Barclays
Director, Head of Trade & Working Capital Legal
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Director, Head of Trade & Working Capital Legal
This is a permanent role and can be based in London or Birmingham.
The Head of Legal for TWC will have people management responsibilities and will be part of an extended Legal leadership team. Workload will be one third supporting the most complex structured transactions (and being the escalation point for the team), one third leading regulatory change and business growth (new product) projects, and one third supporting the head of trade finance and her management team, including attending controls management and other business meetings.
The Business has global growth aspirations and was recently recognised as the Best Trade Finance Bank in the UK at the Global Trade Review (GTR) 2026 Leaders in Trade award.
The Barclays Legal function provides legal advice to all of Barclays’ businesses and infrastructure functions, including areas such as transactional support, litigation management, commercial contract support and general legal advice.
About Trade & Working Capital
We provide a suite of financial products that facilitate trade flows and transactions between importers and exporters, across both domestic and international markets. We help our clients to mitigate risk, ensure payment security and maximise their working capital. Through our global network of offices, we aim to support our clients’ trade activities in multiple markets. Our team works across the full credit spectrum, offering structuring, trade and working capital solutions.
Skills And Experience
Director level English law qualified Lawyer with relevant experience, ideally in trade and the export credit agency
Excellent technical ability, a growth mindset and willingness to manage people (ideally some people leadership experience but not essential).
Excellent stakeholder partnership and influencing skills
Purpose of the role
To ensure that the activities of the corporate banking division related to the role’s relevant product set are conducted in compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations, and to help the bank manage legal and reputational risks associated with these activities.
Accountabilities
- Development and implementation of best practice legal strategies related to the role’s relevant product set, to manage risk related to non-adherence to laws, rules and regulations.
- Subject matter legal advice and support to the Bank's corporate and investment banking divisions globally on a wide range of transactions and projects across trade and working capital finance, cash management, real estate finance, project finance, asset backed finance, lending and other corporate loan finance.
- Subject matter legal advice and support to the Bank’s businesses and infrastructure functions, including areas such as credit, compliance, risk, product management, tax, finance, fraud, transaction management, structuring and execution, litigation, commercial contract support, and operations, often in close collaboration with other legal teams across departments and jurisdictions.
- Subject matter support in the Legal department’s representation of the bank in legal proceedings related to the role’s relevant product set, such as litigation, arbitration, and regulatory investigations.
- Creation and/or review of legal documents for the relevant product set to ensure the bank’s adherence with applicable laws, rules and regulations. Maintaining and updating legal documentation related to the role’s related product set for the corporate banking division.
- Development and delivery of training programmes to educate employees on legal and regulatory requirements related to the role’s relevant product set.
- Pro-active identification, communication, and provision of legal advice on applicable laws, rules and regulations (LRRs). Keeping up to date with regards to changes to LRRs in the relevant coverage area. Ensuring that LRRs are effectively allocated to, and adequately reflected within, the relevant policies, standards and controls.
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Director Expectations
To manage a business function, providing significant input to function wide strategic initiatives. Contribute to and influence policy and procedures for the function and plan, manage and consult on multiple complex and critical strategic projects, which may be business wide.
They manage the direction of a large team or sub-function, leading other people managers and embedding a performance culture aligned to the values of the business. Or for an individual contributor, they lead organisation wide projects and act as deep technical expert and thought leader, identifying new ways of working and collaborating cross functionally. They will train, guide and coach less experienced specialists and provide information affecting long term profits, organisational risks and strategic decisions.
Provide expert advice to senior functional management and committees to influence decisions made outside of own function, offering significant input to function wide strategic initiatives.
Manage, coordinate and enable resourcing, budgeting and policy creation for a significant sub-function.
Escalates breaches of policies / procedure appropriately.
Foster and guide compliance, ensure regulations are observed that relevant processes in place to facilitate adherence.
Focus on the external environment, regulators, or advocacy groups to both monitor and influence on behalf of Barclays, when appropriate.
Demonstrate extensive knowledge of how the function integrates with the business division / Group to achieve the overall business objectives.
Maintain broad and comprehensive knowledge of industry theories and practices within own discipline alongside up-to-date relevant sector / functional knowledge, and insight into external market developments / initiatives.
Use interpretative thinking and advanced analytical skills to solve problems and design solutions in often complex/ sensitive situations.
Exercise management authority to make significant decisions and certain strategic decisions or recommendations within own area.
Negotiate with and influence stakeholders at a senior level both internally and externally.
Act as principal contact point for key clients and counterparts in other functions/ businesses divisions.
Mandated as a spokesperson for the function and business division.
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All Senior Leaders are expected to demonstrate a clear set of leadership behaviours to create an environment for colleagues to thrive and deliver to a consistently excellent standard. The four LEAD behaviours are:
- L – Listen and be authentic
- E – Energise and inspire
- A – Align across the enterprise
- D – Develop others
All colleagues will be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Values of Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Stewardship – our moral compass, helping us do what we believe is right. They will also be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Mindset – to Empower, Challenge and Drive – the operating manual for how we behave.
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