Legal Counsel

Location: This role can be based in London, Cardiff, Manchester or Reading - you will be able to work a flexible blend of both home and office

Number of positions: 2, Junior and Senior Legal Counsel

• Junior Legal Counsel:  + 2 years PQE
• Senior Legal Counsel: + 5 years PQE

Division: Legal

Salary: Competitive plus excellent benefits

Contract Type: Permanent

Hours: Monday to Friday, 35hrs a week

Let us tell you a bit about us…

We’re a nimble and ambitious financial services specialist. Backing people to go for it in life and business.

We’re UK-based supporting our customers across a range of products and services. Aldermore Group was formed by bringing together two very successful businesses, Aldermore Bank and MotoNovo Finance, under the First Rand umbrella.

We thrive by saying “yes” to our customers. We respect the ingenuity of entrepreneurs and their startups; we give first-timers a leg-up onto the property ladder; we open up the lending market to many; and thousands of customers chose Motonovo Finance every week to buy their next car, van or motorbike.

This is where you come in. We are on a journey. A journey defined by a destination; to deliver on our purpose.

The Vacancy

Here at Aldermore we are expanding our Inhouse Legal team as we further support the business’s growth and transformation. We have brilliant permanent opportunities to join a highly skilled team where you will be providing both strategic and day to day commercial contract support to the business.  You will be required to manage legal risks in relation to a range of technology and general commercial projects and advise on both internal risks as well as dealing with partners and suppliers.

This is a great opportunity for you to further your career within a successful business that is going through exciting transformation that you will play a key part in supporting.

What would your day look like?

1. Legal Services Delivery

• Drafting and negotiating a range of for commercial agreements with suppliers and Aldermore group companies.  This includes business process outsourcing agreements, agency agreements, referral agreements, recruitment agreements, marketing agreements, IT agreements,  Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs), Terms and Conditions, Framework Services Agreements and other supply agreements.
• Advising on a variety of commercial legal issues impacting banking and financial operations such as (supplier related) data protection and financial services regulation (e.g. material outsourcing rules).
• Knowledge and understanding of all types of contractual arrangements conducted in a highly regulated sector.
• Managing and assisting Senior Counsel to manage multiple projects and support our Supplier Assurance team, Procurement team and other colleagues to ensure business and enterprise-wide initiatives are executed in a timely and accurate manner.
• Supporting Senior Counsel to design and deliver training to other departments and also with the development of legal templates and checklists.
• Provide concise and easily understandable advice (legal and commercial) and applicable solutions on complex subject matters.
• Demonstrate creativity and innovation in reaching solutions through challenging the status quo and “thinking outside the box”.
• Proactively takes responsibility to identify, assess, manage and report legal risk issues.
• Understands and addresses root causes of business problems in order to reduce legal and reputational risk from such issues, drawing appropriate learnings to prevent their recurrence.

       2. External and Internal Relationships

• An effective communicator with senior management, divisional colleagues and internal stakeholders as well as external bodies including external lawyers.
• Keep abreast of external developments in the law and elsewhere of relevance to Aldermore to enable the company to react appropriately and in line with best practice.
• Communicates in an open, clear, concise and well-structured way to share information and solutions.

What do we expect of you?

A good working knowledge of all aspects of regulated banking together with a thorough understanding of the banking business, its drivers, challenges and market practices are preferred.

The ideal candidate will have proficiency in the following areas:
 

• Current and anticipated commercial legal and regulatory issues affecting Aldermore and the industry generally.
• Sound experience in material outsourcing, IT/SaaS and other types of procurement agreements.
• Whilst the role anticipates a focus on commercial contracts, there is a need for an understanding (or a willingness to learn) multiple areas of the law including knowledge of ancillary areas of law, e.g. data protection and intellectual property.
• Corporate Governance challenges for UK corporates and particularly those in the financial services industry and in a listed environment.
• Demonstrated project management skills and ability to manage multiple, conflicting interests and deadlines.
• Experience of developing and maintaining effective relationships with all internal stakeholders and third parties.
• Demonstrates sound legal and business judgement.
• Possess strong influencing skills - able to advise the business on the best approaches, helping them to understand the constraints/risks and assisting the business in developing solutions.
• Confidence to independently handle a variety of routine legal issues as well as ad hoc legal queries.
• Ability to push back when necessary or escalate as appropriate.
• Ability to work independently but understanding when to get support. 
• Experience of working in an inhouse role is preferred but not essential.

Qualification

You must hold either a current Solicitors Practising Certificate for England and Wales or be fully admitted to the English Bar or hold a Scottish or foreign jurisdiction equivalent qualification.