Immigration Senior Associate

Immigration Senior Associate - Manchester | 6+ PQE

A fast-growing, entrepreneurial immigration practice in Manchester is looking for a senior lawyer to work shoulder-to-shoulder with the partner who leads it. The partner needs someone who can step up, share the load, and help shape the future of the team. For the right person, this is a straight line to leadership.

The opportunity
You will join a tight, specialist group that advises businesses and individuals across the full spectrum of UK immigration law. The client list includes household names in the hospitality and care sectors, alongside private clients with complex personal immigration needs. The work is high-quality, varied, and constantly evolving. One day it might be a sponsor licence strategy for a national care provider; the next, an appeal or a tricky visa application for a senior executive.

Your role will be pivotal. You will manage the team's busy caseload, provide cover for the partner on client matters and team management, and take ownership of complex files from start to finish. You will build your own client relationships, develop junior colleagues, and contribute to the financial and strategic direction of the practice. The team is active on the speaking circuit and in business development. You will have every opportunity to raise your own profile, not just deliver the work.

This is not a seat-warming exercise. The lead partner is looking for someone who wants to make a mark, to take responsibility, and to grow into a leadership position.

About you
You are a qualified solicitor with significant experience in UK immigration law, ideally six years or more. You know your way around corporate immigration: sponsor licences, skilled worker routes, compliance audits, right-to-work frameworks. You are equally comfortable advising individuals on settlement, citizenship, and more complex personal applications.

You thrive under pressure, manage deadlines without drama, and communicate with precision and empathy. You are commercially aware and understand that clients want practical, solutions-focused advice. You enjoy building relationships, and you are excited - not fazed - by the idea of playing an active role in business development and networking.

Above all, you are someone who wants to be part of building something. You will have ideas. You will spot opportunities. And you will have the support of a firm that genuinely backs entrepreneurial people.

What you'll get in return
A platform with a top-100, award-winning full-service firm. A team that is tight-knit, collaborative, and serious about its work but not about itself. A clear opportunity to step up into a leadership role. Real investment in your career, including support for speaking engagements, professional networks, and profile-building. A competitive package, hybrid working, and the energy of a Manchester-based practice with national reach.

This is the kind of role where you can shape not just your own career, but the future of the practice itself.

Apply now for a confidential conversation.