Legal Counsel - Global Transactions & Legal Governance (Hybrid; m/f/x/d; 80-100%)

Are you a skilled lawyer with a passion for complex, innovative reinsurance and alternative capital transactions? Do you thrive in a collaborative, international environment where your legal expertise shapes real commercial outcomes? If so, this could be the role for you.

About the Role

This is a rare opportunity to join Swiss Re's Global Transactions & Legal Governance Team in a truly global legal role. As Legal Counsel, you will be at the heart of structuring, negotiating, and executing some of the most complex and strategically important reinsurance and alternative capital transactions in the market — from insurance‑linked securities and collateralised solutions to legacy portfolio transactions and capital management structures. You’ll work shoulder‑to‑shoulder with structurers, underwriters, actuaries, and client managers, bringing your legal expertise to bear on transactions that matter — while ensuring robust governance, compliance, and risk management standards are upheld.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide expert legal advice on complex reinsurance and alternative capital transactions, including insurance‑linked securities, structured reinsurance, retrocession, collateralised solutions, and legacy portfolio transactions.
• Review, draft, and negotiate contracts and legal documents across all phases of the transaction lifecycle — from structuring through to execution and implementation.
• Conduct legal and regulatory due diligence, analysing and advising on legal and regulatory matters as they apply to Swiss Re's transaction activities across global markets.
• Coordinate multidisciplinary teams across Legal, Tax, Accounting, Finance, Risk, and Compliance to support seamless transaction execution.
• Contribute to the development of Swiss Re's transaction frameworks, legal templates, negotiation strategies, and best practices across business units.
• Support transaction governance processes, including preparation of approval materials, identification of legal and regulatory risks, and escalation of material issues to senior management.
• Monitor legal and regulatory trends affecting relevant business areas and proactively advise internal stakeholders on emerging developments.
• Instruct and manage outside counsel as needed, ensuring quality and cost‑effectiveness.
• Facilitate international coordination of legal and regulatory issues, helping to maintain and adapt Swiss Re's legal and regulatory frameworks.
• Deliver internal presentations and training on legal topics with a focus on transactions, sharing knowledge across the organisation.
• Act as a trusted advisor to structurers, underwriters, and other business stakeholders throughout the full transaction lifecycle.
• Provide timely and concise reporting on legal matters, including progress, risks, and outcomes, to senior management.

About the Team

This role sits within the P&C & L&H Transactions Legal Team, which forms part of the broader Global Transactions & Legal Governance Team at Swiss Re. The team provides specialist legal support on complex Property & Casualty, Life & Health, and retrocession transactions across Swiss Re's global business. Working at the intersection of legal expertise and commercial strategy, the team partners closely with structurers, underwriters, capital partners, and a wide range of internal stakeholders to deliver innovative risk transfer solutions — while maintaining the highest standards of governance and risk management. The team plays a central role in supporting Swiss Re's capital management activities and alternative capital initiatives. This is a genuinely collaborative, international team that operates across jurisdictions and functions, bringing together diverse perspectives and deep specialist knowledge. The team is committed to fostering an inclusive environment that reflects Swiss Re's broader values — embracing diversity of age, background, nationality, gender identity, experience, and perspective at every level.

About You

You are a commercially minded, solutions‑oriented lawyer who combines strong technical legal skills with the ability to build trusted relationships across a complex, international organisation. You bring intellectual curiosity, sound judgement, and a genuine enthusiasm for working on sophisticated, high‑impact transactions. You are comfortable navigating ambiguity, managing competing priorities, and contributing to a team that values collaboration, integrity, and continuous learning.

Requirements

• Fully qualified lawyer (bar exam) in the UK or Switzerland (preferred), or equivalent qualification in another relevant jurisdiction.
• Minimum five years of post‑qualification experience, ideally gained in a law firm or in‑house in the (re)insurance industry, with demonstrable expertise in (re)insurance law, transactions, regulations, and a working understanding of structured finance and collateral structures.
• Experience with regulatory and licensing topics in cross‑border scenarios, with the ability to analyse and advise on complex multi‑jurisdictional legal and regulatory matters.
• Excellent drafting, negotiation, and communication skills (written and verbal), with the ability to convey legal and compliance concepts clearly and concisely to a range of stakeholders.
• Fluency in English (written and spoken); additional language skills are a plus.

Nice to Haves

• Experience with insurance‑linked securities, alternative capital structures, or legacy portfolio transactions.
• Familiarity with collateralised reinsurance structures and capital management transactions.
• Exposure to international coordination of legal and regulatory matters across multiple jurisdictions.
• Experience instructing and managing external counsel.
• A track record of contributing to the development of legal frameworks, templates, or best practices in a complex organisation.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build and maintain effective working relationships across diverse, cross‑functional, and international teams.
• A proactive, self‑reflective approach — someone who openly shares their thinking, is receptive to constructive challenge, and is committed to continuous professional development.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple matters and deadlines independently, with a measured appetite for risk and a focus on delivering workable, pragmatic solutions.

Salary Information

For London, the base salary range for this position is between GBP 94,000 and GBP 140,000 for a full‑time role. The specific salary offered considers:

• The requirements, scope, complexity and responsibilities of the role.
• The applicant's own profile including education, qualifications, expertise, specialisation, skills and experience.

In addition to your base salary, Swiss Re offers an attractive performance‑based variable compensation component, designed to recognise your achievements. Further you will enjoy a variety of global and location specific benefits. Eligibility may vary depending on the terms of Swiss Re policies and your employment contract. Our company has a hybrid work model where the expectation is that you will be in the office at least three days per week.

About Swiss Re

Swiss Re is one of the world’s leading providers of reinsurance, insurance and other forms of insurance‑based risk transfer, working to make the world more resilient. We anticipate and manage a wide variety of risks, from natural catastrophes and climate change to cybercrime. Combining experience with creative thinking and cutting‑edge expertise, we create new opportunities and solutions for our clients. This is possible thanks to the collaboration of more than 15,000 employees across the world. Our success depends on our ability to build an inclusive culture encouraging fresh perspectives and innovative thinking. We embrace a workplace where everyone has equal opportunities to thrive and develop professionally regardless of their age, gender, race, ethnicity, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, skillset, thought or other characteristics. In our inclusive and flexible environment everyone can bring their authentic selves to work and their passion for sustainability.

If you are an experienced professional returning to the workforce after a career break, we encourage you to apply for open positions that match your skills and experience.

We may use AI‑powered tools to support the review and evaluation of applications for this position. These tools provide additional insights to our recruitment teams, but all hiring decisions are carefully reviewed and made by people. To learn more about how we use AI in recruitment and how we handle your personal data, please review our Data Privacy Statement before applying.