Job Title: Legal Counsel

Department: Legal

Contract /Hours: Permanent, Full-time (40 hours per week)

Salary range: Up to £80,000 per annum DOE

Shape the future of healthcare and diagnostic services

Sonic Healthcare UK is seeking a qualified solicitor to join its in-house legal team as Legal Counsel.

This is an opportunity to work for a leader in the UK’s diagnostic healthcare sector, advising senior stakeholders on a varied range of commercially significant matters. You will support projects involving innovative technology and new pathology tests, while helping colleagues from scientific, clinical and commercial backgrounds manage legal risk and deliver practical solutions at pace.

Reporting to the General Counsel, you will provide timely, commercially astute advice across the Sonic Healthcare UK group, with a particular focus on commercial contracts, technology, privacy and regulatory compliance.

About the role

Your work will include:

• taking instructions directly from senior managers and providing clear, pragmatic advice;
• reviewing, drafting and negotiating contracts with customers and suppliers, and advising on the whole contract lifecycle;
• advising on data protection, privacy and information governance matters, including drafting data processing, data sharing and international data transfer agreements;
• advising on regulatory compliance matter, particularly the regimes governing healthcare and medical technology;
• helping to develop legal policies, templates and training;
• monitoring relevant legal developments and explaining their implications to senior stakeholders; and
• working with the General Counsel to improve the legal team’s processes and use of technology.

The role offers a genuinely varied caseload and the opportunity to become a trusted adviser to teams including procurement, bids, information governance and finance.

About you

You must:

• be qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales;
• have at least one year’s post-qualification experience advising in areas relevant to the role in a law firm or in-house role;

You must combine strong technical legal skills with the ability to assimilate complex information quickly, evaluate legal and commercial risks, and explain practical solutions clearly. You should be self-motivated, methodical, curious, collaborative, calm under pressure and receptive to feedback.

This role covers a wide range of legal topics. You might not have experience in all of them yet, but you will have a proven capability to get up-to-speed with them rapidly.

Experience in healthcare or life sciences, or familiarity with standard-form NHS contracts, would be advantageous but is not essential.

About Us

Sonic Healthcare is an internationally renowned healthcare provider with a demonstrable track record of medical services across the world. Headquartered in Sydney, Australia, Sonic is an ASX Top 50 company that has grown to become one of the world’s leading healthcare providers, specialising in pathology, radiology and primary care medical centres. We have operations in Australia, the USA, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Ireland and New Zealand.

Sonic Healthcare UK encompasses the two main entities in the UK, The Doctors Laboratory (TDL) and Health Services Laboratories (HSL). HSL is a partnership between The Doctors Laboratory (TDL), Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust and University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH). HSL was formed to provide pathology services to the NHS Trusts and has expanded further to provide services to other NHS Trusts. Over 3,500 staff work at Sonic Healthcare UK, primarily under the TDL or HSL banner.

Our purpose is to deliver medically-led diagnostics, innovation, value and long-term investment to healthcare. With our core laboratory based at The Halo Building in London WC1H 9AX, we also have an expanding site in Manchester as well as smaller hospital-based laboratories across the country. We maintain rigorously high standards of quality, whilst also delivering efficiencies to healthcare through careful workforce planning, pioneering technology and significant investment in infrastructure and IT.

Due to the nature of work that Sonic Healthcare UK undertakes, our clients require that Employees filling certain roles, need, as part of their on-boarding to complete a DBS Check.

Why Join Sonic Healthcare UK?

At Sonic Healthcare UK we offer a variety of excellent staff benefits including:

• Training and development opportunities – supporting professional development

• Annual salary review - salary and progression are aligned to our internal transparent pay structure (Progression Plus), supporting career development and structured annual salary reviews

• Discounted gym membership – we have a corporate gym membership scheme with Better Gyms

• Cash healthcare plan – cash back on a variety of healthcare costs including dentist and opticians

• Sick Pay Entitlement – one month’s full pay and one month’s half pay after probation

• Permanent Health Insurance and Death in Service Cover 

• Life Assurance – providing salary continuation for long term illness (six months qualifying period)

• Employee Assistance Programme – supporting staff wellbeing

• Season Ticket Loan Scheme – interest free loan for the cost of annual travel ticket

• Perkbox – Access to additional staff perks and benefits such as high street discounts

• Company Pension Scheme – company and staff contributions which increase with service

• Competitive annual leave allowance

• Flexible working hours – we support and offer flexibility around shift patterns and working schedule

Please read the job description and person specification carefully and ensure that your application reflects the knowledge, skills and experience required.

We respect and value the diversity of our staff and welcome applications from diverse communities.

PLEASE NOTE: WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO CLOSE THIS VACANCY AT ANY TIME EVEN IF A CLOSING DATE IS SHOWN HERE OR IN ANY OTHER MEDIA