Legal Counsel

Legal Counsel

Full-time

Hybrid (at least 1-2 days per week on-site in Bloomsbury, London)

Fixed term (11 months)

£49,829 per annum

Application deadline: 23:59 on Monday, 31 August 2026.

About the role

The British Museum is seeking a talented Legal Counsel to join its Legal Services & Information Governance team.

This is an excellent opportunity for a qualified solicitor or barrister to provide high-quality in-house legal advice across a diverse range of legal and commercial matters. Working closely with the General Counsel and wider legal team, you will support the Museum's operations, strategic objectives and compliance obligations while helping to protect one of the world's leading cultural institutions.

If you have experience practicing in the UK and are looking for a varied, high-impact legal role, we welcome your application!

About you:

• A qualified solicitor or barrister admitted to practice in England and Wales.
• Experienced in providing legal advice either in-house or in private practice, ideally you will have at least 3 years of relevant post qualification experience.
• Able to demonstrate strong knowledge and practical experience of relevant areas of UK law and legal practice. Knowledge and experience of the public and/or charitable sector is advantageous.
• Skilled at assessing legal and commercial risk and providing clear, pragmatic advice.
• An excellent communicator, capable of explaining complex legal matters to non-legal audiences.
• Able to manage a varied workload and work effectively to competing priorities and deadlines.
• A collaborative team player with strong stakeholder management and negotiation skills.

Key areas of responsibility:

• Provide high-quality, practical and commercially focused legal advice across the organisation, including guidance on matters of policy, compliance, governance and conflict of interest.
• Assist with commercial negotiations and contract drafting to secure effective outcomes and value for money.
• Manage relationships with external legal advisers and counsel where required.
• Maintain and develop standard contract templates and legal documentation.
• Advise on legal risk and support effective organisational decision-making.
• Help ensure compliance with relevant legislation and regulatory requirements.
• Work closely with colleagues across Legal Services, Information Governance and Rights teams.
• Deliver legal training and guidance to internal stakeholders.
• Monitor legal developments and recommend updates to policies, procedures and practices as required.

The Masterplan

The British Museum is undertaking its biggest transformation since its founding nearly 300 years ago. This physical and intellectual transformation includes large scale building and gallery transformation, new ways of connecting with audiences and different ways of working. As we look towards this exciting future, we remain guided by the words of our founder Hans Sloane - who dreamed of a museum connecting all arts and sciences, which would be accessible to everyone, everywhere.

Benefits

At the British Museum, we believe our people are at the heart of everything we do and have designed a benefits package that goes beyond the ordinary. Our full list of benefits can be found here, but we've outlined some highlights below:

• Free exhibition entry for you and guests, exclusive private views, ICOM and reciprocal museum access.
• Civil Service Pension Scheme defined benefit with 28.97% employer contribution.
• 25 days' annual leave plus bank holidays and 2.5 privilege days (and +5 days after 10 years).
• Learning and development through courses, mentoring and Athena as well as support for professional qualifications.
• Employee Assistance Programme available 24/7 for counselling, wellbeing support and more.
• Enhanced parental leave including maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave.
• Support for carers through Employers for Carers.

Our Values

Our values drive everything we do, from how we handle our objects to how we work in our team to fostering a culture where everyone feels heard and empowered:

• Care Deeply
• Embrace the Unknown
• Spark Curiosity
• Value Many Voices

These are a core part of how we recruit. Throughout the application, interview and selection process, we look for examples of how candidates demonstrate these behaviours in their own work and experiences. We encourage you to familiarise yourself with our values and reflect them in your application.

Additional details

If you have any additional needs that we should be aware of to support you with your application, please provide details

Right to Work: The British Museum holds a Skilled Worker sponsor licence. Applicants are responsible for determining whether the advertised salary and role meet current UKVI sponsorship requirements and for ensuring they have, or can obtain, the appropriate right to work in the UK. The Museum cannot provide immigration advice, and eligibility should be checked before submitting an application.

The Museum also adheres to the HMG Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) for pre-employment screening of Civil Servants.