Senior Legal Counsel

Want to do the best work of your life? With 24 million customers in 7 countries, make your mark at Europe’s leading media and entertainment brand. A workplace where you can proudly be yourself; our people make Sky a truly exciting and inclusive place to work.  

As a Senior Legal Counsel working in the Acquired Content Legal team, you will act as a senior legal partner to members of Sky’s leadership team and the Entertainment business function, focusing on the acquisition of content for use across Sky’s portfolio of services, supporting channel brands including Sky Cinema, Sky Max and Sky Atlantic, together with services such as Sky Store and NOW TV.  

The purpose of the role is to ensure that business strategies are supported by delivery of high-quality business focussed legal advice and services that land brilliantly in the business. The Senior Legal Counsel is expected to have the ability to lead key deals independently, be a role model for the Department and, where required, act as an effective delegate for the Head Counsel. This role is based in the UK (specifically, at the Osterley offices, and following the Sky hybrid model for onsite working), and will have the opportunity to work across and collaborate with Sky’s other markets and Sky’s wider content legal teams. 

What you’ll do: 

• Predominantly commercial contracting for acquisition of programming (which can be via long term output arrangements, as well as per-title or package arrangements) for exploitation across the various Sky platforms including Sky Glass, Sky Q, Sky Go, Now and the transactional service, Sky Store;
• Support the commercial contracting and negotiation to enable the aggregation of third party services on Sky’s platforms; 

• Support on rights queries in relation to distribution of Sky services on third party platforms and devices; 

• Advice in relation to marketing, promotions, packaging, as well as other risk areas such as fair dealing or defamation;  

• Support for content related issues relating to product or feature launches, including copyright advice;

• Contribute to team training, knowhow, and continuous improvement initiatives;  

What you’ll bring: 

• Qualified lawyer based in the UK with strong experience advising on commercial contracts, including content licensing, gained in private practice and/or an equivalent in-house role.
• In-depth copyright expertise combined with excellent drafting, negotiation, and analytical skills, and strong attention to detail.
• Proven commercial acumen with experience supporting large, complex deals or projects, including the ability to distil complex issues into clear, pragmatic advice and well‑reasoned recommendations.
• Demonstrated ability to advise Executive-level and senior stakeholders with confidence, thinking strategically and creatively to support business objectives.
• Strong business partnering and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build trusted relationships and collaborate effectively across multidisciplinary and international teams.
• Experience managing multiple senior stakeholders simultaneously, with sound judgement on when and how to escalate issues appropriately.
• Highly organised and adaptable, able to prioritise competing demands, work to tight deadlines across multiple projects, and remain calm and focused under pressure.
• Capable of working both collaboratively within high-performing teams and independently with a high degree of autonomy and proactivity to drive delivery of strategically important deals. 

Team Overview:  

Sky’s Legal department is a fantastic place to work.  We comprise over 200 industry leading lawyers and legal and compliance professional across the Sky territories, providing commercial, risk-based advice to the wider business.  We regard ourselves (and are recognised) as trusted partners of the business functions we support.  We seek to employ the “Believe in Better” mantra in our day-to-day work, both in our output and in our behaviours.  Our Vision is to be one team, business partnering to deliver Sky’s Protect & Grow plan, empowered to be our best. 

The rewards:  

There’s a reason people can’t stop talking about #LifeAtSky. Our great range of rewards really are something special, here are just a few: 

• Sky television, for the TV you love all in one place 
• A generous pension package 
• Private healthcare 
• Discounted mobile and broadband 

Where you’ll work: 

Our Osterley Campus is a 10-minute walk from Syon Lane train station. Or you can hop on one of our free shuttle buses that run to and from Osterley, Gunnersbury, Ealing Broadway and South Ealing tube stations. There’s also plenty of bike shelters and showers. 

On campus, you’ll find 13 subsidised restaurants, cafes, and a Waitrose. You can keep in shape at our subsidised gym, catch the latest shows and movies at our cinema, get your car washed and even get pampered at our beauty salon. 

Inclusion: 

Recognised as an ‘Inclusive Top 50 Employer’ and a ‘Times Top 50 Employer for Women’, we’re working hard to ensure we’re a truly inclusive place to work. This means we don’t just look at your CV. We’re more focused on who you are and the potential you’ll bring to Sky. We also know that everyone has a life outside work, so we are happy to support you as much as we can with flexible shift patterns.   

And we’ll do everything we can to support you during your application. If you need us to make any adjustments to our recruitment process, speak to our recruitment team who will be happy to support you.   

Why wait?  

Apply now to build an amazing career and be part of a brilliant team. We can’t wait to hear from you.  

To find out more about working with us, search #LifeAtSky on social media. A job you love to talk about. 

Just so you know: if your application is successful, we’ll ask you to complete a criminal record check. And depending on the role you have applied for and the nature of any convictions you may have, we might have to withdraw the offer