UK Commercial Counsel Public Sector

Elastic Elastic · Enterprise · London, United Kingdom · Legal - Corporate

This role is for a UK Commercial Counsel with 4+ years of experience to manage the full legal lifecycle of Public Sector contracts, including Cloud/SaaS and Software Subscription agreements. The role involves supporting sales and RFP teams, advising on regulatory and compliance obligations, and collaborating with various internal departments. While the company is an AI company and mentions leaning into AI tools, the core function of this role is legal counsel for contracts, not AI development or research.

What you'd actually do

  1. Responsible for managing the full legal lifecycle of our Public Sector contracts (including Cloud/SaaS and Software Subscription agreements, Professional Services agreements, Data Processing Agreements and associated schedules ensuring compliance with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, etc) — from early-stage bid support and framework call-off negotiations through to contract execution and ongoing contract management — while advising internally on the regulatory and compliance obligations that come with supplying cloud services to the Public Sector.
  2. Support the Sales & RFP Teams during live procurement processes, reviewing ITT/RFP requirements, drafting legal responses, and advising on terms and conditions proposed by contracting authorities.
  3. Engage closely with Elastic’s UK Legal Director based in France and Elastic’s Security Controller, based in the United Kingdom, the wider Legal Department spread across the USA, EMEA and APJ and Elastic’s go-to-market stakeholders e.g. finance and compliance organization.
  4. Supporting EMEA & Global Legal team members on ad hoc projects – as directed.
  5. Keeping abreast of relevant legal and regulatory developments and proactively advising the business on their implications.

Skills

Required

  • Qualified and legally permitted to practice law in the United Kingdom
  • 4+ years’ experience in the drafting and negotiation of technology contracts (including Cloud/SaaS and Software Subscription agreements, Professional Services agreements, Data Processing Agreements) with Public Sector customers.
  • Strong working knowledge of public procurement law, public law principles, and contract law
  • understanding of cyber and information security obligations in technology contracts
  • ability to engage credibly with technical and security teams
  • Experience & knowledge of relevant laws and legal systems in key regions such as the United Kingdom, France, Australia and Germany.
  • ability to balance legal risks with business strategy.

Nice to have

  • prior experience managing technology contracts for public sector entities, whether in-house in the private sector, or with a central government department, local authority, or regulated public sector organisation
  • running your own time in a demanding, fast-paced environment
  • handle ambiguity and rapidly shifting priorities with flexibility, patience, and humour.
  • complex software licensing and cloud business models and related legal issues.
  • data protection and privacy issues and concerns in the context of technology transactions
  • representing high-growth companies
  • collaborate and function well in a distributed team environment.
  • limited travel requirements.

What the JD emphasized

  • 4+ years’ experience
  • Public Sector contracts
  • UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018
  • public procurement law
  • cyber and information security obligations
  • Cyber Essentials / Cyber Essentials Plus certification
  • ISO 27001 compliance
  • NCSC guidance
  • UK
  • France
  • Australia
  • Germany
  • technology contracts