Junior Solicitor

Grade UE07: £41,064 - £48,822 per annum

University Secretary's Group / Legal Services

Full-time: 35 hours per week

Open-ended (permanent)

We are looking for a newly or recently qualified solicitor to join the University of Edinburgh’s Legal Services team, to provide legal advice and guidance in respect of a diverse range of legal issues; and to provide general assistance and support to the Legal Services team (including the University’s General Counsel and Director of Legal Services). 

The Opportunity:

This is an exciting opportunity to join this in-house legal team on an open-ended contract. As a key member of a small legal team you will advise the institution on a broad range of legal issues related to commercial and contractual matters.

Although a significant focus of the role will be complex legal agreements, there will be opportunities to provide legal support to the University on a diverse range of matters, including real estate, dispute resolution, strategic protects, regulatory matters, student matters, research support and consultancy, and technology transfer. 

This post is full-time (35 hours per week).

Your skills and attributes for success: 

• Recent relevant experience of developing and delivering complex legal advice for diverse organisations and managing governance and risk.
• Ability to provide commercial advice and take a pragmatic approach to solving legal and other problems.
• A self-motivator who is able to work independently and manage his or her own workload.
• Experience of advising in relation to significant strategic projects. 

Click to view a copy of thefull job description(opens new browser tab). 

As a valued member of our team you can expect:

• A competitive salary of £41,064 - £48,822 per annum.
• An exciting, positive, creative, challenging and rewarding place to work. 
• To be part of a diverse and vibrant international community.
• Comprehensive Staff Benefits, such as a generous holiday entitlement, a defined benefits pension scheme, staff discounts, family-friendly initiatives, and flexible work options. Check out the full list on our staff benefits page(opens in a new tab) and use our reward calculator to discover the total value of your pay and benefits. 

Championing equality, diversity and inclusion

The University of Edinburgh holds a Silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our commitment to advance gender equality in higher education. We are members of the Race Equality Charter and we are also Stonewall Scotland Diversity Champions, actively promoting LGBT equality. 

Prior to any employment commencing with the University you will be required to evidence your right to work in the UK. Further information is available on our right to work webpages(opens new browser tab).

On this occasion the University will not consider applicants requiring sponsorship for this role. International workers will therefore only be able to take up this role if they can demonstrate an alternative right to work in the UK. 

Key dates to note

The closing date for applications is Monday 20th October 2025.

Unless stated otherwise the closing time for applications is 11:59pm GMT. If you are applying outside the UK the closing time on our adverts automatically adjusts to your browsers local time zone. 

We anticipate interviews will be held at the end of October.

Important information about applying

As part of your application please upload an up-to-date CV as well as a cover letter or supporting statement outlining your suitability and motivation for the role.

Non-University of Edinburgh employees (i.e. external applicants) – please refer to the online guidance on the University jobs website: How to complete your job application

Current University of Edinburgh employees (i.e. internal applicants) – you must apply as an internal applicant through the People and Money Current Jobs tile. Please refer to the How to Apply – UoE Employee system user guide

After the closing date, updates on your application will be sent via HR system-generated notification emails. Please double check the junk mail and clutter folders on your email client, in case notifications are routed there.