We are currently recruiting for a Legal Counsel to join the Inhouse Legal team at Poundland. The role is based from our Customer Support Centre Head Office and offers flexibility for hybrid working.
Reporting to the Senior Legal Counsel, you will be a trusted advisor in a wide range of matters which include high value commercial contracts, commercial disputes, regulatory and intellectual property matters, corporate compliance and data protection.
As part of the Legal team, you will be responsible for providing essential legal advice and and compliance support to the business, ensuring, amongst other things, that all colleagues across the organisation are working to the same guidelines and contracts. In the team you will be a key partnering support to all areas of the business to ensure we achieve maximum organisational performance.
With autonomy and trust to make an impact from day one, you will:
- Draft, review and negotiate a broad range of commercial contracts including Sale of Goods/Services Agreements, Statements of Work, SaaS Agreements, IT Service Agreements, Consultancy Agreements, Logistics Agreements, Equipment Supply Agreements, Data Processing Agreements, Intellectual Property Licences and Confidentiality Agreements.
- Provide timely, practical, high quality and commercially focussed legal advice and solutions to internal stakeholders across departments such as Trading, Marketing, Retail Operations, Customer Relations, Finance, Distribution and Supply Chain.
- Assist in managing legal queries from the business relating to consumer rights, trading regulations, promotions, pricing and advertising standards.
- Advise on legal risks and ensure appropriate legal safeguards are in place across business operations.
- Provide legal input on marketing, data protection (GDPR), IP, procurement and commercial projects.
- Contribute to the development and maintenance of legal templates, guidance notes and contract management tools.
- Monitor change in legislation and retail regulations and help ensure internal policies are kept up to date.
- Manage commercial disputes from inception to resolution, including issuing court proceedings (and management of the matter throughout the Court process) through to settlement, working with external counsel where necessary.
- Manage and maintain the Intellectual Property portfolio and maintain brand protection, working with key members of the Trading, Design and Marketing teams to handle and advise on IP disputes.
- Assist and respond to regulatory bodies with any additional ad-hoc queries that may arise, quickly and effectively.
Skill & Knowledge Required
- Experienced Qualified solicitor in England & Wales (or equivalent jurisdiction) is preferred. We will consider candidates qualified by experience.
- Previous in-house experience is essential – retail sector experience is highly desirable.
- Strong experience in drafting and negotiating complex commercial agreements.
- Experience in advising on risk management, governance and compliance.
- Experience in managing investigations conducted by/ corresponding with regulatory
- bodies, such as the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), Data Protection Commission (DPC),
- Trading Standards, and Environmental Health Officers is beneficial.
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to explain legal concepts clearly to non-legal stakeholders.
- Good commercial awareness and ability to apply legal advice in a pragmatic, business-friendly way. Ability to work in a high volume, fast paced environment and the ability to work flexibly to manage changing priorities.
- Strong analytical skills.
- High attention to detail and strong organisational skills.
- Able to understand and clearly communicate on complex issues and advise promptly, able
- to prioritise action plans to resolve.
- Strong interpersonal skills to build relationships at all levels and the ability to adapt style and approach when dealing with potential conflict / difficult situations.
We offer rewards that go beyond the payslip, including:
- 10% employee discount card with increased discount events over the year.
- Celebrate your birthday, you’ll get an extra day off for your birthday.
- Holidays, 33 days a year inc banks.
- Single private medical cover.
- Annual bonus scheme, with the opportunity to earn up to 15% of your base salary.
- Car allowance of £500 per month.
- Free parking onsite.
- Pension scheme for your future, with up to 5% employer matched contributions.
- We put wellbeing first through our partnership with Retail Trust which gives you and your family access to a fantastic range of resources.
- My Staff Shop, giving you an amazing number of discounts and shopping vouchers.
- For those unexpected moments, our partnership with stream enables you to access up to 50% of your monthly earned wages early, along with savings and financial advice.
- Training and development opportunities, we want you to grow your career with us, be that through one of the qualifications we offer or internal programmes, this role can be just the first step.
- Plus, life assurance, loyalty service awards and more.
Bring your leadership, energy, and positive approach — and we’ll help you build your career with us!
We’re committed and proud to our inclusive culture, and that starts with the recruitment and selection process. If you require a reasonable adjustment during the recruitment process, please do share this with us on your application form and we’ll make every effort to meet your needs.
