Head of Legal - Fixed Term Contract for 12 months

Keyloop bridges the gap between dealers, manufacturers, technology suppliers and car buyers. We empower car dealers and manufacturers to fully embrace digital transformation by creating innovative technology that makes selling cars better for our customers, and buying and owning cars better for theirs. We use cutting-edge technology to link our clients’ systems, departments and sites, providing an open technology platform that’s shaping the industry for the future. We use data to help clients become more efficient, increase profitability and give more customers an amazing experience.

Role Purpose

The Head of Legal is a management and delivery role responsible for the day-to-day running of the legal function. The role sits between the General Counsel and the wider legal team, providing the operational management layer that allows the function to deliver consistently, responsively and to a measurable standard. It is distinct from the General Counsel role, which retains strategic legal oversight, board-level risk management and executive advisory responsibilities. The successful candidate will bring order, discipline and a clear service model to a function that currently lacks a dedicated management layer, and will act as the first point of escalation for the team and the business.

Key Responsibilities

• TEAM MANAGEMENT AND DELIVERY: Lead the day-to-day management of the legal team, including workload allocation, matter triage, prioritisation and tracking. Own the UK, Prague and India operating model, including handoff discipline, escalation rules and cross-border coordination. Provide people management for the team, including regular one-to-ones, coaching, performance monitoring and development. Act as the first escalation point for the team, resolving matters at the appropriate level and escalating only genuinely strategic matters to the General Counsel.
• STAKEHOLDER SERVICE: Own stakeholder service delivery, including response standards, communication discipline and adherence to agreed service levels. Maintain clear ownership of matters so that business stakeholders always know who is responsible for their request. Build and sustain effective working relationships with business unit leads across Sales, Marketing, Professional Services, Finance and HR.
• EXTERNAL COUNSEL AND COST CONTROL: Manage and oversee external counsel spend, including instruction, oversight and cost management. Operate a clear mandate and approval framework for matters referred externally, reducing unmanaged outsourcing.
• OPERATING DISCIPLINE AND IMPROVEMENT: Own the matter tracker and feed the function's KPI dashboard, managing the team to agreed standards of responsiveness, quality and backlog health. Implement and maintain intake standards, service tiers and triage rules. Drive process improvements, template standardisation and legal operations discipline. Execute legal risk controls, identify emerging risks.