Paralegal Officer Job Description
The Paralegal Officer will provide high-quality paralegal and administrative support to the University Legal Counsel in a diverse legal portfolio, including contract review and negotiation, regulatory matters, dispute resolution, student, and academic matters. The role will involve managing a varied caseload in a timely and efficient manner.
Key Responsibilities:
1. Draft, review, and negotiate a range of legal agreements, including research-related contracts, MOUs, EU Consortium Agreements, grant agreements (national and international), collaboration agreements, consultancy agreements, service-level agreements, commercial contracts, donor agreements, and sub-contracts.
2. Support the Office of Research, Innovation, and Impact with effective and timely contract management to meet funder and other stakeholder deadlines, aligning legal processes to support the university's research objectives under TU RISE while ensuring legal and regulatory compliance.
3. Ensure contracts comply with university policies, any funder terms and conditions, and relevant legislation, escalating complex issues as needed.
4. Provide legal support and assistance on corporate governance and commercial matters, employment-related matters, internal student cases, academic, and disciplinary matters, legislative interpretation, regulatory compliance, and dispute resolution (assisting in case management and preparation as needed).
5. Collaborate with research, academic, and professional services stakeholders to obtain and evaluate necessary background and context on each matter.
6. Assess any related risk factors such as financial, reputational, and ethical issues and provide an initial analysis before escalating as needed.
7. Coordinate with other internal functions, as appropriate, to ensure that decisions, actions, and responses align with expected compliance standards and appropriate legislation.
8. Assist in the resolution of legal queries and contribute to the development of internal policies, procedures, and templates.
9. Conduct legal research, on request, on emerging legal issues (e.g., in Data Protection, Export Controls, State Aid, and Artificial Intelligence) and contribute to the legal awareness of staff, where appropriate.
10. Assist the university and University Legal Counsel in the support of all other legal matters that may arise.