Head of Public Sector Legal & Contracts

Requirements

• Review and negotiate public sector framework agreements, call-off contracts, statements of work, managed service agreements and contract schedules.
  
• Advise on liability, indemnities, warranties, insurance, intellectual property, data protection, confidentiality, audit, termination, exit and TUPE provisions.
  
• Prepare clear legal-risk summaries and recommendations for senior leadership.
  
• Ensure agreed clarifications, assumptions and negotiated positions are reflected in the final contract.
  

• Review material tender and contract documentation before submission.
  
• Identify legal risks, mandatory obligations and potentially onerous commitments.
  
• Review supplier declarations, subcontracting arrangements and contractual qualifications.
  
• Check that VE3’s tender response does not create unintended or unsupported commitments.
  
• Maintain a legal-risk and exceptions register for significant bids.
  

• Interpret public procurement requirements where they affect VE3 as a bidder or supplier.
  
• Review framework, call-off and tender documentation.
  
• Advise on inconsistencies between procurement documents, clarification responses, VE3’s bid and the final contract.
  
• Review standstill correspondence, evaluation feedback and supplier declarations.
  
• Advise on exclusion, debarment and disclosure risks.
  
• Assess the legal implications of contract variations, extensions and scope changes.
  
• Coordinate external procurement-law advice where a formal challenge or specialist opinion is required.
  

• Produce practical contract summaries for delivery and account teams.
  
• Interpret contractual obligations, dependencies, acceptance criteria and notice requirements.
  
• Advise whether requested work is within scope or requires a formal change.
  
• Review material client instructions and contractual correspondence.
  
• Prevent operational decisions from unintentionally varying the contract or waiving VE3’s rights.
  

• Review contract variations, extensions, renewals and amendments.
  
• Ensure material changes are properly documented and approved.
  
• Draft or review breach, delay, remediation, dispute and termination notices.
  
• Monitor contractual deadlines and preserve VE3’s rights.
  
• Lead the internal legal management of contractual disputes.
  
• Prepare legal assessments, event chronologies and settlement recommendations.
  
• Manage instructions to external solicitors and counsel.
  

• Protect VE3’s background intellectual property, platforms, accelerators, software and reusable components.
  
• Distinguish VE3-owned materials from client-specific deliverables.
  
• Review software licensing, cloud, data, artificial intelligence and open-source provisions.
  
• Review data-processing, confidentiality, information-security and freedom of information clauses.
  
• Ensure VE3 has appropriate intellectual-property rights from employees, consultants and subcontractors.
  

• Review TUPE schedules, employee-transfer information and workforce indemnities.
  
• Coordinate specialist employment-law advice where required.
  
• Draft and negotiate subcontractor, consultant and partner agreements.
  
• Ensure relevant client obligations are appropriately flowed down.
  
• Identify gaps between VE3’s client commitments and supplier or subcontractor obligations.
  

• Maintain a central register of public sector contracts, variations, notices and disputes.
  
• Establish proportionate legal-review and approval processes.
  
• Develop standard contract-review templates, subcontracting terms and legal precedents.
  
• Provide contract and legal-risk training to bid, account, transition and delivery teams.
  
• Coordinate the use of external legal advisers.
  

• Solicitor qualified in England and Wales, or equivalent relevant legal qualification.
  
• Significant experience reviewing and negotiating UK public sector contracts.
  
• Experience advising a technology, professional services, outsourcing or managed-services supplier.
  
• Strong contract-law, drafting and negotiation skills.
  
• Practical knowledge of UK public procurement law as it affects suppliers.
  
• Experience with framework and call-off contracts.
  
• Experience handling contract variations, notices and disputes.
  
• Strong knowledge of liability, indemnities, intellectual property, data protection and confidentiality.
  
• Experience advising senior business and delivery stakeholders.
  
• Ability to provide practical, proportionate and commercially aware legal advice.
  

• Experience with Crown Commercial Service or other public sector frameworks.
  
• Experience in central government, local government, NHS, defence or regulated sectors.
  
• Experience with technology, cloud, data, cybersecurity, software or artificial intelligence contracts.
  
• Experience with TUPE, supplier exclusion and debarment matters.
  
• Previous in-house experience with a public sector technology supplier or systems integrator.
  

• The successful candidate will demonstrate:
  
• Strong legal judgement
  
• Clear and concise communication
  
• Practical risk-based decision-making
  
• Excellent drafting and negotiation
  
• Confidence working with senior stakeholders
  
• The ability to challenge constructively
  
• Strong organisation and attention to detail
  
• The ability to protect VE3’s position without taking an unnecessarily adversarial approach