Head of Legal

ROLE OVERVIEW:

Lead and embed a best-in-class legal function across the company platform, operating at the intersection of legal excellence, regulatory discipline and commercial strategy. The role protects and enables company growth ambitions by ensuring legal frameworks, contracts and partnerships align with Group governance, UK regulatory expectations, fair customer outcomes and commercial sustainability, while minimising legal risk and financial leakage.

The Head of Legal acts as a trusted adviser to the UK CEO, Board and Executive Committee and ensures legal considerations are embedded early and effectively in key decisions, transformation activity, strategic partnerships and product innovation.

KEY DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Legal strategy and governance

• Define and lead the legal strategy for the UK MGA platform.
• Establish and embed a robust legal governance framework aligned with group standards and UK regulatory requirements.
• Provide strategic legal advice to the Board and Executive Committee on major business decisions and transformation initiatives.
• Ensure clear delegation of authority, escalation routes and governance discipline.

MGA, capacity and delegated authority contracts

• Lead the negotiation and oversight of Binding Authority Agreements and delegated underwriting arrangements.
• Ensure contractual clarity over underwriting authority, limits and controls; claims authority and referral triggers; and operational and servicing responsibilities.
• Standardise contract structures across the MGA platform to support consistency, enforceability and audit readiness.
• Actively manage and mitigate contractual leakage risks.

Commercial partnerships and distribution

• Provide legal leadership across affinity, embedded and direct-to-consumer distribution partnerships, strategic alliances, supplier arrangements and TPAs.
• Structure contracts to protect commercial value, margin and intellectual property; align partner incentives; and enable scalable, sustainable growth.

Regulatory and conduct advisory

• Act as senior legal adviser on FCA requirements, including but not limited to, Consumer Duty, fair value and SM&CR responsibilities.
• Ensure products, contracts and partnerships support fair customer outcomes and meet regulatory expectations.
• Work closely with Risk and Compliance to maintain a cohesive control environment.

Group alignment and cross-border matters

• Act as the primary interface with Group Legal and Governance functions.
• Align UK structures and contracts with Group frameworks while preserving proportionality and local regulatory integrity.
• Provide legal oversight of cross-border business models, reinsurance and risk-transfer arrangements.

Legal risk, leakage and disputes

• Establish frameworks to identify and mitigate legal and contractual risk, financial leakage, liability gaps and dispute exposure.
• Oversee material partner disputes, complex claims and coverage issues, and regulatory investigations.
• Manage external legal counsel for cost efficiency and quality of outcomes.

Legal infrastructure and data protection

• Develop and maintain contract templates, playbooks, legal policies, standards and contract lifecycle management processes.
• Maintain audit-ready documentation across the MGA platform.
• Ensure compliance with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act and oversee data-sharing arrangements and digital distribution models.

EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

Qualified solicitor in the UK or equivalent, with significant post-qualification experience.

Proven legal leadership experience in insurance, an MGA, delegated authority or London Market environment.

Strong expertise in the FCA framework, delegated underwriting and Binding Authority structures, and commercial contract negotiation.

Experience advising Boards and senior executives and managing senior stakeholders across Group functions, regulators and external partners.

SKILLS REQUIRED

Balances commercial objectives with sound legal and risk discipline.

Translates complex legal and regulatory issues into clear, practical advice.

Strong negotiation, drafting, judgement and stakeholder-management skills.

Influential, persuasive and credible at Board and executive level.

Highly organised, delivery-focused and able to prioritise competing demands.

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

Takes accountability for the legal function, agreed priorities and quality of advice.

Sets clear standards, measurable outcomes and effective escalation routes.

Builds legal capability and promotes consistent use of templates, playbooks and governance controls.

INTERPERSONAL ABILITIES

Communicates complex or difficult messages clearly and constructively.

Builds trusted relationships across Group, UK leadership, regulators and external partners.

Combines independence of judgement with a collaborative, solutions-focused approach.

ACHIEVEMENT ORIENTATION

Delivers high-quality work to demanding deadlines and proactively resolves issues.

Drives continuous improvement, consistency and operational efficiency within the legal function.

Measures success through robust contracts, reduced ambiguity and leakage, fewer disputes and effective support for growth.

CUSTOMER SERVICE FOCUS

Ensures legal advice and contractual frameworks support fair customer outcomes and Consumer Duty expectations.

Promotes customer-focused, compliant decision-making throughout the business.

SELF DEVELOPMENT

Maintains relevant legal, regulatory and industry knowledge through continuous professional development.

Shares expertise and develops legal and commercial awareness across the wider business.

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