Legal Counsel

Unite Foundation; Bristol; On-site; GBP 125,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading accommodation provider in Bristol seeks an experienced Legal Counsel to join its Legal team. The successful candidate will handle legal, regulatory, and contractual issues, focusing on customer welfare, asset management, and compliance. Ideal applicants will have real estate and commercial law experience, strong attention to detail, and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment. This role offers a range of benefits including a discretionary bonus, generous holiday, and a supportive work culture.

Benefits

Discretionary annual bonus

25 days paid holiday

Generous pension scheme

Healthcare Cash Plan

Enhanced Family Leave

Qualifications

• Experience gained within a leading law firm or in-house legal team.
• Enjoys working closely with an operating business and front-line teams.
• Thrives in a fast-paced, innovative environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead negotiation of nomination agreements with university partners.
• Provide legal support on customer welfare and student tenant issues.
• Monitor legal and regulatory changes affecting operations.

Skills

Real Estate experience

Commercial acumen

Attention to detail

Education

2-4 years PQE in law

Job description

We’re looking for an experienced Legal Counsel to join our fantastic Legal team in Bristol.

You’ll be a critical member of the Legal and Company Secretary team with responsibility for legal, regulatory and contractual matters in our operations business and our nominations portfolio.

This means you’ll be working close to the heart of our business, focused on the success of:

• our relationships with Universities
• our student customers, helping ensure we provide a safe and secure home for the young people who live with us
• our digital operating platform and operational excellence
• our operating portfolio of property assets

Unite Students is the market leader in PBSA and our business, supported by the legal team, continues to innovate. This role helps us sustain and strengthen this market leading position, guiding the business to stay on point whilst being prepared to challenge the ordinary.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Nominations agreements – leading on the drafting and negotiating of nomination agreements with our University partners
• Customer welfare and student tenant issues – providing legal support to our operational teams across the UK on a wide range of customer welfare and student tenant legal issues
• Utilisation Projects – supporting teams as we look to deliver more value from our operating assets
• Real Estate Support – understanding and being able to understand our property ownership structures and support on intragroup arrangements affecting this
• HMO Licensing – providing support to our local teams on the applicable HMO licensing regimes appropriate for their local council and monitoring incoming schemes
• Summer business – supporting our shorter stay relationships as some of our properties shift their focus to short term licences in the summer months
• Data Protection Support – assisting our data protection team with discrete queries to help ensure our continued data protection legislation compliance
• Legal and regulatory change – monitoring legal and regulatory change affecting our operating business and collaborating with the business to understand the impact of this change and help prepare for and manage this change

What We’re Looking for in You

• Real Estate, Commercial and (ideally) licensing experience gained within a leading law firm or in-house legal team (likely 2-4 years PQE). Previous in-house experience is not essential and this role may suit an individual looking to leave private practice for the first time
• Commercial acumen and someone who relishes working closely with an operating business and front-line teams
• Enjoys working in a fast paced, dynamic and innovative environment, with the freedom to make decisions and drive change
• Excellent attention to detail

What You’ll Get in Return

• A discretionary annual bonus so you can share in the company’s success
• 25 days paid holiday and an annual holiday buying scheme, with 5 additional days awarded for long service
• A generous pension scheme – employer contributions between 5% and 11% depending on how much you save
• Various benefits to support your health and wellbeing including a Healthcare Cash Plan, an Employee Assistance Programme, a Wellbeing platform and a Gym benefit that you can share with your family and friends
• Enhanced Family Leave including 18 weeks full pay for birthing parents and 4 weeks for non-birthing parents
• Lots of other great benefits including an annual ShareSave scheme, Employee Life Assurance, a discounts portal and more!

About Unite Students

Founded in 1991, Unite Students is the UK’s leading provider of purpose-built student accommodation. You can find us in 23 leading university towns and cities, with 70,000 students calling US home! We are driven by our values, culture, and a commitment to develop diverse and inclusive teams, filled with positive energy and new ideas.

Instinctive inclusion. We know that to create and maintain a happy healthy organisation, we have to work hard to ensure inclusion isn’t just what we do but who we are.

People make Unite Students. Employees, students and neighbours all contribute to building environments where we can all thrive.

Room for Everyone. We’re proud to be an employer that embraces individuality, and we’re passionate about building inclusive teams. We focus on creating a collaborative culture where you can be you, where your voice is heard, and where you can truly belong. We take great pride in being rated Gold Investors in People and are constantly striving to provide the highest standard of learning and development opportunities and professional pathways for our people. Building a home for success, for both our employees and students, requires exceptional people with a passion for creating room for everyone, doing what’s right, keeping US safe, and raising the bar. Join us as we build better experiences for students that live with us.