The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) has a great opportunity for a Legal Counsel to join our Legal Services Team, which is a part of the RSC’s Finance and Legal Directorate. We are looking for a qualified Solicitor with relevant experience to shape the future of the RSC through expert contract management and legal guidance.

Key Responsibilities:

• Review, draft and negotiate a diverse range of agreements including:

• Software licenses and SAAS agreements
• Supplier/contractor agreements
• Data processing and sharing agreements
• Non-disclosure agreements
• Editorial, licensing and publishing agreements
• Sponsorship and grant agreements

• Regularly liaise with client contacts and business stakeholders as required
• Conduct legal research
• Provide expert compliance advice on critical areas including:

• Data protection
• Anti-bribery and anti-fraud
• Modern slavery

Are you ready to apply your legal expertise to make a tangible impact? Apply today!

We are looking for: 

• A practising Solicitor with at least 3 years post qualification experience in an in-house setting or in private practice.

You must:

• specialise in English law;
• hold a valid practising certificate issued by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA);
• be committed to providing high quality legal advice;
• have great communication skills, attention to detail and problem solving abilities;
• have experience in drafting, reviewing and advising upon commercial contracts with a working knowledge of commercial contract issues (including contract validity, data protection, intellectual property rights, termination and liability issues);
• have experience in advising upon compliance and regulatory matters, particularly relating to data protection;
• be competent in the use of ICT systems and information including MS Office and Outlook, Zoom and Teams, as well as research tools; and
• be able to work independently on a diverse workload with minimal supervision in a small team.

You can download the full job description here. If you are interested in this role, please apply before the closing date.  

When applying, please provide an up-to-date CV and a supporting statement (no more than 500 words) indicating how your skills, knowledge and competencies match the requirements outlined in the job description.

About the RSC

The RSC is a not-for-profit organisation whose mission is to advance chemical sciences. As a not-for-profit publisher, the RSC reinvests surplus funds back into the global scientific community, supporting our purpose to help the chemical science community make the world a better place.

The RSC strives to continuously innovate its product and services to adapt to market and customer needs, maintain relevancy and diversify revenues from journals. This requires a market-led and pragmatic approach to product and service innovation.

This role is contractually based at our Cambridge office. However, we embrace flexibility at the RSC and offer hybrid working, which means our teams come together when they need to collaborate and for Team meetings. Any hybrid working arrangements need to be agreed with your line manager.

Applicants should be aware that there is an expectation that employees will attend our Cambridge office around once a month, and they may need to attend the Cambridge office more frequently at the beginning of their role, for training.

Benefits

At the Royal Society of Chemistry, we promote a healthy work/life balance and flexible working options across the organisation. We offer a comprehensive benefits package to all employees including:

• 26 days paid holiday per annum
• 35-hour working week with flexible options, to be agreed with your line manager
• Enhanced maternity and paternity leave
• Paid volunteering days
• Pension plan with up to 12% employer contributions (depending upon your contribution)

Visit our Work For Us website to learn more about us, our benefits, equal opportunities statement and inclusive culture pledge.

At the RSC, we recognise the benefits of a diverse workforce and welcome applicants from a range of backgrounds to apply. We particularly encourage applications from disabled and ethnic minority candidates.

As a part of the Disability Confident Scheme, we endeavour, where possible, to offer an interview to candidates meeting the essential criteria of the role, who have a substantial physical/mental impairment which impacts their ability to carry out day-to-day tasks.

We are committed to making our recruitment processes accessible to all and as part of this, we are flexible in the ways we give and receive information. If you would like to apply using a different format, please contact the Recruitment Team at jobs@rsc.org or on +44 (0) 1223 432229 and we will do our best to put any reasonable adjustments in place.

If you have any questions, please contact us at jobs@rsc.org

#INDHP