Legal Counsel:
About DFT Operator
Join Our Team at DFTO
DFTO is the government’s public sector rail owning group. Its purpose is to bring all currently privately-owned train operators into public ownership in advance of the creation of Great British Railways in 2027 - and deliver improvements in the here and now by unifying and integrating train operations under common public ownership.
DFTO has over 23,000 employees, runs over 6,000 services a day and delivers over 450 million customer journeys across its networks every year. This accounts for 26% of total UK passenger journeys and 30% of passenger miles.
Major improvements are being delivered by DFTO train operators (TOCs) that are already under public ownership - these are LNER, Northern, TransPennine Express (TPE), Southeastern, South Western Railway (SWR) and c2c.
Primary Purpose of Job:
Provide high quality legal advice on a range of matters to the business. Work cooperatively and collaboratively with other members of the Legal & Compliance function.
Key Responsibilities:
- Provide high quality legal advice and support on a wider range of issues, often complex, to facilitate compliance with relevant legal and regulatory requirements and support the company in achieving its commercial and business objectives.
- Research and prepare advice for leadership on a variety of legal matters, including consumer rights, railway regulations, public sector equality duty, procurement law, data protection, intellectual property and licensing and competition law, enabling awareness and informed decision making.
- Identify and mitigate legal risks in contracts and other operational matters in order to protect reputation damage and mitigate the risk of disputes.
- Draft, review, negotiate and advise on contracts (commercial or otherwise) and other legal correspondence across all areas of the business to protect the interests of DFTO.
- Actively engage and build strong relationships with stakeholders, delivering training sessions and offering hands on support to facilitate effective collaboration and optimal outcomes.
- Participate in various multi-function project teams advising on legal aspects and problem solving in order to achieve business objectives.
- Actively contribute to group level-legal initiatives and development of company policies, processes and/or training for the areas covered by the legal team.
- Prepare and draft discussion papers to the functional leadership team, as well as broader business areas, to broaden awareness of legal risk and inform joined up decision making with relevant stakeholders.
- Maintain appropriate legal competency and knowledge, including by staying up to date with changes to legislation, particularly in relation to laws, rules and regulations that directly affect the business and the rail industry.
- Where appropriate, liaise and supervise external lawyers and monitor legal spend, in order to obtain advice on specialist areas within budget.
- Support the Head of Legal and Lead Legal Counsel in developing a team within the DFTO Legal and Compliance directorate responsible for providing high quality legal support to functions which have recently transferred into DFTO from the DfT or other areas of the industry, or are transferring into DFTO during 2026, particularly in areas of policy, rolling stock and fares and ticketing reform.
- Work closely with the Government Legal Department and external lawyers to maintain legal support for DFTO during a period of significant change.
Knowledge, Skills, Experience & Technical Qualifications:
- Solicitor admitted to practice in England & Wales with at least 4 years PQE with a reputable law firm/in house organisation.
- Knowledge of and experience of public procurement law, public law and competition law.
- The ability to think strategically and creatively, understanding the role of lawyers in Government and the wider public sector context, and advising accordingly.
- Experience of working within a public sector environment.
- Educated to degree level or higher.
- Previous relevant experience gained across a number of legal areas whether regulatory compliance procurement, commercial, competition and corporate.
- Ability to explain complex legal and risk issues in accessible plain English terms.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to influence and build strong relationships across internal teams and external stakeholders.
- Demonstrated ability to prioritise competing demands and deliver high-quality outcomes under pressure.
- Collaborative team player with a professional and proactive approach to problem-solving.
- Strong legal analytical skills.
- Ability to research effectively using platforms such as PLC/Lexis Nexis or other trusted sources.
- Desirable: Background in rail, other transport, or other regulated industries is desirable but not essential.
Vacancy Details:
Duration: 2 year Fixed Term contract/secondment Reports to: Head of Legal
Location: London Waterloo
Salary: up to £73,368
Closing date: 30th January 2026
DFTO Benefits:
Annual Leave: Starting at 25 days and rising to an additional day per year of service completed within the first 5 completed years up to a maximum of 5 additional (30 days)
DC Pension Scheme: 10% Employer contribution, 5% Employee contribution
Opportunities to learn and network across the wider industry
Additional Information…
Disclaimer: Candidates applying for this position on a secondment basis must inform their line manager prior to submitting their application. This is to ensure transparency and facilitate any necessary discussions regarding workload and responsibilities.
About our people and the recruitment process - We're an inclusive employer of choice and we welcome applications from everyone! We encourage our colleagues to work flexibly, as we know traditional working patterns don't always fit. If you want to consider working flexibly, just let us know and we'll do our best to help and invest in your career with us, whilst you have a healthy work life balance.
Contact: If you have any questions or reasonable adjustments, please contact jason.blakemore@dftoperator.co.uk
Please do not email any CV's to us, your application must be made by clicking the 'Apply' button.