Senior Commercial Lawyer

Salary details: £ - £

We are looking for a Senior Lawyer to join our successful Commercial legal team to provide specialist practical and commercial legal advice to the Council in relation to schools PFI expiry and related services contracts. This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced commercial PFI lawyer to develop their skills and ensure smooth transition of the Council’s PFI schools, minimising and mitigating cost/risk to the Council and its school partners throughout.

You will work within the Commercial team assisting the Principal Lawyer to develop positive and effective relationships with client departments.  You will be the legal lead on the Council’s PFI expiry project and will provide legal advice and support on PFI expiry as well as on a range of complex commercial and local government matters. You will also be a member of the Legal Division’s Senior Leadership Team.

Take a look at the job and person profiles attached to see the full range of potential areas this role will be covering. 

The team adopts an agile working policy with flexible working arrangements which includes access to a range of bases as well as remote or home working.  The team are very approachable and have developed very strong and resilient arrangements for communication and support.

You will be a qualified Barrister, Solicitor or Chartered Legal Executive with prior experience of PFI who shares the Council’s ambition to work together with our partners and communities to be an enterprising council, delivering value for money and enabling local people and places to thrive.

Provisional Interview Date: Week commencing 20 July 2026 

Apply now and take the first step towards a fulfilling career with us! By joining Derbyshire County Council you will have access to a range of amazing rewards and employee benefits, including our generous annual leave scheme, excellent local government pension and fantastic employee discounts. To discover more detail about the rewards and benefits available to you, click here

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This role currently offers hybrid working options which will be to subject service needs, there'll be an opportunity to discuss working arrangements for this position at interview.

Important: Derbyshire County Council holds a sponsorship licence, but this role does not offer visa sponsorship. Please apply only if you already have the right to work in the UK without sponsorship, as applications that do not meet this requirement will be rejected.

We welcome applications from individuals who share our values — being Collaborative, Innovative, Empowered and Accountable. These values describe who we are and what we stand for as a council. They help shape our culture, encourage consistent behaviour and guide how we work together to make a positive difference for both our employees and the residents we serve.