Legal Counsel

Location

• Swissport Head Office, Runcorn
• Reporting to: Head of Legal UK & Ireland
• Length of Contract: 6 months Fixed Term Contract commencing in December 2026. Possibility to extend if required.
• Swissport is the world’s largest provider of ground and cargo handling services in the aviation industry. The Head of Legal for UK & Ireland (UK&I) is looking for a recently qualified lawyer to join the legal department for a 6 month period.
• Reporting into Head of Legal UK&I, you will be involved in providing general and practical legal advice to the business including drafting, reviewing and negotiating commercial contracts and upholding the high levels of regulatory compliance within the business. You will support the Head of Legal and the business in ensuring compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
• The scope of the position will be broad, and you will act as a true business partner alongside the Head of Legal in order to deliver sound legal support and advice to the UK&I business. You will enable the business to deliver on its objectives and to minimise the risk, whilst remaining commercially minded and solutions focused.
• This is a great opportunity for an autonomous individual to grow as an in-house lawyer within a market leading business.
• The following responsibilities are associated with this job role:
• Draft, review, and negotiation of commercial Standard Ground Handling Agreements and other commercial agreements/vendor agreements, including NDAs.
• Advise on contractual disputes and other ad hoc enquiries.
• Support with Data Protection issues including handling data subject access requests and data breaches etc.
• Support Corporate Governance of all regional subsidiaries.
• Provide practical commercial legal advice to the business on a wide range of areas including compliance and regulatory requirements, anti-competition laws, anti-bribery and corruption laws.
• Ensure compliance with Group Directives and Delegation of Authority sign off process across the business.
• Deliver training to the organisation regarding contractual matters and compliance if required.
• Occasional travel to airports within UK&I, subject to business need.
• Qualified Solicitor/Barrister with between 1-3 years PQE.
• Experience of in-house working desirable such as through secondment.
• Bachelor or Master degree in Law or other relevant field is desirable
• Any aviation experience is advantageous but not essential
• Strong business acumen.
• Significant experience with commercial transactions, and corporate governance.
• A positive, self starter with the ability to manage a significant number of projects simultaneously and to thrive in a dynamic and fast paced environment while always maintaining the highest level of integrity.
• A proven team player with the ability to build consensus with diverse stakeholders and third parties and form strong collaborative working relationships with internal clients
• Competent in Microsoft Office Package with skilled user of Microsoft Excel. Microsoft Office 365 is desirable.
• Requirement to be present in the Head Office in Runcorn a minimum of 3 times per week.
• The list is not exhaustive and is not intended to restrict the scope of the job but clearly define a starting point and may vary depending on location and local customer requirements.

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