At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead and inspire a dynamic legal team while driving innovative legal solutions.
- Company: Join Cancer Research UK, a leading charity making a real impact in the fight against cancer.
- Benefits: Enjoy a competitive salary, flexible working, generous leave, and career development opportunities.
- Other info: Embrace a culture of innovation and collaboration while contributing to life-saving work.
- Why this job: Be part of a transformative journey in legal service delivery with cutting-edge technology.
- Qualifications: Qualified solicitor or barrister with significant experience in-house or private practice.
The predicted salary is between 90000 - 98000 £ per year.
This role will provide parental leave cover for a senior leader within CRUK's Legal team, to provide expert strategic and legal leadership within both the team and across dedicated business partner areas, driving high-quality legal service delivery. This is a newly created role, and an exciting time to join to cover a period of transformation. You'll be joining a legal team with dedicated legal operations capabilities leading the organisation with our bold use of gen AI and AI for legal processes and legal work and enabling legal work via data-driven service insights.
This is a highly impactful role, and a particularly exciting time to join us as we continue to transform our Legal Service Delivery. We're looking for innovators, pathfinders, and changemakers who:
- Can act as a strategic partner, embedding legal into strategy and decision-making across the charity
- Thrive in complexity and challenge the status quo, whilst delivering pragmatic timely legal strategies and solutions to enable our work
- Are bold in their approach to legal service delivery and design and curious about how to best deploy legal tech and gen AI and AI capabilities for legal work
- Care deeply about purpose and impact
You will be doing more than just legal delivery, you will empower teams across the organisation, gaining broad exposure to the internal operations of the UK's leading cancer charity, deliver real impact, and get involved in shaping the future of Legal at CRUK.
Main Responsibilities:
- Lead, develop and inspire the service delivery team, providing effective line management, coaching, performance management and professional development support, fostering a high-performing, collaborative and inclusive culture aligned with organisational values and strategic objectives.
- Effectively manage resourcing and work allocation for all transactional matters coming into legal, working with other legal leads, ensuring matters are seen through to timely completion.
- Lead strategic legal activity within the Lead area of focus, providing specialist oversight, direction, and quality assurance to the team on complex matters in this area, and identifying opportunities to develop and embed specialism-led capability across the team and organisation.
- Develop and present innovative, feasible solutions to complex legal challenges.
- Maintain strategic oversight of business partnering relationships across dedicated business partner areas including the CFO Directorate, and the Research & Innovation Operations team, delegating responsibilities appropriately within the team while retaining overall accountability for service quality, client satisfaction, and relationship depth.
- Support the design of and ensure delivery against team SLAs and KPIs to support operational excellence across the Legal team.
- Develop strong GenAI legal capability and contribute to training and knowledge-sharing on GenAI across the Legal team and the wider organisation.
Skills Required:
- Qualified solicitor, barrister or equivalent with significant post-qualification experience in-house and/or private practice.
- Strong track record of delivering high-quality, efficient and client-focused legal services, balancing service demand, team capacity and organisational priorities.
- Demonstrable experience designing, improving or overseeing legal service delivery models, processes, triage systems and operational performance.
- Ability to develop innovative, pragmatic solutions to complex legal and organisational challenges.
- Strong business partnering skills, with the ability to build trusted relationships and influence senior stakeholders across the organisation.
- Experience managing external legal providers and ensuring cost-effective, high-quality delivery of legal services.
- Enthusiasm for legal technology, matter management systems, data-driven service delivery, GenAI and continuous improvement.
What You Will Gain:
Each and every one of our employees contributes to our progress and is supporting our work to beat cancer. We think that's impressive. In return, we make sure you are supported by a generous benefits package, a wide range of career and personal development opportunities and high-quality tools, policies and processes to enable you to do your job well. Our benefits package includes a substantial retirement plan, a generous and flexible leave allowance, discounts on anything from travel to technology, gym membership, and much more. We don't forget people have lives outside of work too and so we actively encourage a flexible working culture. Our work - from funding cutting-edge research to developing public policy - will change the world. It's exciting to be part of our team.
How to Apply:
We operate an anonymised shortlisting process in our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. CVs are required for all applications; but we won't be able to view them until we invite you for an interview. Instead, we ask you to complete the work history section of the online application form for us to be able to assess you quickly, fairly and objectively.
For more information on this career opportunity please visit our website or contact us.
Legal Lead (8-12 month fixed term contract) in Slough employer: Cancer Research UK
Cancer Research UK is an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work environment in Stratford, London, where you can make a meaningful impact on health partnerships. With a strong emphasis on employee well-being, we provide flexible working arrangements and a comprehensive benefits package that supports a healthy work/life balance, alongside ample opportunities for professional growth and development within the organisation.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Legal Lead (8-12 month fixed term contract) in Slough
✨Get Involved in Legal Networking Events
Jump into local or virtual legal networking events to meet industry pros and get your foot in the door! Use platforms like Eventbrite or Meetup to find gatherings, as these are great for making connections and hearing about temporary roles at firms like Cancer Research UK.
✨Showcase Your Skills Online
Create a simple online portfolio to showcase your legal work, whether that's case briefs, research papers, or even blog posts on legal topics. This public display can really set you apart when looking for temp roles in law, especially if you can make it relevant to the work that Cancer Research UK does!
✨Tap into Law School Resources
If you're near a law school, hit up their career services. They often have leads on temporary positions and can help connect you with alumni working at firms. Plus, they might host workshops or job fairs specific to the legal sector—great for scoring that temp position!
✨Stay Updated with Legal Job Boards
Regularly check specialised legal job boards like LawCareers.Net or TotallyLegal for temporary listings. Many firms post their openings directly there, and applying quickly can give you an edge over the competition when looking to join a prestigious firm like Cancer Research UK.
We think you need these skills to ace Legal Lead (8-12 month fixed term contract) in Slough
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Off Your Legal Know-How:In the legal services world, it's all about demonstrating your understanding of relevant laws and regulations. Make sure your CV highlights your legal training, internships, or any relevant projects you've worked on. If you've done any mooting or legal research, include those too - they can really set you apart!
Tailor Your Application for the Temp Role:Since this is a temporary position, your application should stress your adaptability and readiness to jump in right away. Highlight any previous temp roles where you quickly got up to speed, or any diverse experiences that show you can handle a variety of cases or tasks with ease.
Keep it Specific with Your Documents:Make sure your application includes essential legal documents, such as any relevant certifications or memberships in legal bodies. These can add credibility to your CV and show that you're serious about the profession – especially useful in a competitive field like law!
Express Your Enthusiasm in the Cover Letter:Your cover letter is a golden opportunity to express your enthusiasm for the role and the organisation. Let them know why you’re excited about this temporary position with Cancer Research UK and how you're motivated to contribute to their success during your limited time with them!
How to prepare for a job interview at Cancer Research UK
✨Show Off Your Legal Know-How
Prepare to discuss your understanding of legal terminology and concepts that might come up during the interview for the Legal Lead (8-12 month fixed term contract) role at Cancer Research UK. Brush up on relevant laws or recent cases that could be pertinent to the temporary position, as they'll likely appreciate candidates who can think on their feet and adapt to the fast-paced legal environment.
✨Talk About Your Flexibility
Since this is a temporary role, employers want to know you can hit the ground running. Be ready to highlight past experiences where you've had to quickly adapt to new tasks or work cultures. Flexibility is key in a short-term position like this, so share specific examples that demonstrate your ability to manage changing priorities efficiently.
✨Prepare for the Casework Challenge
You might face hypothetical scenarios where you'd have to advise on a legal issue or case. Practice articulating your thought process clearly, as interviewers in the legal sector often expect candidates to walk them through their reasoning step-by-step. This will not only showcase your legal acumen but also demonstrate your communication skills, which are crucial in law.
✨Pitch Your Legal Portfolio
If you have any relevant work samples, such as briefs, contracts, or legal research, this is your chance to shine! Be ready to discuss what you did, what challenges you faced, and the outcomes. This speaks volumes more than just listing your skills; it shows you're proactive and results-oriented, which is essential for a temporary role at Cancer Research UK.
