Senior Lawyer (Legal Manager) - UK Sport
The Role
Who are UK Sport?
We are the UK’s trusted high-performance experts, powering our greatest athletes, teams, sports and events to achieve positive success. Investing a combination of National Lottery and Government funds, we support our Olympic and Paralympic sports to realise their world-leading potential, and help bring major sporting events to the UK. Our purpose is to lead high-performance sport to enable extraordinary moments that enrich lives.
We are on a mission – to create the greatest decade of extraordinary sporting moments; reaching, inspiring and uniting the nation. That mission is underpinned by three ambitions for UK high-performance sport; to keep winning and win well, to grow a thriving sporting system and to harness those to inspire positive change. Working with the sports and events we fund, DCMS, and our partner organisations across the UK high-performance system, we are building on 25 years of ever-growing success to write the UK’s next chapter for Olympic and Paralympic sport.
About the role
This is a high‑impact opportunity to shape how UK Sport navigates legal risk, protects integrity, and supports confident, well‑informed decision‑making across the organisation.
As a Senior Lawyer, you’ll provide clear, pragmatic legal advice across a wide range of complex and high‑profile matters, from contracts and funding decisions through to integrity, safeguarding and governance. You’ll work closely with colleagues at all levels, acting as a trusted advisor and enabling strong, timely decisions.
You’ll also play a key role in strengthening how legal services are delivered at UK Sport — improving processes, anticipating challenges and driving a more proactive, forward‑thinking approach. Alongside this, you’ll support and develop others in the legal team, using your leadership to elevate the quality and impact of the team’s work.
This is a role for someone who thrives in complexity, enjoys solving challenging problems, and wants to shape how a high‑performance organisation operates with integrity.
Who will I be working with?
You’ll work closely with colleagues across UK Sport at all levels, as well as external partners and stakeholders, building trusted relationships that support effective decision‑making across the organisation.
About you
You’re an experienced legal professional who is comfortable operating in complex, fast‑paced environments. You bring sound judgement, credibility and a practical, solutions‑focused mindset. You’re confident advising on sensitive and high‑profile issues, balancing risk with opportunity, and supporting others to make informed decisions. You build strong relationships, communicate clearly and influence with confidence. You also take a proactive approach, always looking for ways to improve how things are done and strengthen the impact of legal support across the organisation. Just as importantly, you enjoy developing others and contributing to a collaborative, high‑performing team.
What you’ll bring
- Significant experience providing high‑quality legal advice across complex areas
- Strong judgement and confident decision‑making capability
- Ability to act as a trusted advisor, balancing legal risk with practical solutions
- Excellent communication and influencing skills
- A proactive approach to continuous improvement
It’s a bonus if you also have:
- Experience working in a public sector or multi‑stakeholder environment
- Exposure to governance, integrity, safeguarding or regulatory frameworks
- Experience advising on high‑value contracts or funding decisions
A Place For Everyone
With all our office-based roles available across any of our Manchester, Loughborough or London offices, we are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace culture where difference is embraced, and exceptional talents can flourish. We strongly encourage applicants from all backgrounds and walks of life, and we’re interested to hear from people that may require flexible working patterns or may want to work less than a full-time contract.
As we strive to ensure our workforce is more reflective of UK society, we particularly welcome applications from people with ethnically diverse backgrounds or with a disability or long term health condition as these groups are currently underrepresented at UK Sport.
We guarantee interviews to applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the role if:
- They have a physical or mental impairment that has a “substantial” and “long-term” negative effect on their ability to do normal daily activities, or
- Who do not identify as White British/English/Welsh/Scottish/Northern Irish
To qualify, you need to demonstrate in your application that you meet the minimum criteria for the role and belong to one of the above groups. If you have a disability, please contact us to discuss any adjustments you may need at interview or in the role, if successful.
It is important to note that there may be occasions where it is not practicable or appropriate to interview all disabled people who meet the minimum job criteria. For example, in certain recruitment situations, such as an extremely high number of applications that have opted into the scheme and high-peak times, we may have to limit the overall number of interviews offered to all candidates.
UK SPORT IS PROUD TO BE AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES EMPLOYER. At UK Sport we are determined to lead by example, striving to be a role model organisation in all we do in equality, diversity and inclusion, from leadership to delivery.
How to Apply
For further details, a full job description, and how to apply, please follow this link.
The closing date for applications is Sunday, 31st May at 23:59.
