COMMERCIAL LEAD – (IN HOUSE LEGAL)  

As a Commercial Lead at Kainos, you will be joining a commercially focused, leading in-house legal team. We are seeking a pragmatic, business-focused and collaborative commercial lawyer. The ideal candidate will bring experience in drafting, negotiating and advising on commercial contracts, with an ability to balance legal risk against commercial objectives.   

You will be flexible, forward-thinking and solutions-oriented, with the confidence to provide clear, practical advice that supports strategic goals. This role requires someone who thrives in a fast-paced environment, demonstrates excellent stakeholder engagement skills, and maintains a strong business focus.   

Your responsibilities will include:  

• Drafting, reviewing and negotiating a wide range of commercial agreements, including customer and supplier contracts, SaaS agreements, software licensing and professional services contracts, as directed by Senior Legal team with accountability as appropriate for standalone work.  

• Provide practical and commercially focused advice to a range of stakeholders across commercial, finance, delivery and leadership teams.   

• Support bid teams on contractual terms for tenders and proposals.  

• Identify and mitigate legal and commercial risks in new ventures and ongoing operations.  

• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of relevant legislation, regulatory changes and industry best practice and recognise when to escalate legal compliance issues.  

• Contribute to continuous improvement of contract templates, processes and governance frameworks.  

MINIMUM (ESSENTIAL) REQUIREMENTS:   

• Qualified Solicitor or Barrister with a minimum of 6 years relevant post qualification experience in a commercial contract's role (or a minimum of 7 years of relevant experience in a legal/commercial role).  

• Experience in drafting, reviewing and/or negotiating commercial contracts (preferably within IT Sector).   

• Articulate, analytical, pragmatic, and enthusiastic.  

• Excellent drafting, communication, and negotiation skills  

• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills with demonstrated ability of building strong trusted relationships with internal and external stakeholders  

• A high attention to detail with excellent time management, organisational and planning skills.  

• Ability to work to tight deadlines and make sensible decisions under pressure.   

• We all work in teams here in Kainos – a proven ability of strong team skills.   

DESIRABLE:  

• A keen interest in technology and AI.  

• An understanding of the UK Public Sector procurement and contracting and subcontracting environment is highly desirable  

• Experience with SaaS agreements   

• Understanding of core legislative requirements such as GDPR, AI Act and Procurement Act