Job Overview

Are you a commercially minded lawyer looking to build your in-house career in a role that offers variety, autonomy, and purpose?

We're looking for a Legal Counsel to join our high-performing in-house Legal Team at HCRG Care Group, a leading provider of NHS and local authority health and care services across the UK. This is an exciting opportunity for a junior commercial lawyer (around 1-3 years' PQE) to develop their experience in a fast‑paced, evolving organisation where your work genuinely makes an impact. Access to eLearning, bespoke career pathways and opportunities for continuing professional development through our 'Outstanding' learning and development team, The Learning Enterprise.

Responsibilities

• Draft, review and negotiate a wide range of commercial contracts, including NHS and local authority service agreements, subcontracts, supply and technology contracts, and confidentiality arrangements.
• Advise the business on contract interpretation, extensions, variations and terminations.
• Support major projects such as service mobilisations, exits, and transformation initiatives.
• Work closely with the Senior Legal Counsel and wider team on large-scale strategic matters and tenders.
• Provide pragmatic, solution-focused legal advice to stakeholders across the business (including Business Development, Governance, IT, and People teams).
• Prepare and maintain template agreements, guidance notes, and legal know-how materials.
• Carry out legal research and stay up to date with relevant legislation and regulatory developments.

Working remotely (with occasional travel to London or Runcorn for team meetings), you'll gain exposure to a wide range of commercial and contractual matters - from service agreements and transformation projects to governance and business development support. You'll join a supportive, close‑knit legal team where collaboration, attention to detail, and initiative are valued as highly as technical skill. UK‑qualified solicitor with a current practising certificate (England & Wales).

Qualifications

• Around 1-3 years' PQE (applications from newly qualified solicitors with strong commercial experience are welcome).
• Solid background in commercial contracts and general commercial law.
• Excellent drafting and negotiation skills with a pragmatic, business‑minded approach.
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage competing priorities in a fast‑paced, changing environment.
• A proactive and detail‑oriented professional who takes ownership and works well independently.
• Confident communicator able to build effective relationships and explain complex issues clearly.
• A team player who is positive, collaborative, and eager to learn.
• Experience in the health or public sector, or an understanding of NHS contracting models, is desirable but not essential.
• Must be available to work full‑time, Monday to Friday (condensed or part‑time hours not available).

Working Conditions

You'll gain exposure to a wide range of commercial and contractual matters - from service agreements and transformation projects to governance and business development support. You'll join a supportive, close‑knit legal team where collaboration, attention to detail, and initiative are valued as highly as technical skill. UK‑qualified solicitor with a current practising certificate (England & Wales).

Benefits

• A salary of between £55,000 - £65,000 with group pension.
• Private medical insurance with fast access to the most used specialists including for musculoskeletal problems and for mental health support - at locations across the country.
• Free tea, coffee and milk at your base location.
• Membership of My Reward Hub, giving you access to discounts on everyday purchases like grocery shopping as well as cashback and voucher offers for treats for you and those special to you.
• Access to your wages as you earn them to help cover life's emergencies and avoid overdraft fees or high interest rates.
• Online and face to face help with your mental and physical wellbeing - from healthy recipes and activity challenges through to post trauma support, legal, debt and life management help, as well career coaching and counselling.

About the Company

We change lives by transforming health and care. Established in 2006, we are one of the UK’s leading independent providers of community health and care services, working with health and care commissioners and communities to transform services with a focus on experience, efficiency, and improved outcomes. We deliver and transform adult and children community health services, primary care services including urgent care, sexual health, dermatology and MSK services as well as adult social care and wellbeing services. Across England, we support communities of many millions and directly help more than half a million people each year - guided by our simple values: we care, we think, we do. We’re committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from a broad, diverse range of people who want to join our team. We’re a Disability Confident Committed company, so we work to provide facilities, work environment adjustments and technical solutions to be as inclusive of everyone. While it doesn’t happen often, sometimes a role is very popular, and we’ll need to close it earlier than the date we’ve shown here. If you’re keen to join our team, we’d love to hear from you so please apply as soon as you can. As you’d expect, safeguarding and protecting the children, young people and vulnerable adults that we work with is of the utmost importance so we have policies and procedures in place to promote safeguarding and safer working practices and everyone who joins the team is subject to a safer recruitment process, including the disclosure of criminal records and vetting checks.