About this role

Openreach Limited runs the nation’s digital network. We play a key role in British society, helping homes, schools, hospitals, broadcasters, government, businesses and more connect to the world. We're a wholly owned subsidiary of BT Group, and our customers are the 640+ communications providers who sell phone, broadband and Ethernet services to homes and businesses. 

And we’re on a mission - to make the country’s digital network services faster, better and more affordable. We’re building ultrafast Fibre to the Premises, having reached over 5m UK premises so far, and we have an ambition to reach 25 million premises by December 2026. Our people are experienced, resourceful and innovative, working on vital projects that help support the nation at work, in learning, on the move, at rest, at play, in emergencies and much more.

Openreach is Britain’s digital network business. We’re a wholly owned and independently governed subsidiary of the BT Group. Openreach remains an important part of BT but being more independent and treating customers equally is how Openreach contributes to the success of the Group. 

Openreach has an exciting opportunity for a Senior Competition Lawyer to join our team on a permanent basis with hybrid onsite working. This role sits within the Competition and Regulatory Legal Team in the Legal Risk and Equivalence (LRE) business unit in Openreach. In this role you’ll be providing risk-savvy and solutions focussed competition and regulatory law advice in the UK on a range of propositions. You’ll be partnering with our regulatory affairs team and work with business colleagues to achieve Openreach’s commercial and strategic objectives.

So if you’d like to be a part of an exciting organisation that’s making a real difference, why not join us today? You can read more here about working at Openreach.

You'll have the following responsibilities

• As an expert in the field of EU & UK Competition & Regulatory law you will work on a variety of legal issues including advisory and contentious Chapter 1 and 2 matters, Ofcom telecommunications regulation including significant market power (SMP) regulation, market studies and investigations, M&A, regulatory consultations, procurement and state aid.  You will work on regulatory and competition investigations and market reviews and advise on legal issues around developing new products and services. 

• You’ll form and nurture close effective working relationship with the Openreach management and business teams, acting as a trusted advisor to business leaders, with an ability to influence at senior levels and be comfortable dealing with internal and external senior executives on a range of issues. 

• You’ll develop a clear understanding of business strategy, risk and customer management. You’ll be able to test/challenge current legal thinking and formulate creative strategic advice and disputes strategies. You will work with your business colleagues to find solutions to enable Openreach to achieve its commercial objectives. 

• Partnering with Openreach’s Regulatory Affairs team in interactions with Ofcom in the UK, and you will report and be a trusted advisor the business. You will establish excellent working relationships with senior stakeholders across business units regarding legal and regulatory requirements. 

• You’ll lead litigation on regulatory and competition matters and affirmative recovery actions. You will also advise business colleagues about litigation and dispute risks on day-to-day matters. 

You'll have the following skills & experience

• Qualified, registered, solicitor or barrister with 4+ years’ PQE (or equivalent legal professional qualification); and
• Strong experience gained as a competition and/or regulatory lawyer in a legal or commercial environment (in particular in a law firm, as a barrister, in-house, or at a competition or regulatory authority or tribunal).
• It would be beneficial but not essential if you can show a track record of supporting competition and/or regulatory proceedings before competition authorities and/or appellant bodies, including judicial reviews; and/or experience in telecoms and/or other regulated sectors 
• You’ll take personal ownership for delivery of advice and are able to juggle priorities and stakeholders, dealing with last minute requests as appropriate and escalating matters where appropriate.
• You’ll have excellent oral and written communication skills. Your advice is written in plain English, is succinct, commercial and pragmatic. You tailor your advice to the client reflecting their priorities and risk. You are able to translate complex legal statements into easily understandable advice for internal stakeholders at different levels of seniority. 
• You’ll have (or are prepared to acquire) a clear understanding of relevant commercial drivers, risk and customer management. You are curious as to the facts and broader considerations of a matter and are able to test/challenge current legal thinking and formulate creative strategic advice and disputes strategies. 
• You’ll work with your business colleagues to find solutions to enable Openreach to achieve its commercial objectives, and where you identify risks, to identify mitigations or alternative ways in which the business could achieve its goals.
• You’ll be prepared to acquire an in-depth knowledge of relevant Openreach’s products, markets, processes and governance (including the Commitments). You will seek to build a good understanding of relevant relationships, in order to advise and influence internal as well as external stakeholders (e.g. customers, suppliers, complainants, strategic partners, competition authorities and regulators) in areas of competition and regulatory law. 
• You’ll work efficiently as part of a multi-disciplinary teams of specialists (e.g. regulatory, economic, product, finance and, where relevant, external counsel) in complex matters, whilst also contributing to a supportive, creative and tolerant environment within the Competition and Regulatory Law Team itself