment matters, including ACAS Early Conciliation, UK employment tribunal claims and partnership-related litigation, working closely with external counsel where required. Provide clear, commercially focused advice to divisional management, the People Team and senior stakeholders across the full employee lifecycle. Draft and advise on a wide range of partnership and employment documentation, including employment contracts, settlement agreements, consultancy agreements, secondment agreements and deeds of retirement. Support business-critical people projects, including TUPE transfers, restructures, reorganisations, redundancy programmes and outsourcing or insourcing arrangements. Identify, report on and help mitigate employment legal risk across UK and international matters. Work cross-functionally with the Commercial and Regulatory teams on employment-related aspects of commercial contracts, TUPE considerations and regulatory obligations. Oversee the instruction of external counsel in the UK and internationally, ensuring advice is practical, timely and aligned with business needs. What will help you succeed in this role? Qualified UK lawyer (or equivalent). Strong employment law experience across both contentious and non-contentious matters. Experience gained in private practice and/or in-house, ideally within a large or international organisation. Commercially minded with the ability to provide pragmatic, solutions-focused advice. Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills. Confident building relationships and acting as a trusted adviser to senior colleagues. Highly organised, with the ability to manage a varied and fast-paced workload. Comfortable working independently and taking ownership of employment and partnership matters. What we offer? We are committed to ensuring that each member of our team feels valued and duly rewarded during their time at DWF. We are an equal opportunities employer that celebrates diversity, and we are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all. We aim to create a positive experience for all candidates and offer any adjustments or additional support needed. If you're excited about the opportunity but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with all the requirements, please apply anyway. You may be the right candidate for the role or others across the wider team. About us DWF is a leading global provider of integrated legal and business services. Our approach delivers efficiency, price certainty and transparency for our clients across the world without compromising on quality or service. Our purpose is to deliver positive outcomes with our colleagues, clients and communities and we foster a culture that places our colleagues at the centre of all that we do.