Senior Commercial Lawyer - Public Sector

Closing Date: 17th July

Locations - Belfast, Bristol or London at least 3 days a week on site.

About the role

We run the fixed and mobile networks that cover 99% of the UK’s non-residential premises, underpin critical national infrastructure and public services and enable trade. We support more than three million more end-users through our UK wholesale operations. Our customers range from big household names, government departments and public service organisations right through to small businesses and new start-ups.

BT are looking to hire 2 Senior Lawyers for roles that will focus across areas such as Defence, Major Goverment, Local Council and Health Sector.

This is an exciting opportunity to join the BT Business legal team as a senior lawyer. We are a supportive, dynamic team and work closely with our business stakeholders, providing first class legal advice. In this role you be responsible for working with cross-functional teams across BT to deliver high quality legal support and advice on complex commercial and legal matters to help BT Business achieve its strategic goals.

The Legal team that supports Business is responsible for supporting all of UK Business including Wholesale, Corporate & Public Sector, Small & Medium Business, and Products. The role holder may be asked to support any of the aforementioned teams, as required.

What you’ll be doing

• Lead legal support on high-value, complex UK S&C transactions, shaping bid strategy and engaging directly with customers, subcontractors, and legal counterparts
• Partner with bid, technical, and procurement teams to define contractual and commercial approaches, including RFPs and flow-down terms
• Draft, negotiate, and conclude complex contracts across customer, supplier, and partnership agreements, ensuring commercial and legal robustness
• Manage in-life contractual issues, disputes, and change controls, including adapting to regulatory and legislative changes
• Navigate complex supply chains, negotiating operating agreements and ensuring alignment across multiple subcontractors
• Provide expert guidance on regulatory, governance, and compliance matters, ensuring adherence to BT policies, competition law, and industry regulations
• Deliver clear legal briefings and risk escalation, influencing senior stakeholders and supporting informed decision-making
• Build strong cross-functional relationships, support legal delivery through external partners, and contribute to team strategy and capability development

Essential Skills / Experience

• Security clearance: You will need to be eligible to obtain DV Clearance before starting this role. You will need to have UK citizenship and have lived continuously in the UK for 10+ years to be eligible. By way of backround, guidance is available here - DV - Guidance Pack for Applicants - GOV.UK.
• PQE: Must be a qualified lawyer (or have relevant legal experience) of at least 8 years.
• Experience with Single Source Contract Regulation/Qualifying Defence Contracts/Sub-contracts and associated requirements.
• Proven Experience of working in a fast-paced legal environment and strong record of working on all manner of commercial contracts, especially in the Telecoms and Technology Sectors. Experience of providing commercial legal advice across a variety of disciplines (where relevant with specialist inputs) including contract law, data privacy, competition law, advertising regulation, financial services regulation.

• Public Sector Experience: Proven track record of dealing with public sector contracts (including prime agreement and related subcontracts) with a demonstratable understanding of the public procurement legislation and policies.
• Risk Management: an expert understanding of the approach taken to balancing contractual risk with the overall reward on offer from a customer contract and a clear understanding of the link between commercial drivers of a transaction and the contractual terms.
• Strong relationship and stakeholder skills: track record of developing positive relationships internally and externally. The ability to influence and inspire the confidence of senior stakeholders.
• Regulatory: knowledge of legislation and regulations impacting micro and small business customers required – including Ofcom regulations, advertising regulations, financial services regulations and data protection legislation.

Desirable Skills / Experience

• Communication & Analytical Skills: must possess strong communication and analytical skills in building the case for change, and possess the ability to communicate complex matters to the business and manage senior stakeholders.
• Business Acumen: knowledgeable in business strategy and the drivers of organisational performance, including people drivers of performance and financial literacy.
• Pragmatic: The role holder must be pragmatic and solutions driven.
• Additional Responsibilities: History of pro-actively taking on additional responsibilities, such as project team involvement/leadership.
• Proven track record working with limited oversight or supervision.

Our Package

Tailored benefits make a real difference. That’s why we offer a comprehensive range to support your growth, wellbeing, and

everyday life. You can design the package to suit you and your lifestyle. Your core benefits include:

• Company car scheme (or cash alternative)

• 15% on target annual bonus

• Private healthcare for you and your family

• Access to an online private GP 24/7 for you and your immediate family

• Market-leading paid carers leave with up to 2 weeks off

• Equalised maternity, paternity, and adoption leave – 18 weeks’ full pay and 8 weeks’ half pay

• Discounted EE and BT products, including mobile and broadband

• Market leading Pension scheme – 5% from you and 10% from us

• Holiday purchase scheme

You can select additional benefits, including healthcare, dental, gym memberships and more when you’re ready.

BT Group is the UK’s leading communications group and the holding company behind some of the country’s most recognised brands – including BT, EE, Openreach and Plusnet. Our purpose is as simple as it is ambitious: we connect for good. Our customers include consumers, small, medium and large businesses, public sector organisations and other communications providers.

BT Group’s role is about setting direction, unlocking value and creating the conditions for our brands and businesses to thrive.

Having come through the most capital-intensive phase of our fibre investment, our focus now is on what comes next – simplifying how we operate, using technology and AI to work smarter, and organising ourselves to serve customers better and grow sustainably. Group teams shape strategy, policy, brand, capital allocation and transformation, helping the whole organisation perform at its best.

We have a singular culture that unites all our people: we are customer-first challengers, who are committed, clear and connected. These behaviours unite us as one team to deliver for our colleagues, our customers, our stakeholders and the country. Joining BT Group means working at the heart of a business that matters to the UK, with the opportunity to shape decisions, influence outcomes and help set the future course of one of the country’s most important companies.