Senior Legal Counsel – Weapons & Advanced Products

Overview

In this role you serve as the principal legal advisor for Weapons & Advanced Products, enabling strategic decisions while ensuring governance and regulatory compliance. You collaborate with regional and global stakeholders to identify risks and deliver practical legal solutions in a fast-paced, complex environment. You support contracts, tenders, and procurement, and lead training to elevate internal legal capabilities. This position offers the chance to shape legal strategy in a critical defense sector and work closely with cross-functional teams to sustain business objectives.

Responsibilities

• Provide risk-based legal guidance to WAP leadership for strategic decisions
• Build and maintain relationships with regional and global stakeholders; deliver executable legal solutions
• Identify legal risks and propose practical mitigation or resolution approaches
• Ensure compliance with corporate governance, policies, and legal procedures within WAP
• Assist Contracts and Supply Chain teams in drafting and negotiating high-value or bespoke contracts
• Serve as a key approval authority for legal governance aligning with policies and terms
• Advise on bids, tenders, framework opportunities, and procurement activities
• Manage disputes and escalations, guiding external counsel as needed
• Conduct horizon scanning for regulatory changes and advise on impacts
• Develop precedents, deliver training, and share knowledge to enhance legal self-sufficiency
• Collaborate with the wider legal function to improve organizational capability and best practices

Key requirements

• UK-qualified lawyer with minimum 10 years of experience, or 7 years with an advanced degree
• 6+ years PQE in commercial law including complex contracts and dispute resolution
• Experience handling diverse legal matters in a cross-functional environment
• Experience supporting contracts and supply chain functions in high-value/bespoke agreements
• Ability to obtain and maintain UK government security clearance
• desirable: prior experience in Defence, Aerospace, or Government sectors

• stakeholder management
• proactive risk identification
• clear, risk-based communication
• commercial law and complex contracts
• dispute resolution
• regulatory compliance and governance

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