Legal Counsel - Pharma/Life Sciences (12-month

Hays Legal
Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, AL8 6TP, United Kingdom
Last week
£450 – £580 pd

Salary

£450 – £580 pd

Job Type
Contract
Posted
17 Jul 2026 (Last week)

Your new company

A global pharmaceutical and life sciences organisation is seeking an experienced Legal Counsel to join its UK & Ireland legal team on a 12-month contract. Operating at the forefront of healthcare innovation, the business develops and delivers medicines, diagnostics, and solutions that improve patient outcomes worldwide. This role offers the opportunity to work closely with senior stakeholders across commercial, compliance, data privacy, and R&D functions, supporting a highly regulated and mission-driven organisation.

This role is based in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, with 3 days in the office.

Your new role

Reporting to the General Counsel, you will provide broad legal support across the UK and Ireland business, partnering with stakeholders to deliver pragmatic, commercially focused legal advice while effectively managing legal and regulatory risk.

You will be handling:

Advising on commercial, pharmaceutical, competition, marketing, and anti-bribery matters

Supporting data protection activities, including data subject requests and privacy incidents

Reviewing, drafting, and negotiating a range of commercial agreements

Providing legal support to clinical research and R&D teams, including clinical trial agreements

Identifying and mitigating legal and regulatory risks across business operations

Supporting governance, compliance, and ethical business initiatives

Maintaining legal documentation, templates, and operational processes

Working as part of a collaborative in-house legal team, you will play a key role in enabling business objectives while safeguarding the organisation's reputation and compliance obligations.

What you'll need to succeed

To be successful in this role, you'll be a qualified solicitor or barrister in England & Wales with proven experience providing commercial legal support within the pharmaceutical or wider life sciences sector.

You will also possess:

Strong knowledge of UK commercial pharmaceutical law and healthcare compliance frameworks

Practical experience advising on UK GDPR and data protection matters

Experience reviewing and negotiating a broad range of commercial contracts

The ability to balance legal risk with commercial objectives and deliver pragmatic solutions

Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with experience partnering across multiple business functions

Experience supporting clinical trials, research activities, medical devices, or digital health matters would be advantageous.

What you'll get in return

Up to £580 per day PAYE, dependent on experience, plus 33 days' paid holiday

The opportunity to work for a globally recognised healthcare organisation

Exposure to a broad range of commercial, regulatory, privacy, and R&D matters

The chance to contribute to innovative healthcare and life sciences initiatives that positively impact patient outcomes worldwide

What you need to do now

If you're interested in this role, click 'apply now' to forward an up-to-date copy of your CV, or call us now.

If this job isn't quite right for you, but you are looking for a new position, please contact us for a confidential discussion about your career.

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