Principal Property Lawyer

Salary: £55,000 + benefits

Location: Working from home/remote, with travel to hub locations

Our legal team is growing as we bring more of our legal activities in-house. As we build our in-house team we are looking for a talented Principal Property Lawyer to join our national Legal & Governance team; assisting the Trust’s Senior Property Lawyer with the handling and management of transactional property matters across the Trust’s property portfolio.

The Trust

The Canal & River Trust is a charity entrusted with the care of over 2000 miles of canals, rivers, docks and reservoirs in England and Wales. These historic, natural and cultural assets form part of the nation’s strategic and local blue-green infrastructure network, linking urban and rural communities as well as habitats. Our waterways contribute to the health and well-being of local communities and economies, creating attractive and connected places to live, work, volunteer and spend leisure time. They also play an important role in mitigating the impact of climate change and provide valuable habitats and much-needed bio-diverse corridors for wildlife.

About our Legal Team

The Trust’s legal team plays a vital role in protecting the Trust’s interests, across the whole range of our activities, to ensure regulatory compliance with charity, environmental, planning, heritage, health and safety (as well as the Trust’s unique historic waterways Acts of Parliament dating back over 200 years), providing advice and support on contractual and property documentation, bringing and defending litigation (including judicial review) plus a full range of commercial, employment and boat licensing matters.

As Principal Property Lawyer with 2 direct reports,  you will lead on the delivery of legal support across the Trust’s broad property portfolio in connection with its commercial property transactions and related legal matters.   

Location

This is a national role supporting property transactional matters for the Trust across our operational regions in England and Wales and will is therefore suited be based working from home, with a requirement to attend our hub spaces when required for collaborative meetings with colleagues and stakeholders.  

Main hubs include: Leeds, Ellesmere Port, Burnley, Birmingham, Milton Keynes, Gloucester, London.

See our canal network here: (https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/canal-and-river-network). 

Reporting to the Senior Property Lawyer, the Principal Property Lawyer will have supervision of a small team of 2 and will work collaboratively within an experienced and supportive Legal team of qalified lawyers, claims manager, paralegals and  legal PA.  A national role, you will

provide legal advice on a wide range of transactional commercial property matters for the Trust.

Key accountabilities

• Assist the Senior Property Lawyer with day-to-day management of the property team, as required.
• Lead on complex property transactions, including acquisitions, disposals, leases, easements, licences, and associated agreements involving Trust-owned land.
• Provide legal advice on commercial property transactional matters, including landlord and tenant, development, utilities and infrastructure matters.
• Draft, review and negotiate commercial property documentation including contracts, transfers, agreements for lease, leases, overage provisions, options, and utilities agreements.
• Mentor and support the Property Lawyer and Property Paralegal within the team, fostering legal best practice and continuous professional development.
• Where appropriate, manage external lawyers and counsel, ensuring value for money and alignment with Trust priorities.
• Identify and mitigate legal risk in relation to property transactional matters in line with Trust policy and Charities Act obligations.
• Ensure compliance with the property team support framework in delivery of legal advice to the wider Trust teams.

About you

• Qualified lawyer (or equivalent) with 10+ years’ post-qualification experience in commercial property.
• Strong technical knowledge in land law, landlord and tenant, development and infrastructure-related property matters.
• Experience of public or quasi-public sector property matters, including statutory undertakings, utilities and charity law.
• Exceptional drafting, communication and negotiation skills with a pragmatic, solutions-focused approach.
• Ability to quickly build effective working relationships across a multi-disciplinary organisation.
• Self-starter who is confident managing a diverse workload and small team in a fast-paced environment.
• To be aware of your own responsibilities regarding safeguarding and to support our commitment to providing safe environments and working practices that promote and protect the safety and welfare of children, young people and adults at risk at all times.

To Apply:  click on the "Apply for this job" button and follow the process -  upload current CV & complete the personal statement section of the application form (iFORM)

If you have any questions about the role, please contact CRT.recruitment@canalrivertrust.org.uk

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient suitable applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

In addition to your salary of £55,000, you will benefit from a competitive contributory DC Pension scheme arrangement, great holiday entitlement and numerous other employee benefits, including several salary sacrifice benefits, all of which can be found here (https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/about-us/work-for-us/our-benefits).

Other benefits include: 

• Competitive contributory DC Pension scheme arrangement, where we will double your contribution to a maximum of 10%.
• 25 days paid holiday (plus paid Bank Holidays), increasing to 30 days after 5 years.
• Home working status with ‘hub’ facilities available should you need the flexibility to work outside of home.
• Personal learning & growth opportunities through internal and external development programmes  
• Free access to specialist counselling on a range of issues, e.g. health, financial, well-being and domestic matters.
• Access to a range of employee benefits including store discounts, boating holiday discounts and holiday purchase scheme.
• 2 days paid volunteering leave per annum, allowing you to volunteer for a local community project etc.
• Free fishing facilities across our canal network.

At the Trust we care passionately for our waterways, and as importantly, for those who look after and use them. We strongly believe that a diverse workforce brings with it a diversity of ideas, thinking and ways of working which enhances what we do as a Trust. We are striving to represent the diverse communities that we are a part of and welcome applicants from across all sectors of the community.

All candidates will be treated on the basis of their merits, skills and abilities and solely by being assessed against the requirements for the job.

When you join the Canal & River Trust you become a member of an engaged team working to preserve our heritage for future generations. Come and share your passion and knowledge with a team that makes a difference to millions of people every day.

Find out more about us on our website: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/about-us