Senior Legal Counsel

Are you a qualified lawyer looking for a new challenge, stimulating work, and a chance to have a big impact?

Contract: permanent

Working hours: 35 hours per week is full time. Where possible, we are open to considering part time/flexible working patterns. Please let us know in your application your desired working pattern.

Salary: £96,278

Location: London Docklands, Hybrid

Reporting to: General Counsel

By joining our team, you'll enjoy the best of both worlds – hybrid working and the collaboration of a great office environment. Our permanent hybrid policy sees us all working at least four days across a fortnight in the office. As well as extensive opportunities for personal and career development.

The Financial Ombudsman Service is an independent, not-for-profit organisation that plays a vital role in UK financial services. Every day we help resolve disputes between consumers, or small businesses, and their financial service providers. Our legal team advises and supports the Financial Ombudsman Service across a broad range of legal areas. We advise on legal issues relevant to Ombudsman’s decisions and to our broader work, help to build our approach to resolving disputes, and act for the FOS if we are challenged through the courts.

We are looking for an experienced solicitor or barrister qualified in England & Wales to join us as Senior Legal Counsel. You will work with the legal team to provide advice to the FOS on all legal and jurisdiction matters and help us build our legal knowledge across the Ombudsman Service. The Financial Ombudsman Service is often at the cutting-edge of financial services law. As such, the legal issues we face are complex and can be novel. Our jurisdiction is being reformed, so that our ombudsmen’s decisions will turn on issues normally encountered in civil litigation. Specific legal knowledge and experience in this field is desirable.

You will also need the intellectual ability and breadth of legal knowledge to provide sound and clear answers to all manner of difficult legal questions. As Senior Legal Counsel, you will advise on the most complex and sensitive issues we receive in the team. You will be familiar with some of the law we apply, but where relevant law is unfamiliar you will be able to develop and extend your expertise by legal research. When required you will take a lead on specific areas and legal projects. You will need the judgement and confidence to deliver advice that impacts many people.

We are a team and we operate as one. This means collaborating and sharing our knowledge and insights. Senior Legal Counsel ideally bring significant and varied experience to the role. We support less experienced members of the team in developing and learning and we work together to train others outside the team. You will be a vital member of this team and will participate in these activities to the full. You will need to have great interpersonal skills and to give a good account of yourself when making presentations.

To be considered for this role, you’ll need to show us that you’ve got the skills and capabilities. You’ll have to meet the following minimum criteria:

• Be a solicitor or barrister qualified in England and Wales.
• Recent experience in the regulatory, commercial or public sector or in private practice.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Strong technical skills in financial services, law and regulation.
• Strong technical skills and experience in one or more of the following areas – public law, litigation, information law and contract law.

We would also like you to have the following skills:

• Demonstrable expertise in civil litigation or handling financial services disputes.
• Proactive problem-solving skills, identifying solutions supported by the law with an eye to wider implications for clients.
• Strong prioritisation skills and ability to be flexible.
• Ability to build good relationships with internal clients to help you fully understand their needs and advise on our recommended approach on legal matters.
• Strong drafting and negotiation skills.
• Experienced in supervising trainee solicitors, providing training and coaching.

Why You'll Love Working With Us:

We are a values led organisation. Our values define our culture, influence our decisions, and underpin our vision and strategy. They set out how we play our PART through Purpose, Ambition, Respect and Trust.

You can learn more about our values here:

• Wellbeing: (Health plan, gym memberships, mental health support)
• Growth: We invest in your future with (courses, mentorship, promotions)
• Culture: Diverse. Inclusive. Collaborative. Fun.

We also offer an attractive, competitive salary and flexible benefits to suit our people.

Benefits:

• 25 days holiday entitlement, with the option to buy extra or sell days.
• Generous pension.
• Various Family Friendly Policies, including enhanced maternity pay, carers and dependants leave.
• Employer provided benefits such as Private medical insurance, virtual GP, Critical illness cover, Life assurance cover, to name a few.
• Choice of voluntary benefits including Technology scheme, Cycle to work scheme, Will-writing service amongst others.
• Gym membership discounts, and a fully equipped on-site gym open 24/7 in London only.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Leader and, under the scheme, will progress a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the role to interview. Interviews may be conducted via video, telephone, or a panel Interview, with some vacancies requiring an online assessment to measure the minimum criteria.

We view diversity as fundamental to our success and welcome applications from underrepresented groups across all communities. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all team members.

The Financial Ombudsman Service is an equal opportunities employer. All applicants will be treated in a fair and equal manner and in accordance with the law, regardless of gender, marital status, race, religion, colour, age, disability or sexual orientation. We’re committed to being a great place to work – attracting and developing people from the widest possible range of backgrounds. We want everyone to perform at their best and feel able to be themselves. We understand that if we’re diverse and inclusive, we’ll better understand different perspectives, which is fundamental to our job resolving financial complaints.

You can read more about Diversity and Inclusion. We are proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. Disabled applicants who fulfil the minimum criteria for the role will be progressed to the next stage of the process. Do let us know of any reasonable adjustments you need. You will need to demonstrate that you meet the minimum criteria in order to qualify for the Disability Confident scheme.