Robert Half
Head of Legal
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Location: Solihull | Hybrid Working
Salary: £90,000 - £120,000 + bonus + car DOE
We are delighted to be partnering with a leading global organisation in the appointment of a Head of Legal to take ownership of its in-house legal function.
This is a senior, highly hands-on opportunity for a commercially minded legal professional to become a trusted adviser to the business and take responsibility for a broad range of legal matters. The role will have particular responsibility for employment law and commercial contracts, providing practical, commercially focused advice across the organisation and working closely with senior stakeholders.
The successful candidate will be expected to operate as a true hands-on Head of Legal, taking ownership of matters from initial advice through to resolution, drafting and negotiating contracts personally and providing day-to-day legal support to the wider business. While the role will involve setting the legal approach and managing external advisers where appropriate, this is not a role that will rely on delegating work externally.
Key Responsibilities
- Take overall responsibility for the provision of legal advice across the organisation, acting as the senior legal point of contact for the business.
- Provide hands-on, pragmatic and commercially focused legal advice to senior stakeholders across a broad range of business activities.
- Lead on employment law matters, advising on employee relations, contracts, policies, restructures, grievances, disciplinary matters and other employment-related issues.
- Take ownership of commercial contracts, including drafting, reviewing, negotiating and advising on a wide range of agreements.
- Partner closely with commercial, HR, finance, procurement and operational teams to ensure legal considerations are embedded into business decision-making.
- Identify, assess and manage legal and regulatory risks across the organisation and its international operations.
- Advise on disputes, litigation and contentious matters, managing external counsel where specialist support is required.
- Provide practical legal guidance on corporate, operational and regulatory matters.
- Develop and maintain appropriate legal policies, processes, templates and frameworks to support the business and manage risk effectively.
- Work closely with senior leadership to ensure legal considerations are understood and appropriately factored into strategic and commercial decisions.
- Manage relationships with external legal advisers, ensuring external spend is controlled and that matters are brought in-house wherever appropriate.
- Stay abreast of relevant legal and regulatory developments and assess their potential impact on the organisation.
- Act as a hands-on legal business partner, balancing legal risk with commercial objectives and providing solutions rather than simply identifying issues.
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About You
The ideal candidate will have:
- A relevant legal qualification, such as Solicitor, Lawyer, Legal Executive or equivalent.
- 10+ years’ relevant legal experience, ideally including significant in-house experience.
- Strong and demonstrable expertise in Employment Law and Commercial Contracts.
- Previous experience operating at a senior legal level, with the confidence to take ownership of the legal function and act as the principal legal adviser to the business.
- Experience working within a complex, international or multi-jurisdictional organisation would be advantageous.
- A proven track record of personally drafting, reviewing and negotiating commercial agreements, rather than solely overseeing this activity.
- Strong employment law experience and the ability to provide practical advice across a broad range of employee and HR matters.
- A highly commercial mindset, with the ability to balance legal risk against business objectives and provide clear, proportionate and practical solutions.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the credibility to influence senior leadership and challenge constructively where required.
- The ability to work autonomously and take ownership of matters from start to finish.
- A hands-on, proactive approach, comfortable operating across both strategic and day-to-day legal matters.
- The ability to work effectively with external advisers while retaining ownership and accountability for the organisation's legal agenda.
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The Opportunity
This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced legal professional to take genuine ownership of an in-house legal function within a leading global organisation.
The role offers significant visibility across the business, with the opportunity to work directly with senior stakeholders and influence commercial and operational decision-making. Crucially, this is a hands-on Head of Legal position: the successful candidate will be expected to roll up their sleeves, provide advice directly, draft and negotiate contracts, lead on employment matters and take ownership of legal issues through to resolution.
For a commercially minded legal professional looking to step into, or further develop within, a senior in-house leadership position while remaining close to the detail and actively involved in the work, this represents an excellent opportunity.
If you are an experienced legal professional with strong employment law and commercial contracts expertise, and are looking for a broad, hands-on Head of Legal role with significant stakeholder exposure, we would be pleased to hear from you. Candidates who are not quite ready to take on a role at Head of level, but are nearly there, will also be considered.
To apply, please submit your CV or contact us for a confidential discussion about the opportunity.
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