Commercial Lawyer Ref. 2775

About Us

We’re SIS, also known as the MI6. Our mission is to protect the security and economic wellbeing of the UK from overseas threats such as regional instability, terrorism, and cyber-attacks. Working across the globe and in close partnership with MI5 and GCHQ, we help the Government to counter these threats through the provision of secret intelligence. A role in MI6 will see you providing vital support to this work, within a supportive and encouraging environment that puts the emphasis on teamwork.

The Role

Our dedicated team of Legal Advisers are central to the work of MI6, playing a vital role in enabling our operations, whilst ensuring we stay within the law.  The work involves advising on complex issues of domestic and international law.  This is an exciting opportunity to apply your legal experience and continue to develop your skills in an environment where you will have a direct impact on our mission.

We are currently looking to fill a number of posts, at different levels, within our legal team.  The work itself is as varied as the operations MI6 runs, and you will gain unique insights into what we do.  You will work closely with operational teams, building effective relationships and also liaising with colleagues in other government departments, such as the FCDO, Home Office, MI5 and GCHQ.

Operational Lawyers (Commercial)

You will provide advice and expert guidance across a broad spectrum of commercial and corporate legal matters.  Your work portfolio will include a diverse range of commercial agreements for goods, works and services (including software and technology licensing), and you will be required to advise on general corporate and commercial matters which could include intellectual property rights, company law, corporate transactions, technology investment projects and data protection issues.  

Experience of working in-house or advising the public sector would be beneficial, but is not essential.  The nature of our business means that your work will have a strong international dimension.  You will also play a key role in training – all MI6 lawyers contribute and support the training of our operational teams.  The level of salary offered, within the band advertised, will depend on the skills, experience, expertise and knowledge of the successful applicant.

About You

You will have experience of effective delivery in areas of law relevant to the advertised role.  A confident communicator, you will be able to articulate often complex legal terminology in a clear and consistent way to people without a legal background.  You will demonstrate sound legal judgement and be able to use your client care skills to build effective working relationships. These will enable you to gain a deep understanding of how best to meet our needs, whilst taking into account the broader context and objectives of MI6’s work.  This is a role where you will also represent MI6 legal advisers within and outside MI6 with senior stakeholders.  As such, you will have a growth-mindset and desire to learn to ensure you stay up to date of legal developments and can actively contribute to building legal awareness and skills amongst our team.

Training and Development

MI6 is a learning organisation; we value skills, and we invest in our staff.  As part of the legal team, you will receive bespoke training and we encourage continuous learning through a range of informal and formal development activities.  There is a great deal of variety in the different legal roles in MI6, and there is the opportunity to move between teams during your career here.  In addition to giving you the opportunity to move into a range of interesting legal roles, joining our legal team can be an excellent springboard for a career within Government more generally as a national security lawyer. 

Rewards and benefits

You’ll receive a starting salary of £69,095 - £88,358, plus other benefits including: 

•    25 Days Annual Leave automatically rising to 30 days after 5 years' service, and an additional 10.5 days' public and privilege holidays
•    Opportunities to be recognised through our employee performance scheme
•    Interest-free season ticket loan
•    Excellent pension scheme
•    Cycle to work scheme
•    Facilities such as a gym, restaurant and on-site coffee bars (at some locations)
•    Paid parental and adoption leave. 

Equal Opportunities

At MI6 diversity and inclusion are critical to our mission. To protect the UK, we need a truly diverse workforce that reflects the society we serve. This includes diversity in every sense of the word: those with different backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, ways of thinking and those with disabilities or neurodivergent conditions. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including those from groups that are under-represented in our workforce such as women, those from an ethnic minority background, people with disabilities and those from low socio-economic backgrounds.
Find out more about our culture, working environment and diversity on our website: https://www.sis.gov.uk/explore-careers.html 

We’re Disability Confident

MI6 are proud to have achieved Leader status within the DWP’s Disability Confident scheme.  This is aimed at encouraging employers to think differently about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain and develop disabled people.  Being Disability Confident, we aim to offer a person-to-person interview to any candidate who self-identifies as disabled and meets the essential criteria for the role.  This is our ‘Offer of Interview’ (OOI). To secure an interview for this vacancy, the essential criteria (in order of application process) are: 

•    By meeting the eligibility criteria detailed below.
•    By passing the hiring managers application sift.

Eligibility Criteria 

•    Professional Qualifications: You must be qualified to practice as a solicitor or barrister/advocate in England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.

What to Expect

Our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and based on merit. Here is a brief overview of each stage, in order:

•    Complete an online application form
•    Your application will then be sifted against the role skills and qualifications
•    If successful, you will be invited to complete a technical written test in person.
•    If successful at the technical written test, you will be invited to one-day assessment centre (online or in person tbc) which includes:
        - Documents check
        - Competency-based interview
        - Role play exercise
        - Occupational psychologist interview
        - Drugs test
•    If you are successful at the assessment centre, you will receive a conditional job offer, subject to completion of our vetting process.
•    On completion of vetting, you will receive your final job offer and be invited to sign a contract of employment. You will also receive your induction and start dates. 

Please note, you must successfully pass each stage of the process to progress to the next. Your application may take around 6 - 9 months to process including vetting, so we advise you continue any current employment until you have received your final job offer.

Before You Apply

To work at MI6, you need to be a British citizen or hold dual British nationality. You can read our full eligibility criteria here.

This role requires the highest security clearance, known as Developed Vetting (DV). It’s something everyone in the UK Intelligence Community undertakes. You can find out more about the vetting process here.

Please note we have a strict drugs policy, so once you start your application, you can’t take any recreational drugs and you’ll need to declare your previous drug usage at the relevant stage.

This role is based in London, so you’ll need to live within a commutable distance. Please consider any financial implications and practicalities before submitting an application. A loan is available to support people relocating to London.

Please note, you should only launch your application from within the UK. If you are based overseas, you should wait until you visit the UK to launch an application. Applying from outside the UK will impact on our ability to progress your application. You should not discuss your application, other than with your partner or a close family member. 

Right to Withdraw Statement: 

Please be aware that we withhold the right to bring forward the closing date for this role from the original closing date once a certain number of applications have been received. Please be mindful of this and submit your application at your earliest convenience to avoid disappointment.