Senior Legal Counsel – Group & UK Commercial
Job Description
Job title: Senior Legal Counsel – Group & UK Commercial
Company: SSP Group
Job description: About us:
SSP is a leading operator of food and beverage outlets in travel locations worldwide, with c.42,000 colleagues in over 600 locations across 37 countries.
We operate sit-down and quick service restaurants, cafes, lounges and food-led convenience stores, principally in airports and train stations, with a portfolio of around 550 international, national and local brands.
These include our own brands Upper Crust, Millies Cookies etc. as well as franchise brands such as M&S, Starbucks and Burger King.
Our purpose is to be the best part of the journey, and this is underpinned by our aim to bring leading brands and innovative concepts to our clients and customers around the world, with an emphasis on great value, taste, quality and service.
About the role:
As we continue to expand and diversify our portfolio within our UK and Ireland Airport business, it is imperative that we have an individual with a strong legal background, to act as the commercial contract subject matter expert and provide legal advice to the wider group teams, and overseas SSP businesses.
What you will be doing:
- Providing expert commercial contract advice to management on airport agreements, reviewing and advising on any risks in contracts and tender documentation for the operation of food & beverage concessions in the UK.
- Partnering with the Business Development team on negotiations, drafting summaries for the commercial, financial, and legal terms of each concession agreement for future reference by the UK business.
- Provide support with brand partner agreements, franchise agreements and development agreements for local and international brands.
- Support the UK Procurement team on their key purchasing agreements, providing advice on drafting and negotiating with our key contracts for products and services.
- Support the UK Management team on approaching any commercial disputes and optimising the company’s position when a dispute arises, working with external litigators in the event of a material dispute.
- Provide commercial legal advice to other teams within our Group functions on drafting and negotiation of commercial agreements such as IT contracts, framework purchasing agreements for products and equipment and consultancy agreements.
- Supporting with Group compliance matters such as GDPR guidance, internal authorisations (GAP), anti-bribery or modern slavery.
- Provide Legal review of trade press releases/ announcements and any other Ad hoc data requests – such as fielding information on compliance matters or litigation as required.
To be successful in this role you will need:
- Commercial lawyer with at least 5 years of post-qualification experience in commercial contract advice. Needs to be commercial in outlook, with solid drafting skills, a collaborative approach and a strong work ethic.
- The ability and confidence to work unsupervised as well building and maintaining strong relationships are important skills for the role, as you will be required to liaise directly with a wide range of stakeholders to successfully communicate legal implications and recommendations.
- Experience of working directly with internal clients in house.
- Experience of drafting and negotiating franchise agreements and IT contracts.
Belong at SSP:
Diversity and Inclusion is a priority at SSP. We are an equal opportunities employer committed to engaging all of our people, so they feel valued and motivated; we champion diversity, promote inclusion, and ensure equality.
We respect and protect human rights and prevent discrimination; and we positively impact our communities. We encourage and welcome applications from a diverse range of candidates regardless of background, gender, race, religious beliefs, disability, sexual identity and orientation or age.
Expected salary:
Location: United Kingdom
