Legal Counsel (Part-time)

Portland is an international communications consultancy trusted by some of the highest profile organisations, governments and individuals in the world with offices in Washington DC, New York, Singapore, Doha and Nairobi, as well as in London.

At Portland we never rest on our laurels; we constantly strive to improve our work and be at the forefront of the industry.

The role:

Portland are looking for a qualified corporate lawyer to support the business in what is a new role for the organisation.

The role will be varied but will have a primary focus on commercial agreements with our customers and advising our practice areas as we onboard new clients to ensure we have robust and commercially viable contracts consistently established.

While the role is envisaged as 3 days a week, we feel this role would suit an ambitious legal professional who is seeking an alternative to the traditional employment model, with the freedom to work flexibly across the week with home or remote working.

The role will report to the COO.

The role will have part-time support from the Legal and Business Affairs Manager who will be present in the office full time.

Key responsibilities:

• Leading on client contracting processes ensuring appropriate negotiation, drafting and review of all agreements
• Leading and advising the business on all other legal contracts and documents including NDAs and supplier agreements
• Providing legal support to the business on RFP’s and other ad hoc projects as required
• Overseeing and working proactively with the business on necessary and industry related matters such as GDPR, anti-bribery and FARA
• Facilitating legal and commercial awareness and compliance across the business
• Contributing to and maintaining a database of all legal templates and information (reflecting best practice from a legal, commercial and industry perspective)
• Providing training to the business as required
• Analysing and reporting on contracts, providing recommendations for improvement to the customer experience and industry insight
• Administration: hard and soft copy document management and review; liaising with internal departments across a variety of documents
• Miscellaneous: ad hoc research and advice on issues as necessary around general commercial, legal and operations support
• Supporting HR on policy, understanding the changing employment law landscape, as well as advising on internal employee relations case work as required

Qualifications, skills and competencies:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, highly articulate and persuasive
• Ability to adapt style for different audiences, summarise and simplify issues for non-specialists
• Able to demonstrate commercial astuteness
• A “can-do” attitude: able to work at pace and turn your hand to new things
• Excellent organizational skills with a high attention to detail and accuracy
• Happy to work both independently and with wider Operations colleagues
• Can be flexible and adaptable to the needs of the business
• Enjoy working directly with the business and are keen to understand the drivers and motivations of the different teams that the role supports
• Qualified lawyer ideally with some in-house experience, whether directly or via secondment

What we offer in return:

• We are committed to employee development and have an open doors culture where you will have the opportunity to learn from some of the most experienced people in the business. We regularly reward and promote success, and actively encourage staff to take on new challenges and responsibilities to aid progression.
• Our remuneration package also includes our competitive pension contributions, private healthcare life assurance cover, company contribution to gym membership, company parties, free daily breakfast and much, much more!
• In addition, every permanent member of staff that works at Portland is eligible for our industry leading quarterly bonus scheme and annual profit share. When Portland thrives, all of our people share in that success.

Unfortunately due to the high volume of applications we receive it is not possible to respond directly to all applicants, only to those whose candidacy is being pursued. In addition, the length of the recruitment process varies based on the vacancy needs. Traditionally, the process takes approximately 2-4 weeks. Therefore, your patience is greatly appreciated.