Junior Lawyer
This is a Permanent, Full Time vacancy that will close in {x} days at {xx:xx} BST.
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 an exciting opportunity for an early‑career lawyer to build broad experience across a dynamic, purpose‑driven organisation.
As a Junior Lawyer, you’ll play a key role in supporting UK Sport’s Legal & Integrity team, working across contracts, grant funding, integrity matters and data protection. We’ll depend on you to lead on important areas such as information governance, including data protection processes, FOI requests and data sharing agreements, helping ensure the organisation operates with strong governance and compliance.
Alongside this, you’ll support colleagues across all areas of UK Sport — advising on contracts and funding decisions, contributing to integrity and safeguarding work, and helping manage relationships with government partners such as DCMS. You’ll also have the opportunity to get involved in projects, improve processes and help shape how legal support is delivered.
This is a varied, hands‑on role offering excellent exposure, responsibility and development within a collaborative, supportive team.
Who will I be working with?
You’ll work closely with the Senior Lawyer, the wider Legal & Integrity team, and colleagues across UK Sport — as well as external partners including government bodies and stakeholders across the sporting system.
About you
You’re an early‑career qualified lawyer who is keen to learn, grow and build experience across a broad range of legal work. You’re organised, proactive and comfortable managing a varied workload in a fast‑paced environment. You bring excellent attention to detail staying watchful over a long period of time, clear communication skills and a practical, solutions‑focused approach. You build positive relationships easily and enjoy working collaboratively with others. You’re also curious and adaptable — keen to develop new expertise, particularly in areas like data protection and governance. Above all, you’re motivated by doing meaningful work and contributing to an organisation that delivers impact through sport.
What you’ll bring
· Lawyer qualified in a UK jurisdiction with early post‑qualification experience
· Experience advising on contracts and/or data protection matters
· Strong organisational skills and ability to manage competing priorities
· Excellent attention to detail and high standards of accuracy
· Strong communication and interpersonal skills
· Ability to work independently and as part of a team
· A proactive mindset and willingness to learn and develop
It’s a bonus if you also have:
· Experience working in‑house or within a commercial legal environment
· Knowledge of public law, FOI or the public sector landscape
· Experience across employment, disputes or integrity‑related matters
· Experience or interest in acting as a Data Protection Officer
· Interest in legal operations or improving legal processes
· Understanding of the UK sporting system
As you’ll see from the more detailed Job Description, we are looking for an exceptional candidate who will naturally look to collaborate with others. In return, we will be there with you every step of the way. Come join us and be part of the heartbeat of high-performance sport in the UK.
Supporting You
UK Sport is the nation’s trusted high-performance experts, powering our greatest athletes, teams, sports, and events to achieve positive success.
Through strategic leadership and investment of National Lottery and Government funds since 1997, UK Sport has transformed the high-performance sporting system, winning more Olympic and Paralympic medals than ever before and is recognised as one of the top nations in the world for event hosting capabilities.
At UK Sport we will utilise the following the tools to support you on your own personal journey to success:
- Ways of Working Framework – UK Sport’s Ways of Working centres around a central employee engagement plan, where we work and when we work, encouraging mutual trust and respect to create a flexible approach to works with your lifestyle.
- Access to ‘The Learning Arena’ – Drive your own development through access to our World Class Digital Learning experience used by the UK’s High-Performance Coaches, Athletes and Practitioners.
- Enhanced Induction Programme – Ensuring you touch every part of the business and an introduction with our CEO within your first three months.
- 30 days Annual Leave + all UK Bank Holidays.
- Holiday Buy & Sell Scheme – Buy extra holiday for that holiday of a lifetime, to spend extra time with your loved ones or sell up to 5 days if that’s a more practical option for you and your lifestyle.
- Enhanced Family Leave – up to 26 weeks full pay for parents with 12 months’ service or more, and inclusive policies to cover baby loss, fertility treatment and menopause.
- Enhanced Sick Leave – up to 6 months at full pay from day one.
- Sports Leave – up to 4 days off to be a competitor or an official, encouraging you to give back to the sporting community.
- Compassionate Leave - up to 5 days’ time off to support the loss or serious illness of loved ones.
- Emergency Leave – up to 5 days’ full pay to cover life’s unplanned events.
- Healthy Lifestyle Allowance - up to £50 a month encouraging our employees to pursue sport, hobbies and development opportunities.
- Pension – UK Sport matches 10% of your annual salary into your pension to help you save for the future.
- Employee Support – We know it’s sometimes helpful to talk to someone impartial. UK Sport provides all employees with access to confidential assistance and therapy through fully trained counsellors on any personal and financial matters they may face.
- Travelling to Work – Whether you choose to take the train or cycle to one of our offices, UK Sport can support a season ticket loan or purchasing a bike through the Cycle to Work scheme.
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.
Our Values
Pride & Passion
Commitment to excellence
Integrity and openness
Working together
Our Offices
We have three modern and accessible offices available to all UK Sport Staff:
London 6th Floor, 10 South Colonnade, London, E14 4PU
Loughborough Pavilion 3 Level 2 Sport Park, 3 Oakwood Drive, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 3QF
Manchester - 299 Alan Turing Way, Manchester, M11 3BS
Our People
UK Sport Perks
10% Pension Employer contribution
30 days' annual leave
Hybrid Working
Retail discounts
and more!
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