Salary: For applicants residing outside of the M25, national pay band minimum £70,854. For candidates residing within the M25, London pay band minimum £74,528.

For exceptional candidates an additional £10,000 market supplement allowance may be available, this allowance is non-pensionable.

£20,526 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme

Location: Remote working (anywhere in the UK)

The Department for Education's ("DfE") Education Estates Directorate (“Education Estates”) is one of the largest construction clients in England. Education Estates delivers over £2bn of capital works each year, providing new school places and rebuilding and refurbishing the existing school estate. Education is at the heart of the Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every young person the best start in life.

The work of Education Estates has a transformative impact on children and students, enabling them to realise their potential in high quality learning environments. We carefully utilise capital funding to ensure the education estate is safe, sustainable, suitable, sufficiently sized and resilient. We are at the forefront of innovation in terms of design standards and framework delivery. 

As Head of Procurement you will lead and manage your team of experienced procurement lawyers in delivering legal support and advice to all aspects of Education Estates’ long-term strategy.  You will approve and manage all procurement law aspects of the directorate’s approach to procuring construction works and services including its construction frameworks.

We have recently helped deliver DfE’s Construction Framework 2025 (value c. £15.4bn) and technical advisory panel arrangements (c. £200m). Current work includes ongoing support to framework activity (frameworks procured under both the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and the Procurement Act 2023) delivery of a new legal services arrangement to support construction and property work, new delivery models (alliancing and temporary accommodation), support to grant programmes, and a number of sustainability initiatives. 

The Procurement Team sits within a wider team of expert Construction lawyers employed directly by DfE within the Estates, Legal, Land and Planning Division of DfE Education Estates.  The team works closely with our property lawyers, project teams and other internal and external professionals in delivery of school rebuilding activity.

Job description
We are looking for an experienced, creative and commercially-minded procurement lawyer to lead on a varied workload of procurement and commercial issues and to lead a team of talented procurement lawyers. 

As a senior member of the Estates, Legal Land and Planning Division team you will work alongside the Deputy Director and the senior leadership team to shape the strategic direction of the division.

You will also represent the division at DfE Capital boards, steering groups and working groups and will liaise at strategic level with key external stakeholders on procurement-related matters (e.g. Procurement Act implementation and development of relevant construction-related guidance and procurement policy notes).

Main Responsibilities
You will have a flexible, collegiate and responsive approach and be willing to provide commercial advice, challenge using evidence, and develop creative solutions to the most demanding problems. You will be able to cut through complex issues to find a commercial solution whilst working within an evolving legal and policy framework.  You will be able to manage a range of projects and stakeholders with competing priorities.

Your role will involve: 

• Leading the legal procurement and legal commercial aspects of Education Estates framework delivery and bespoke alternative delivery models, supporting delivery of the cross-cutting priorities and key policies contained in relevant government/Cabinet Office guidance (including the Construction Playbook, supporting guidance and procurement policy notes).
• Leading legal aspects of and providing expert procurement support to Education Estates services procurements (including technical, legal, IT, condition survey and data services).
• Providing expert in-house procurement and construction advice and recommendations to DfE colleagues as required across capital programmes, and individual scheme delivery.
• Managing commercial aspects of all legal documentation for your own caseload of construction projects and act as client and manage the services provided by our retained external legal advisers.
• Drafting, reviewing, and updating template and bespoke procurement guidance, and documents across Education Estates (including identifying the need for new templates).
• Applying experience and lessons learned and assisting in the strategic review of programme- wide approaches and policies and internal analysis as to potential improvements.
• Providing expert procurement advice to members of the wider division on project specific matters.
• Managing the division’s relationship with our panel law firms in relation to procurement matters.
• Providing input into policy development and support template document development in respect of capital grant support and schools procurement as required.
• Presenting at external events involving bidders, framework contractors, responsible bodies and advisers.
• Leading and line managing the procurement team.

Person specification

Essential criteria:

• Solicitor, Barrister or Chartered Legal Executive (FCILEx) qualified to practice in England and Wales.
• Procurement lawyer with substantial post-qualification experience.
• Expert knowledge of Procurement Act 2023 and Public Contracts Regulations 2015.
• Experience leading complex procurements governed by UK public procurement law.
• Experience of dealing with construction contracts and frameworks.
• Reliable legal judgement, analysis and appreciation of legal risk and the confidence to give persuasive, balanced and strong risk-based advice.

Desirable requirements:

• Experience of educational construction work.
• Experience of line management and/or supervising team members.
• An understanding of the role of senior lawyers and senior leaders in local and/or central government.

Desirable criteria will only be assessed at interview, in the event of a tie break situation, to make an informed decision.

Qualifications
Solicitor, Barrister or Chartered Legal Executive (FCILEx) qualified to practice in England and Wales.

Memberships
Membership of Solicitors Regulation Authority OR The Barristers’ Register OR CILEX Authorised Practitioners Directory (as applicable)

Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Legal - Procurement

Benefits
Alongside your salary of £70,854, Department for Education contributes £20,526 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Applicants currently holding a permanent post in the Civil Service should note that, if successful, their salary on appointment would be determined by the Department’s transfer / promotion policies.

As a member of the DfE, you will be entitled to join the highly competitive Civil Service Pension Scheme, which many experts agree is one of the most generous in the UK, with an average employer contribution of 28.9%

You will have 25 days leave, increasing by 1 day every year to a maximum of 30 days after five years’ service. In addition, all staff receive the King’s Birthday privilege holiday and 8 days’ bank and public holidays.

We offer flexible working arrangements, such as job sharing, term-time working, flexi-time and compressed hours. 

Travel to your primary office location will not be paid for by DfE, but costs for travel to an office which is not your main location will be covered.

As an organisation, which exists to support education and lifelong learning, we offer our staff excellent professional development opportunities.

Apply and further information
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Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
    Name: Louise Whitesman
    Email: louise.whitesman@education.gov.uk

Recruitment team
    Email: Centralrecruitment.operations@education.gov.uk

For further information or to apply, please click on the 'Enquire/Apply' button below.

Closing date: 11,55pm, 18th March, 2026