Legal Manager - London

Location: London

Salary: Grade 7 - £53,544 per annum

Hours: Full time - 37.5 per week 

Contract: Permanent

Closing Date: Sunday 30th November 2025

Join Shelter as a Legal Manager and you will play a key role in our mission to drive systemic change and fight for justice.

If you are a dedicated Solicitor with specialist knowledge in housing or public law, or you have equivalent experience and a strong commitment to addressing the housing emergency we welcome you to apply for this role.

At a time when the housing emergency continues to deepen, your experience could help transform lives and challenge the systems that perpetuate injustice. Come and play a central role in our mission as Legal Manager to lead a team to defend the right to a safe and secure home.

Working with Shelter means being part of a passionate team that believes a safe home is a fundamental right. Here, your legal and leadership skills don’t just change lives—they shape a fairer housing system.

About the role 

You will ensure your team will deliver high quality legal services. You will manage and supervise the legal teams who are advocating for clients with housing issues, using the evidence from frontline casework to bring about systemic change through working with colleagues in Policy and Campaigns, national policy influence and strategic litigation. You will be providing professional support to the team through supervision, mentoring and ensuring they stay up to date with developments in housing, welfare and public law.

Shaping local plans and priorities to align with Shelter’s wider strategy, overseeing financial and contract performance, best practice, audits and quality reviews will also be crucial aspects of the role, along with developing talent and succession planning across our national legal team.

You will lead by example and model Shelter’s values throughout your work – inclusive, anti-racist, collaborative and brave and will work across the organisation to embed legal insight into our wider work.

About you

You will be an experienced housing or public law solicitor, or have equivalent expertise, with strong leadership ability or potential, with knowledge of what makes a good legal service. You know how to bring out the best in people and what keeps a team performing well, having supervised or supported colleagues and are confident and equitable in decision making. You are able to turn insight into action, spotting trends and using evidence to bring about change and know when to adapt or not. Crucially, you have the ability to lead with integrity, curiosity and keep others motivated through changes and challenges.

Benefits

We offer a wide range of benefits, including 30 days of annual leave, enhanced family friendly policies, potential for flexible working, pension and interest free travel loans. Our employees also have access to a tenancy deposit loan, payroll giving, cycle to work scheme and an employee assistance programme.

About the team

Our legal Teams (Managing Solicitors, Solicitors, Legal Advisors and Trainees) are based throughout the England hubs, currently based in London, Plymouth, Dorset, Bristol, Norwich, Birmingham, Manchester, Merseyside, Lancashire, Sheffield and Newcastle.

Our teams are enthusiastic, driven and champions for fighting the housing injustice.  Our teams whilst generating an income also address the housing crisis.

About Shelter

Home is a human right. It’s our foundation and where we thrive. Yet everyday millions of people are being devastated by the housing emergency.

We exist to defend the right to a safe home. Because home is everything.

We need ambitious, passionate people to join us. This is your chance to play a part in the fundamental change we are striving to achieve.

Our enemy is the social injustice at the core of the escalating housing emergency. To win this fight, we must be representative of the people we are here to help and those who support our movement. In all our people decisions, we take pride in being inclusive, equitable and transparent. We are committed to combating racism both within and outside Shelter. We welcome you on our journey to becoming truly anti-racist.

How to apply

Please submit your CV with a supporting statement with responses to the 'About You' points 1-5 outlined in the job description of no more than 1000 words total. Please provide specific examples following the STAR format and ensure you demonstrate how you address the behaviour below throughout your responses:

• We prioritise diversity and have an inclusive and open mindset

CVs without an accompanying supporting statement will not be considered.

Safeguarding Statement

Safeguarding is everyone's business. Shelter is committed to protecting the health, wellbeing and human rights of those we support, and enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect. All our staff will be expected to observe professional standards of behaviour and conduct their work in line with our Safeguarding Policies.

Recruitment Agencies

Shelter does not accept unsolicited CVs from external recruitment agencies nor accept the fees associated with them.