At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead a high-performing legal team and shape strategy in a fast-growing, regulated business.
- Company: Join AJ Bell, a leading investment platform with a strong culture of teamwork.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, generous holiday, hybrid working, and professional development opportunities.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on customer trust and product innovation in a dynamic environment.
- Qualifications: Senior legal leadership experience and strong commercial judgement required.
- Other info: Enjoy a friendly workplace with social events and a commitment to diversity.
The predicted salary is between 79200 - 110000 £ per year.
Join a purpose led organisation where legal plays a central role in enabling growth, innovation and strong customer outcomes. As Head of Legal, you will lead a high performing legal function and work closely with senior leaders to shape strategy in a fast growing, regulated business where your advice directly influences products, partnerships and customer trust.
We are on a mission to make investing feel good for everyone. This is a senior leadership role with real influence across Product, Operations, Risk and Compliance, Technology and Commercial teams as we continue to scale in a complex regulatory environment.
What you will do:
- Set and deliver a scalable legal service model that balances risk, cost and efficiency.
- Shape the future of legal delivery through templates, playbooks and legal technology.
- Advise on product development, customer terms, supplier and strategic partnerships.
- Ensure customer-facing terms and communications are clear, fair and aligned to Consumer Duty outcomes.
- Coach, develop and inspire a capable legal team.
- Foster a collaborative, business-partnering culture with a focus on accountability and continuous improvement.
- Lead litigation strategy, pre-action claims and incident response with a pragmatic, outcome-focused approach.
- Oversee external legal providers and ensure cost-effective, high-quality delivery.
What you will bring:
- Senior legal leadership experience within, or reporting into, a General Counsel or Group Legal Director role in a regulated or consumer-facing business.
- Strong commercial judgement with the ability to translate complex legal issues into practical advice for non-lawyers.
- Expertise across commercial contracts, consumer contracts and data protection.
- Proven risk management capability and sound decision-making on risk versus reward.
- Excellence in negotiating strategic partnerships, technology and outsourcing contracts.
- Experience building and leading high-performing teams.
- A curious, collaborative and outcome-driven mindset.
Nice to have:
- Experience in financial services, platforms, wealth, payments, neo-banking or retail investing.
- Exposure to M&A or capital markets activity.
- Experience optimising legal operating models, including matter intake, SLAs, KPIs and self-service tools.
- Company secretarial experience.
About us:
AJ Bell is one of the fastest-growing investment platform businesses in the UK offering an award-winning range of solutions that caters for everyone, from professional financial advisers to DIY investors with little to no experience. We have over 644,000 customers using our award-winning platform propositions to manage assets totalling more than £103.3 billion. Our customers trust us with their investments, and by continuously striving to make investing easier, we aim to help even more people take control of their financial futures.
Having listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange in December 2018, AJ Bell is now a FTSE 250 company. Headquartered in Manchester with offices in central London and Bristol, we now have over 1,500 employees and have been named one of the UK's 'Best 100 Companies to Work For' for six consecutive years and in 2025 named a Great Place to Work.
At AJ Bell you can expect a friendly working environment with a strong sense of teamwork, we have a great sense of pride in what we do, and this is reflected in our guiding principles.
Our perks and benefits:
- Starting salary of £110k+ commensurate with experience.
- Starting holiday entitlement of 28 days, increasing up to 31 days with length of service plus a holiday buy and sell scheme.
- A choice of pension schemes with matched contributions up to 8%.
- Discretionary bonus scheme.
- Buy As You Earn (BAYE) Scheme.
- PMI Health Cash Plan provided by SimplyHealth.
- Discounted private healthcare scheme and dental plan.
- Free gym membership.
- Employee Assistance Programme.
- Bike loan scheme.
- Sick pay+ pledge.
- Enhanced maternity, paternity, and shared parental leave.
- Loans for travel season tickets.
- Death in service scheme.
- Paid time off for volunteer work.
- Charitable giving opportunities through salary sacrifice.
- Calendar of social events, including monthly payday drinks, annual Christmas party, summer party and much more.
- Ongoing technical training.
- Professional qualification support.
- Talent development programmes.
- Peer recognition scheme, with rewards including restaurant and shopping vouchers or time off.
- Monthly leadership breakfasts and lunches.
- Casual dress code.
At AJ Bell, our people are the heart of our culture. We believe in building strong connections by working together. That's why we offer a hybrid working model, where you'll spend a minimum of 50% of your working time per month in the office. For new team members, an initial period will be full-time in the office to help you immerse yourself in our business and build valuable relationships with your colleagues.
AJ Bell is committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and all employees are empowered to bring their whole self to work. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, pregnancy, religion, physical and mental disability, marital status and any other characteristics protected by the Equality Act 2010. All decisions to hire are based on qualifications, merit and business need.
If you like the sound of the above, or just want to know more about the company and the role, we'd love to speak to you.
Head of Legal in Manchester employer: AJ BELL BUSINESS SOLUTIONS LIMITED
Contact Detail:
AJ BELL BUSINESS SOLUTIONS LIMITED Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Head of Legal in Manchester
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to your connections in the legal field and let them know you're on the hunt for a Head of Legal role. You never know who might have the inside scoop on opportunities or can put in a good word for you.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for those interviews by brushing up on your knowledge of the company and its legal challenges. Show us that you understand the regulatory landscape and how your expertise can help shape their strategy.
✨Tip Number 3
Don’t just wait for job postings! Be proactive and reach out directly to companies you admire, like AJ Bell. Express your interest in potential roles and share how you can add value to their legal team.
✨Tip Number 4
When you get that interview, be ready to showcase your leadership skills. Talk about how you've built high-performing teams and fostered a collaborative culture. We want to see your passion for coaching and developing others!
We think you need these skills to ace Head of Legal in Manchester
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application: Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter for the Head of Legal role. Highlight your senior legal leadership experience and how it aligns with our mission at AJ Bell. We want to see how your skills can help us grow and innovate!
Showcase Your Commercial Judgement: In your application, emphasise your ability to translate complex legal issues into practical advice. We’re looking for someone who can demonstrate strong commercial judgement, so share examples that showcase your expertise in this area.
Highlight Team Leadership Skills: We value a collaborative culture, so don’t forget to mention your experience in building and leading high-performing teams. Share specific instances where you’ve coached or inspired your team to achieve great results.
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way for us to receive your application and ensures you’re considered for the role. Plus, it shows you’re keen on joining our awesome team at AJ Bell!
How to prepare for a job interview at AJ BELL BUSINESS SOLUTIONS LIMITED
✨Know Your Legal Stuff
Make sure you brush up on your knowledge of commercial contracts, consumer contracts, and data protection laws. Be ready to discuss how these areas impact product development and customer terms, as this will show your expertise and readiness for the role.
✨Showcase Your Leadership Skills
Prepare examples of how you've built and led high-performing legal teams in the past. Highlight your coaching and mentoring experiences, as well as how you've fostered a collaborative culture. This will demonstrate that you're not just a legal expert but also a great leader.
✨Be Ready to Discuss Risk Management
Think about specific instances where you've had to balance risk versus reward in your decision-making. Be prepared to explain your thought process and how you arrived at your conclusions, as this is crucial for a senior role in a regulated environment.
✨Understand the Business Context
Familiarise yourself with AJ Bell's mission and values, especially how they relate to customer trust and innovation. Being able to connect your legal advice to the company's goals will show that you understand the bigger picture and can contribute strategically.
