Job Description

We have a fantastic opportunity for a

Senior Legal Counsel

to join our In-House Legal team at Sovereign Network Group (SNG). You'll lead a team of housing lawyers to lead SNG's legal response to housing related matters, such as disrepair and housing management.



Based from either Basingstoke or Wembley, you'll combine home and office working. There will be some travel with this role to other SNG offices, or offsite for conferences or court cases., so you should be happy to travel and have access to transport.

The role

Managing a team, you'll be responsible for supervising and monitoring the legal caseload for all

housing

related matters. You will partner with the business to provide high quality and result oriented legal advice across SNG, ensuring that the legal team provides excellent customer-focused legal services to its clients.



You'll also be responsible for your own caseload of complex legal cases in relation to housing and tenancy management, ensuring resolution and seeking to protect and serve the best interests of SNG. This includes:


Claims relating to housing disrepair, possession, injunction and breach of tenancy Access injunctions for gas and electricity safety Liability assessments and solution advice Negotiating settlements and cost agreements Leasehold management advice ASB injunctions

Other responsibilities include:

Providing strategic input to the business to help deliver key deliverables, objects and the corporate plan Effective leadership of the team, ensuring a supportive and positive environment to enable high performance Creating, designing and managing team quality controls within the legal team, such as working on procedures and processes, adapting to legal changes, compliance with legal standards, monitoring risk and client care Assisting in the review, creation and drafting of policies and procedures for SNG ensuring compliance with legislation and regulation Carrying out duties in relation to contract management of the panel of external solicitor firms used for legal services by SNG Supporting with the performance of the external panel solicitors

What we're looking for

You'll need previous experience in a similar legal role, with demonstrable experience in legal matters relating to housing and tenancy management. You'll also need:


A valid Practising Certificate (or equivalent) to ensure you can carry out Reserved Work as defined by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, as well as be responsible for the supervision of members of the team who are not qualified to undertake Reserved Work Significant PQE, working within a legal department, housing association or local authority and managing own legal caseload of similar cases Excellent housing law knowledge and proven experience in handling complex cases Experience of supervising others work and managing a high functioning team Excellent project management and planning skills with the ability to prioritise own work and the capacity and capability of the team Strong commercial awareness and excellent analytical and problem-solving skills Excellent verbal and written communication skills Ability to develop strong working relationships within the Legal team, with clients and other third-party stakeholders Ability to exercise good judgment and discretion

Your Benefits

We have some great benefits at SNG, including:


25 Days Holiday + Bank Holidays (with an extra day every year up to 30 days) Chance to buy or sell holiday as part of our flexible benefits package 3 additional wellbeing days and 2 paid volunteering days Generous matched pension scheme up to 12% and Life cover at 4x salary Options for private medical insurance, dental insurance and critical illness cover Wellbeing discounts, including Gym Memberships and access to a 24/7 virtual GP service

At Sovereign Network Group, we are passionate about inclusion for all and creating a workplace where everyone can thrive. We are committed to our Equality Diversity and Inclusion strategy and believe that you can truly be yourself at SNG. Take a look at our careers site to learn more about us and our values.



If you would like the opportunity to make a real impact within our changing and growing organisation, we would love to hear from you!