Senior In-House Lawyer

Welcome to Hastings Direct. We’re a digital insurance provider with ambitious plans to become The Best and Biggest in the UK market. We’ve made huge investments in our data and tech capabilities over the past few years, along with nurturing our 4Cs culture. We’re proud of the journey we’re on as a company and know that our continued success will rely on the contribution of our talented colleagues.

We provide insurance for over four million customers, but we know there’s even bigger opportunity out there. The fact you’re now reading this job advert means we’ve tempted you to find out more about #lifeatHD – we really hope you like what you see, and you’ll join us to share in the success of the exciting chapter that lies ahead.

We understand some people may not apply for jobs unless they feel they tick every box. If you’re excited about joining us and think you have some of what we’re looking for, even if you’re not 100% sure we would love to hear from you.

Role overview

As a Senior In-House Lawyer, you’ll be a trusted legal advisor to the business, providing high-quality, commercially focused legal support across a broad range of matters. This role combines advanced technical legal expertise with leadership responsibilities, including people management, legal operations support and strategic contribution to the direction of our Legal team. You’ll also support and deputise for our Head of Legal, while also taking ownership of key legal areas, strategic initiatives and team development.

Job details – you’ll need to have demonstrable experience in:

• Legal Advisory and Technical Delivery – providing expert legal advice across the business including complex, high-value and strategic matters. Drafting, negotiating and advising on a wide range of commercial, outsourcing, technology and insurance related contracts. Leading on complex or high-risk transactions, ensuring appropriate risk identification and mitigation. Advising on regulatory requirements, policy wording and customer journeys, translating legal issues into clear business guidance. Aligning legal advice to commercial objectives and risk appetite, acting as a strategic partner to stakeholders.
• Senior Stakeholder Management and Strategic Advisory – acting as a trusted advisor to senior stakeholders, influencing decision-making at leadership level. Providing strategic legal input into business initiatives, product development and change programmes. Anticipating legal and regulatory developments and advising on forward-looking risks and opportunities.
• Legal Operations and Continuous Improvement – supporting the Head of Legal in legal operations including legal technology and systems, process improvement and efficiency initiatives. Identifying opportunities to improve legal service delivery, scalability and consistency and contributing to data, reporting and KPI development.
• People Management – directly managing legal administration staff including work allocation and prioritisation, performance management and development and coaching and day-to-day support. Promoting a culture of high performance, accountability and continuous improvement.
• Mentoring and Team Development – providing mentoring and coaching to junior lawyers and trainees, supporting capability development across the team aligned to our skills framework and contributing to training initiatives and knowledge sharing across Legal.
• Strategic Projects and Leadership – leading and delivering strategic legal or business projects, taking ownership for defined legal workstreams or specialist areas, driving change initiatives and supporting implementation and contributing to shaping the strategic direction of the Legal team alongside the Head of Legal.

Essential skills/experience:

• Significant post qualification experience (typically 11+ PQE) in-house or in private practice, with experience in insurance, financial services or regulated environments being highly desirable.
• Experience in managing and mentoring others in a legal capacity.
• Significant experience in contributing to legal operations and change/transformation initiatives.
• Advanced contract drafting and negotiation experience (including complex and high-value agreements) with strong regulatory and risk management capability.
• Strong analytical and problem solving skills, able to interpret complex legal and regulatory landscapes.

The interview process

Our interview process involves the below:

• Recruiter screening call
• 1st stage interview with Head of Legal
• 2nd interview with Group General Counsel

As a Disability Confident employer, we’re committed to ensuring our recruitment processes are fully inclusive – what this means to you is if you’re applying for a job with us, you’ll have fair access to support and adjustments throughout your recruitment journey. We also welcome applications through the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS). For more information on the DCS, please visit our inclusive business page on our careers website.

Regrettably we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.

Benefits: in addition to a competitive salary and £5k car allowance you will also receive…

• Flexible working – we champion a flexible hybrid working approach – please speak to your recruiter to discuss in more detail.
• Competitive bonus scheme - all colleagues are eligible for our annual 4Cs performance bonus.
• Physical wellbeing – as a Band 4 colleague, Hastings pay for you to receive private medical Insurance (also known as PMI). This gives you flexibility and convenience to see a specialist or consultant and allows you to decide when and where you will be seen.
• Financial wellbeing – as well as providing you with 4x your salary with our life assurance cover, income protection at no extra cost, and matched pension contributions up to 10%, we are proud to provide you with an award winning package which includes – discounts, cashback, free independent mortgage advice and free access to financial wellbeing support.
• Mental wellbeing programme – we have the thrive mental health app, our colleague assistance programme available 24/7, our own in-house mental health first aiders, support groups and a dedicated team to make sure we are covering your needs.
• There's more! – 27 days annual leave + bank holidays, with the option to buy or sell one of your weeks, access to our health care cash back plans, dental plans, discounted health assessments, Cycle to work and tech schemes, discounted and free onsite facilities, social events throughout the year and much more...

Join us and you’ll find a different way of doing things. We call it the 4Cs. We focus on getting it right for our colleagues, customers, company and community. As one of our colleagues, you’ll be helping to drive our growth, so in return, we’ll give you all the support, training and development you need. Our 4Cs principles are simple: we believe by creating the right culture for our colleagues and giving them the right tools to do their job, we’ll deliver good outcomes for every customer, helping us to grow the company profitably and sustainably and allowing us to invest in the communities we serve.

Hastings Group is an equal opportunities employer which means we treat people fairly. We welcome applications from all suitably skilled persons regardless of their gender, age, race, disability, ethnic background, religion/belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment or marital/family status. Please also note that we have a thorough referencing process, which includes credit and criminal record checks. At Hastings Direct, we’re committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, we encourage you to be open with us. Our recruitment team is here to provide the support you need to ensure a fair and accessible experience for all.