Commercial Lawyer (2851)

Do you want to create a better world for animals? At the RSPCA, we believe all animals deserve kindness and respect. We work for the benefit of every animal – as well as pets, that includes farmed animals, wildlife, and animals used in science. Choose a career with us and make a difference for every kind.

We are looking for a high-calibre Commercial Lawyer to join our small, high impact inhouse legal team. This is more than a legal role; it is a pivotal position dedicated to safeguarding our Trustees, our brand, and our ability to protect animals across England and Wales.

• Permanent Contract
• Working hours: 35 hours - Monday to Friday (we are open to discussions about a reduced working pattern). 
• Hybrid role: You will work from home and will travel for occasional meetings in our London or Horsham office.

We think this role is going to be popular, so early applications are advised. Our closing date is the 18th of March at 11:30pm. 

You will hold significant decision making authority and will be the lead architect for the Society's commercial legal health.

As such, we will look to you to:

• Act as the lead specialist for commercial law, providing pragmatic advice to the Society and its subsidiaries on IP, fundraising law, and regulatory compliance.
• Collaborate with inhouse colleagues in implementing data protection requirements.
• Proactively identify and mitigate financial and reputational risks. Your decisions will directly protect the RSPCA's public image and organisational integrity.
• Create robust  contracts and develop templates that empower internal teams while maintaining strict legal oversight.
• Partner with the Chief Legal Counsel (CLC) to shape the legal team's service strategy and manage organisational risk reporting to bodies like the Charity Commission and the ICO.

This role requires a lawyer who thrives on autonomy; you will manage competing requests and high pressure deadlines daily. 

You will act as a Business Partner, and as the SME, you will give sound advice that will have an immediate impact on the RSPCA's reputation, so you must possess the judgement and experience to know when to act independently and when to escalate matters to the CLC.

To apply for this role, you must be a qualified lawyer with considerable post-qualification experience; ideally gained within an inhouse environment. You are a creative problem solver who looks past "no" to find "how."

You will also have proven:

• Ability to work autonomously. You should be comfortable as a "sole specialist," capable of managing competing priorities and tight deadlines with minimal supervision.
• In-depth knowledge of commercial law, with the flexibility to adapt to other areas like charity or animal welfare law as needed.
• Ability to build and maintain relationships with key stakeholders. 
• Ability to translate complex technical legal matters into credible, high-impact advice for a wide range of stakeholders.
• Ability to self-motivate and to work in a highly organised manner,
• Capability to manage a heavy, diverse workload.
• Experience in the non-profit, philanthropic, or animal welfare sectors is highly desirable.

Successful candidates for certain RSPCA roles will need to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

Applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK - We are unable to sponsor visas at RSPCA

Interviews will be held remotely on the 1st and the 2nd of April.

We want to ensure we do all we can to give you a positive candidate experience through our recruitment. Whilst we do try to give feedback where we can, sometimes due to receiving high levels of applications, this may not always be possible

We are building the future of a diverse Society, and our priority is to support animal welfare by finding people from all backgrounds who are committed  to our mission.  For this reason we actively encourage a wide diversity of applications - in particular from members of minority ethnic groups, and people with disabilities - as these candidates are currently under-represented at the RSPCA. Your transferable skills & lived experiences could make you a valuable addition to our RSPCA Family! 

We're here to support you and encourage you to let us know if you need any adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process. Please feel free to contact us at resourcingteam@rspca.org.uk or 0300 123 0685 so we can ensure the process works for you.