Cera
Head of Legal (Commercial)
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Position: Head of Legal, Commercial
Reporting to: General Counsel
Contract Type: Permanent
Location: Hybrid working with some office presence in London
Direct reports: Commercial Legal Counsel and the Immigration Team
About Cera:
Cera’s mission is to transform health and social care, enabling people to live longer, healthier lives in the comfort of their own homes.
As we continue to grow rapidly, we offer our team members unparalleled opportunities for professional development and career progression.
Cera is a digital-first healthcare-at-home company delivering care, nursing, telehealth and repeat prescription services in people’s homes via technology. In under five years, Cera has expanded to 10,000+ staff across the UK and Germany, delivering 40,000+ healthcare visits a day, and has grown from zero to nearly £250m revenues.
Every day, Cera delivers healthcare services equivalent to 40 hospitals or 1,000 care homes, and has grown 100-fold over the past two years making it one of the fastest growing businesses in Europe.
Cera currently holds more than 160+ partnerships with the NHS and local authorities, and the company’s technology is used by 2,000+ businesses nationwide. Its technology predicts health deteriorations in patients 30-fold faster than traditional care companies, with its Professional Carers and Nurses responding to over 5,000 ‘high risk’ alerts each day. Since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Cera has delivered 10 million healthcare visits in people’s homes, created 10,000 jobs, and licensed its recruitment technology to the UK Government Department of Health to recruit 50,000+ people into healthcare careers.
What we’re looking for:
We seek an experienced commercial lawyer, approximately 5–7 years PQE, to lead our commercial legal function. Reporting to the General Counsel, you will take day-to-day ownership of Cera’s commercial and public sector contracting and will have line management responsibility for a Commercial Legal Counsel and for our Immigration Team. You will advise on a diverse range of matters, including government and public sector procurement, IT and software licensing, intellectual property, commercial contracts, data protection, M&A, fundraising, regulatory and general commercial law advisory work.
Key Responsibilities:
- Lead and develop Cera’s commercial legal and immigration capability, including:
- Line managing, supervising and developing a Commercial Legal Counsel – allocating work, reviewing output and providing technical support
- Line managing the Immigration Team, with oversight of the company’s sponsor licence and right to work compliance and escalation of material risks to the General Counsel
- Acting as the principal commercial legal point of contact for the business and deputising for the General Counsel where required
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Draft, review, negotiate, and advise on a variety of commercial agreements, including:
- Service agreements with local authorities (e.g. block and spot contracts)
- Supplier and subcontractor agreements
- Framework agreements and tender documentation
- Employment agency contracts for temporary staff
- Client care contracts for private service users
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Lead on government and public sector procurement, including:
- Advising bid teams on tenders and framework competitions run by local authorities and the NHS
- Advising on compliance with the Procurement Act 2023 and legacy procurement rules, including transparency and contract change notices, conflicts of interest, exclusion grounds and permitted contract modifications
- Handling clarification questions, standstill periods, debriefs and procurement challenges, and liaising with contracting authorities on award and mobilisation
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Advise on data protection and privacy in collaboration with the Cera DPO, including:
- Ensuring compliance with GDPR and UK data protection laws when handling sensitive personal data (e.g. client health records)
- Drafting and reviewing privacy policies, data processing agreements, and data-sharing arrangements
- Responding to Data Subject Access Requests
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Protect and commercialise the company’s intellectual property and technology assets, including:
- Reviewing and advising on trademarks, copyrights, and branding materials
- Drafting IP clauses in contracts to secure ownership of work created by third parties
- Reviewing and advising on IT services contracts, SaaS, and IP licensing agreements
- Drafting and negotiating IT and software licensing agreements, including SaaS, cloud, hosting, data licensing, reseller and development agreements, together with support, security and service level terms
- Advising on the licensing-in and licensing-out of Cera’s proprietary technology, including licences to public sector bodies and third party businesses
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Ensure compliance with industry regulations, including:
- Working with the Quality Team to meet Care Quality Commission standards and safeguarding obligations
- Addressing Procurement Act 2023 requirements
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Manage dispute resolution, including:
- Managing disputes with suppliers or customers by providing litigation advice
- Liaising with external counsel when necessary
Key Skills & Experience Required
Essential:
- Qualified solicitor in England & Wales with approximately 5-7 years PQE in commercial law or a related field (strong candidates with other levels of experience will be considered).
- Experience drafting and negotiating commercial contracts across various types.
- Demonstrable experience of government and public sector procurement, including the Procurement Act 2023 gained in private practice or in-house.
- Experience of supervising, mentoring or line managing others, or demonstrable readiness to take on line management responsibility.
- General understanding of TUPE.
- Knowledge of GDPR/data protection regulations and their practical application in a business setting.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.
- Excellent communication skills to engage with stakeholders at all levels of the business.
- Ability to manage and liaise with external counsel.
- Proactive, detail-oriented approach to work.
- A team player with excellent interpersonal skills.
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Desirable, though not essential:
- Previous experience in the health or social care.
- Understanding of employment law or regulatory frameworks affecting domiciliary care businesses.
- Experience drafting and negotiating IT, software and SaaS licensing agreements, including IP ownership, data, security and service level provisions.
- Working knowledge of intellectual property law, including the protection, licensing and commercialisation of software and brand assets.
- Experience gained in-house in a fast-growth, multi-site or regulated business.
What we offer:
- 25 days holiday + your birthday off as well as bank holidays
- Mobile phone and other required tech
- Company pension scheme
- Training and development for your role and future career, including ongoing legal training, mentoring and guidance from the General Counsel, and support for your professional growth
- Service and Recognition awards
- Access to our We Care’ employee benefits platform (discounts and cashback at 800+ retailers)
- Employee Assistance Programme
- Eye care vouchers
Life at Cera:
We champion diversity, inclusion and well-being to create a workplace where you value yourself and feel proud of who you are. We believe in a world where you have the freedom to explore and express yourself without judgement, no matter who you are or where you’re from. Where individuality is a source of confidence, because difference makes the world a better place. People from cultural or gender diverse backgrounds and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply.
Our team is made up of academics, innovators, start-up accelerators and care experts, all connected by a vision to build a better future for care through the combination of best-in-class carers, empowered by technology.
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