Senior Legal Counsel, Corporate - 14 Month Fixed Term Contract

We are Lightsource bp – and we’re on a mission to become a global leader in onshore renewables, anchored by our proven track record in solar development. 

For over a decade we’ve been actively working to diversify the way our world is powered with sustainable and responsible renewable power. We work to safely deliver affordable, reliable, large-scale onshore renewable and energy storage solutions to help the world decarbonise. 

Our growing business is constantly innovating and investing to help drive the energy transition. Our people and projects are focused on supporting long-term sustainable growth and energy security. 

Lightsource bp was fully acquired by bp in 2024. 

What you’ll do (the role) 

The Lightsource bp Legal Team, with lawyers in several countries globally, specialises in corporate, construction, energy, finance, commercial and property law in the renewable energy sector, providing support across all units and jurisdictions of the business. 

This role is a 14-month maternity cover and sits within the Legal – Corporate Team, which is based in London and supports central and global functions, including IT, marketing, HR, corporate governance, shareholder matters, disputes and others. This is an exciting opportunity for a lawyer with a broad corporate and commercial skillset to work within a dynamic and changing business and a growth industry. 

Responsibilities of the Role 

• Reviewing and advising on, drafting and negotiating a wide range of commercial agreements, including IT services agreements (such as SaaS agreements, MSAs and licences), consultancy agreements, engagement letters and NDAs.
• Managing the legal aspects of the Group’s IP portfolio.
• Managing central recording and reporting of disputes, advising on disputes affecting the Corporate Team’s clients and advising other Legal Teams on internal disputes policies.
• Advising on, ensuring compliance with and reviewing/updating internal governance frameworks and approvals processes.
• Managing, supporting and developing the Legal Counsel, Corporate and Paralegal, Corporate.
• Advising on legal and commercial issues and providing legal advice on, and solutions to, issues affecting the business.
• Identifying existing gaps and implementing solutions and improvements to work processes in order to enhance efficiency and mitigate risk.
• Advising on Group corporate matters, including dividends, capital reductions, governance matters and reporting obligations.
• Supporting the Corporate Team to deliver high quality contractual documentation, including drafting suites of key documents, standard terms and precedents and user guides/training materials for different business units.
• Responding to legal and contractual questions from key business teams.
• Liaising with key internal business teams including Marketing, IT, HR, Finance, Structured Finance and Innovation and counselling the business partners on a wide range of legal topics, including undertaking training on legal concepts where necessary. 

Why you’ll make a great member of the team 

Experience & Knowledge Required 

• Qualified lawyer with at least 8 years’ post-qualification experience in the UK or a similar common law jurisdiction.
• Excellent academic background and experience gained in a leading international or mid-to-top tier law firm and similar in-house role.
• Experience working with fast-moving, commercial internal clients and overseeing and developing junior lawyers.
• Extensive experience in drafting and negotiating relevant commercial contracts (for the UK and on a cross-border basis).
• Experience instructing and managing external/local counsel (including as to budget and spend).
• Excellent working knowledge of corporate governance, commercial contract law, IP law and IT law is essential.
• Familiarity with commercial dispute resolution or regulatory/compliance areas (including data protection law) would be an advantage.
• Experience in the renewable energy sector would be an advantage. 

Skills Required 

• Strong business acumen with ability to assess and manage legal risk and offer commercial/practical considerations and solutions.
• Solid technical drafting skills and extensive proven experience in respect of the documents and types of work covered in the ‘Responsibilities of the Role’ section of this job description.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, changing environment with a diverse and often time-pressured workload.
• Strong time management and prioritisation skills.
• Excellent interpersonal and team leadership skills.
• Excellent written, verbal communication and English language skills.
• Flexible, helpful and hardworking approach and team player. 

Education Required 

• Excellent legal academic background and current legal practicing certificate in either England and Wales or similar common law jurisdiction that is valid for practice in England and Wales. 

Why you’ll want to work for us

 Our company is a place where you can be yourself and grow, a place where your ideas and opinions matter. 

Be you: We pride ourselves on being an inclusive community, where every individual is valued and treated with respect. 

Be responsible: Our culture is driven by our core values – from operating safely to ensuring our projects are responsible.  

Be recognized: Alongside a competitive salary, we offer a variety of benefits including annual bonus, retention bank, health insurance, pension and other local benefits. 

Be inspired: Beyond your day-to-day working life at Lightsource bp, there’s a variety of initiatives that will contribute to your own personal development. These include our charitable causes, supporting our solar honey project, or volunteering on our VIBES committee to name a few. 

Our core values: Lightsource bp truly cares about creating a sustainable future through safe, responsible and meaningful low carbon energy projects. Our core values of Safety, Integrity, Respect, Sustainability and Drive are the guiding principles for everything we do. 

For further information on our career opportunities and life at Lightsource bp, please visit https://www.lightsourcebp.com/careers/