Junior Legal Counsel

Believ: ABOUT US

At Believ, formerly known as Liberty Charge, we’re committed to sustainable transport being accessible to everyone. We’re a Charge Point Operator (CPO) on a mission to create the UK’s most reliable electric vehicle charging network that doesn’t cost the earth and leaves no one behind. Providing equitable access to electric vehicle charging, and achieving cleaner air for all, is at the heart of the Believ mission. We work closely with local authorities and businesses to deliver reliable, high quality charging networks at pace, at scale and at zero cost.

We offer all the advantages of being a scale-up business, but with the added security and long-term backing from well-known parents - Liberty Global (who also own our delivery partner, Virgin Media O2) and Zouk Capital (who manage the Government’s Charging Investment Infrastructure Fund).

You’ll be joining this exciting journey during our scale-up phase, and working with us to hit the ambitious targets our shareholders have set. You’ll become part of a passionate and supportive team in a fast-paced, dynamic and result-driven environment.

About the role

As the Junior Legal Counsel, you will be a key member of a high-performing legal team, supporting the Legal Director and Senior Legal Counsels and collaborating closely with different teams across the company. This role offers exposure to a wide range of legal and strategic matters in a dynamic scale-up environment focused on EV infrastructure.

You will be instrumental in shaping legal frameworks, advising on risk, and helping drive commercial success through sound legal guidance. The role is ideal for a proactive, commercially minded newly qualified lawyer with a strong interest and/or some experience in infrastructure, technology, property and sustainability. We do not expect Candidates to already have gained experience in all these areas.

Concession Agreements:         

• Act as first point of call for the drafting, negotiating and completion of agreements for the roll-out of EV charging infrastructure and the associated occupational rights.
• Review and advise on industry-standard templates such as CCS/LEVI agreements as part of government consultations.
• Produce engrossments and attend to completion of Legal Agreements such as commercial contracts, Leases and Licences.
• Conduct title due diligence and advise the business regarding site viability.
• Lead on the drafting, negotiation and completion of the Lease and Licences for our office premises.
• Attend to post-completion matters related to Property Agreements such as Land Registration and SDLT calculations.
• Produce and update Legal templates.
• Assist with maintaining and producing trackers and reports as required.
• Assist with putting in place process improvements.

Commercial Contracts:

• Advise on, draft and negotiate a broad range of commercial contracts such as: services contracts, energy supply contracts, hardware and software purchase contracts, NDAs, commission agreements, network roaming agreements.

Construction Contracts:

• Advise on, review, draft, and negotiate construction-related agreements such as NEC4s, including installation and civil works contracts.
• Advise on risk allocation in construction frameworks and contractor engagements.
• Supervise external counsel in the drafting of future templates.

Business:

• Work with commercial teams to scope out new services, commercials, service levels and solutions and developing a contracting structure to match (keeping in mind a template may not always be readily available) and identify and mitigate risk.
• Work with the Tenders and Sales Team on RFls, ITTs, responding to tender T&Cs.

Industry Trends & Legal Developments:

• Monitor legal developments and industry trends, continually assessing and improving the business's legal strategies.
• Conduct legal research to support internal decision-making and policy development.

Stakeholder management:

• Engage with stakeholders, including shareholders and external counsel, ensuring effective communication and relationship management.
• Contract interpretation and dispute support to the business.

Team Development:

• Contribute to the growth and development of the legal, compliance, and regulatory functions within the business.
• Work closely with the Legal Director to help turn legal priorities into practical business strategy and support the company’s growth from the legal side

Business Support:

• Assist the Legal team in the review and negotiation of Legal Agreements and undertaking such tasks as assisting with Word document generation, drafting amendments and fixing formatting and cross-referencing.
• Assist lawyers in preparing deal summary forms and power point presentations.
• Assist with maintaining and producing trackers and reports as required.
• Assist with putting in place process improvements.
• Monitor external Legal spend, budgeting and raising POs.
• Conduct Legal research and keeping abreast of legislative developments.
• Assist with document management and storage.
• Assist with drafting and keeping up to date corporate policies such as Modern Slavery, Anti-bribery, Business Continuity etc.

In addition, you will have the opportunity to expand into other Commercial Contracts:

Data Protection:

• Advise on data privacy and compliance matters.
• Review and enhance internal business processes to ensure GDPR compliance.

Consumer Law:

• Collaborate with the Consumer team to ensure consumer terms and conditions are up-to-date and compliant with current legislation.

About you

At Believ, we are building a culture that attracts and retains the best talent. We are a dedicated and high-performing team, accustomed to working at pace in an ever-evolving industry, and we are looking for people who are as passionate as us about cutting carbon emissions and providing cleaner air for all.  The successful Candidate will be a qualified solicitor (SRA) in England & Wales with the following attributes and skills:

• Previous experience in drafting and negotiating commercial and/or property transactions and driving projects to completion.
• Previous experience or interest to develop in the other areas mentioned (we do not expect Candidates to have already gained experience in all these areas).
• Thrives working in a scale-up environment where goal posts are constantly moving and new solutions / business models are being trialed.
• Commercial acumen to understand how to structure advice and approach in a start-up and new industry environment.
• Comfortable working closely with the business to ensure key contractual deliverables and milestones are tracked and met.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Knowledge of network infrastructure, whether EV, mobile, broadband, electricity.
• Familiarity with UK public procurement regimes.
• Familiarity with planning and street works requirements.
• Above all, you will be up for the challenge and have a willingness to learn about all parts of our business by rolling your sleeves up and diving in to help all internal business functions.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and bonus scheme
• 25 days’ annual leave, plus the usual 8 UK Bank Holidays
• Access to wellbeing and mental health benefits such as the Calm app, personal medical insurance, critical illness cover, dental, optical & travel insurance, income protection and life assurance
• Pension contribution matched up to 10%
• Access to our car benefit scheme and cycle to work scheme
• Access to our online learning platform to continue to develop and grow your career with us.
• 24 hours a year Volunteer Time Off to support causes that are important to you
• Virgin Media / O2 discounts and offers
• Access to VIP Arena Suites at the O2 Arena (London) and First Direct Arena (Leeds)
• Enhanced parental leave policies

Location

The business is currently based in our office in Southwark. The position is full time, hybrid with 3 days (Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday) based in the office. Believ is an equal opportunity employer. We embrace diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for our people.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.