Head of Public Sector Legal & Contracts

Job Description
Head of Public Sector Legal & Contracts

Job Title: Head of Public Sector Legal & Contracts
Experience: 5+ years
Location: Maidenhead, United Kingdom
Job Type: Full-time

Role overview

VE3 is seeking an experienced public sector contracts lawyer to lead the legal and contractual management of its UK public sector portfolio.

The role will provide practical legal advice across the full contract lifecycle, including tender review, contract negotiation, mobilisation, contract delivery, variations, disputes, renewals and exit.

Strong knowledge of UK public procurement law is required, but only from the perspective of advising VE3 as a supplier. The role will not advise contracting authorities on procurement routes, procurement strategy or tender design.

The successful candidate will act as VE3’s principal legal adviser for public sector contracts and will coordinate external legal counsel where specialist support is required.

Requirements

Key responsibilities

Contract review and negotiation

• Review and negotiate public sector framework agreements, call-off contracts, statements of work, managed service agreements and contract schedules.
  
• Advise on liability, indemnities, warranties, insurance, intellectual property, data protection, confidentiality, audit, termination, exit and TUPE provisions.
  
• Prepare clear legal-risk summaries and recommendations for senior leadership.
  
• Ensure agreed clarifications, assumptions and negotiated positions are reflected in the final contract.
  

Tender and pre-contract legal support

• Review material tender and contract documentation before submission.
  
• Identify legal risks, mandatory obligations and potentially onerous commitments.
  
• Review supplier declarations, subcontracting arrangements and contractual qualifications.
  
• Check that VE3’s tender response does not create unintended or unsupported commitments.
  
• Maintain a legal-risk and exceptions register for significant bids.
  

Supplier-side procurement law

• Interpret public procurement requirements where they affect VE3 as a bidder or supplier.
  
• Review framework, call-off and tender documentation.
  
• Advise on inconsistencies between procurement documents, clarification responses, VE3’s bid and the final contract.
  
• Review standstill correspondence, evaluation feedback and supplier declarations.
  
• Advise on exclusion, debarment and disclosure risks.
  
• Assess the legal implications of contract variations, extensions and scope changes.
  
• Coordinate external procurement-law advice where a formal challenge or specialist opinion is required.
  

Contract support during delivery

• Produce practical contract summaries for delivery and account teams.
  
• Interpret contractual obligations, dependencies, acceptance criteria and notice requirements.
  
• Advise whether requested work is within scope or requires a formal change.
  
• Review material client instructions and contractual correspondence.
  
• Prevent operational decisions from unintentionally varying the contract or waiving VE3’s rights.
  

Variations, notices and disputes

• Review contract variations, extensions, renewals and amendments.
  
• Ensure material changes are properly documented and approved.
  
• Draft or review breach, delay, remediation, dispute and termination notices.
  
• Monitor contractual deadlines and preserve VE3’s rights.
  
• Lead the internal legal management of contractual disputes.
  
• Prepare legal assessments, event chronologies and settlement recommendations.
  
• Manage instructions to external solicitors and counsel.
  

Intellectual property, data and technology contracts

• Protect VE3’s background intellectual property, platforms, accelerators, software and reusable components.
  
• Distinguish VE3-owned materials from client-specific deliverables.
  
• Review software licensing, cloud, data, artificial intelligence and open-source provisions.
  
• Review data-processing, confidentiality, information-security and freedom of information clauses.
  
• Ensure VE3 has appropriate intellectual-property rights from employees, consultants and subcontractors.
  

TUPE and subcontracting

• Review TUPE schedules, employee-transfer information and workforce indemnities.
  
• Coordinate specialist employment-law advice where required.
  
• Draft and negotiate subcontractor, consultant and partner agreements.
  
• Ensure relevant client obligations are appropriately flowed down.
  
• Identify gaps between VE3’s client commitments and supplier or subcontractor obligations.
  

Legal governance

• Maintain a central register of public sector contracts, variations, notices and disputes.
  
• Establish proportionate legal-review and approval processes.
  
• Develop standard contract-review templates, subcontracting terms and legal precedents.
  
• Provide contract and legal-risk training to bid, account, transition and delivery teams.
  
• Coordinate the use of external legal advisers.
  

Candidate profile

Essential

• Solicitor qualified in England and Wales, or equivalent relevant legal qualification.
  
• Significant experience reviewing and negotiating UK public sector contracts.
  
• Experience advising a technology, professional services, outsourcing or managed-services supplier.
  
• Strong contract-law, drafting and negotiation skills.
  
• Practical knowledge of UK public procurement law as it affects suppliers.
  
• Experience with framework and call-off contracts.
  
• Experience handling contract variations, notices and disputes.
  
• Strong knowledge of liability, indemnities, intellectual property, data protection and confidentiality.
  
• Experience advising senior business and delivery stakeholders.
  
• Ability to provide practical, proportionate and commercially aware legal advice.
  

Desirable

• Experience with Crown Commercial Service or other public sector frameworks.
  
• Experience in central government, local government, NHS, defence or regulated sectors.
  
• Experience with technology, cloud, data, cybersecurity, software or artificial intelligence contracts.
  
• Experience with TUPE, supplier exclusion and debarment matters.
  
• Previous in-house experience with a public sector technology supplier or systems integrator.
  

Skills and behaviours

• The successful candidate will demonstrate:
  
• Strong legal judgement
  
• Clear and concise communication
  
• Practical risk-based decision-making
  
• Excellent drafting and negotiation
  
• Confidence working with senior stakeholders
  
• The ability to challenge constructively
  
• Strong organisation and attention to detail
  
• The ability to protect VE3’s position without taking an unnecessarily adversarial approach