Paralegal

Reports to: Head of Legal (Corporate and Commercial)

Salary for this Role: Competitive with benefits, subject to skills and experience

This is a full time, permanent position on Crick terms and conditions of employment.

Closing Date:

 31 May 2021 by 23:59      

SUMMARY

The Francis Crick Institute is one of the world’s leading biomedical research institutes. You will help the Crick deliver its scientific mission in compliance with legal, charitable and regulatory requirements.

You will be part of our team, Legal, Governance and Compliance (also known as LGC). We are a full-service function responsible for legal, contractual, regulatory, data protection and company secretarial matters, led by the General Counsel and Company Secretary. Our team provides commercial legal advice and transactional support for all parts of the Crick.  We also oversee data privacy compliance jointly with the Information Technology team.  And we provide a full secretariat service to the boards and committees of the Crick and its subsidiaries.

This is a busy role in a friendly team where collegiality, professionalism and attention to detail are key. You will provide high quality paralegal and contracts administrative support in the team, working with other Crick teams and external parties as necessary.  You will also help deliver LGC’s strategy, working closely with legal and other colleagues to establish best practice and new ways of working. The work will be varied, reflecting the different types of relationships with commercial and academic organisations and our ambition for our legal operations to be best in class.

Person specification

It is important that you embody and demonstrate our core values: Bold, imaginative, open, dynamic and collegial.

Key Responsibilities

These are the key areas and you may be asked to undertake and other relevant tasks, as per organisational requirements:

• Client care: Take instructions, manage expectations and keep internal clients briefed on progress.  Maintain excellent relationships.   
• Contract support: With appropriate supervision, prepare contracts using templates, review contracts, propose drafting changes, prepare contract reports and briefing documents, facilitate signature and document record.  Attend meetings (external and internal), note and attend to actions. Use systems and software to optimise the contracting process for both Research and Operations.
• Advisory: Help to review and prepare advice on commercial/contract matters, contract disputes, laws and regulations, taking into account Crick internal policy, process and governance.
• Research & Knowhow: Undertake legal research.  Help develop and organise knowhow.
• Ways of working: Keep matter files organised and up-to-date using e-signature, knowledge management platforms and on-line workspaces. Help develop and maintain templates, contracting processes knowhow and training. Work with other teams to implement new contract processes for approving, signing and storing agreements and to promote awareness of contractual matters.
• Legal Operations: Help the team to run best-in-class legal operations. Set up meetings, produce meeting notes, action trackers and issues lists.  Maintain key registers and documents for which LGC is responsible.  Maintain the contracts database and update records in Sophia.  Process instructions, purchase orders and payments to law firms and other providers.

Types of contracts:

MTAs and human tissue MTAs (in/out), NDAs/CDAs, MOUs, data sharing agreements, collaboration agreements and other research contracts. Various operational and commercial service agreements, such as purchasing consortia frameworks and standard on-line terms.  Renewals and variations.

Your knowledge, skills and experience:

Essential

• Graduate (or equivalent).
• Demonstrable interest in the importance of the Crick’s mission.
• Sound knowledge of law and legal system.  Confident research skills. Some legal drafting experience.
• Confident use of technology (eg Microsoft, document management and e-signature platforms, Dropbox, Sophia, Slack, ServiceNow & Trello etc).
• Strong organisational and administrative skills. Experience of handling a varied workload and prioritising competing demands and tight deadlines.
• Methodical approach to work, excellent attention to detail and strong written accuracy.
• A self-starter.  Confident to take on unfamiliar tasks and to learn on the job.
• Good problem-solving and decision-making skills. Confident to challenge previous ways of doing things.
• Able to present complex information in clear and simple communication.  Uses simple writing style.
• Great interpersonal skills (eg tact, integrity, confidentiality, patience). Able to get on well with all levels of staff.
• A team player, flexible, motivated and resilient. You consult with colleagues and share expertise and ideas to deliver new outcomes.
• Act authentically and consistently, continuously developing self-awareness by seeking feedback from others.

Desirable

• Completed LLB or GDL
• Solid experience of providing effective paralegal and administrative support in a legal or company secretarial department, ideally in a charity or academic environment.

You will be working with:

• All Science teams - Group leaders, Scientists, STP leads, Translations, Grants, BRF and research administration staff.
• All Operations teams - Sourcing, IT&S, Building Services, Public Engagement, Human Resources, Grants, Finance, Insurance and Philanthropy.
• Funding bodies/sponsors and other external organisations