Job Description
Finance Managing Associate or Counsel (Housing & Transition Finance)
Location: Leeds (hybrid working)
Salary: £95,000 to £125,000 plus bonus and benefits
Experience: 5+ years’ PQE
If you’re a finance lawyer who wants genuinely complex, high value work with a clear sector focus, this is a standout opportunity. You’ll join a market-leading Housing and Transition Finance practice advising on some of the most interesting funding structures in the UK social housing space, alongside broader transition finance matters.
Our client is looking to hire a Managing Associate or Counsel (5+ PQE) to support continued growth in their Housing and Transition Finance Group. The team advises housing associations, registered providers, funders and investors on a wide range of transactions, and you’ll have the chance to build a profile in a thriving, well-established team.
This role offers a mix of social housing finance, wider social finance and transition finance. You’ll work on high value, complex matters including bond issues, private placements, syndicated and bilateral loans, sustainability-linked financing and other innovative funding structures. Alongside the underlying transactions, the team supports finance clients with wholesale financing, product development and government or regulatory engagement linked to policy shifts.
What You’ll Be Doing
- Advising on complex social housing finance transactions
- Supporting education and healthcare financings as part of a broader social finance practice
- Advising on transition finance matters across a range of asset classes, which may include:
- Digital infrastructure and data centres
- Renewables and cleaner energy
- Large-scale real estate retrofit
- Industrial platforms and decarbonisation
- Circular economy assets
- Natural capital
- Sustainable and synthetic fuel sources
- Agri-tech and climate-resilient food systems
- Water security infrastructure
- Flood defence and coastal resilience systems
- Drafting and negotiating finance documentation, including LMA-style agreements, with confidence to tailor documents beyond standard precedents
- Managing and driving transactions forward, collaborating across teams and stakeholders
- Building strong client relationships and taking an active role in business development
- Supporting the continued growth of the practice through market-facing activity and thought leadership
What We’re Looking For
- A qualified Solicitor with 5+ years’ PQE in banking and finance
- Strong technical skills and a solid understanding of the fundamentals of finance transactions
- Comfortable working with LMA documentation, without being overly reliant on precedent
- Confident in bespoke drafting and practical, commercial lawyering
- Entrepreneurial mindset, self-starter attitude and ability to take ownership of matters
- Collaborative approach and confidence working directly with clients
What’s On Offer
- Hybrid working (typically 2 days from home per week, depending on role and location)
- Competitive financial package, including discretionary bonus (performance dependent)
- Pension with matched employer contributions (up to 5%)
- Life assurance (4x salary) and income protection cover
- Private medical insurance, with options to upgrade and add family cover
- Dental plan and access to health screening options
- 25 days’ annual leave, rising to 27 with service, plus the option to buy or sell up to one week per year
- Sabbatical leave options (subject to eligibility)
- Health and wellbeing support, including 24/7 employee assistance programme and counselling
- Mental health support network and occupational health support
- Wellbeing subsidy towards gym, sports membership or wellbeing apps
- Cycle to Work scheme and interest-free season ticket loan
- CSR day for volunteering (1 day per year) and payroll giving scheme
- Discounts and rewards portal, plus peer and manager recognition schemes
Working Arrangements
This role is based in Leeds and is offered on a hybrid basis, typically with office attendance three days per week and home working two days per week, depending on role requirements.
Next Steps
Apply online or send your CV to lee.hawthorne-finch@h-fts.com or call 0333 996 2882 for more information.
All applications are handled in the strictest confidence. We will always obtain your express permission before sharing your details with our client.