We are recruiting a qualified solicitor or barrister, with solid experience in property law, ideally gained through work on complex infrastructure projects. Some experience in compulsory acquisition would also be advantageous.
The UK is on a journey to reach net zero by 2050 and new electricity transmission infrastructure is central to that ambition. Several major new infrastructure projects are now moving from the consenting stage into construction, with Development Consent Orders and Compulsory Purchase Orders already secured. The challenge now is to ensure those projects are construction ready, with the land rights, access and possession arrangements in place to support safe and timely delivery.
This is a key role for a property lawyer with experience in complex infrastructure projects who wants to play a direct part in enabling major infrastructure projects to move from consent into construction.
You will provide strategic, practical and business-focused legal advice across a portfolio of major NGET infrastructure projects, including new substations, overhead line and underground cable routes, offshore projects and associated land rights. Your work will focus particularly on the delivery phase, where DCO and powers need to be translated into timely land acquisition, access, possession and land handover.
We are looking for someone with hands-on experience of negotiating property agreements in the context of large complex projects with tight deadlines. You will play a key role in accelerating voluntary land agreements and, where agreement cannot be reached, implementing compulsory acquisition powers quickly, lawfully and cost-effectively.
You will work closely with colleagues across UK Legal, project teams, consents, lands, surveyors, engineers, construction planners, finance colleagues, external counsel and panel firms. You will provide clear legal direction, align land strategy with construction requirements, manage external legal support effectively and help improve the way we deliver across the portfolio.
This is a high-impact role for someone who wants to make a tangible contribution to one of the UK’s most ambitious national infrastructure programmes and play a key part in enabling the transition to net zero.
This role will support National Grid Electricity Transmission Plc (NGET) by helping translate statutory powers into practical delivery, enabling construction programmes and milestones to be met across a portfolio of large, complex and high-profile infrastructure projects.
