Legal Director, Market Oversight in Brighton

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) is the UK’s regulator of workplace pensions, dedicated to protecting members’ benefits and promoting high standards across the pensions industry. TPR works to ensure that employers, trustees, and pension providers meet their obligations, safeguarding retirement outcomes for millions of savers. This is an exciting time for TPR. The pensions sector is at a pivotal point, prompting a major shift in its focus. The market it regulates is radically changing, moving towards a system of fewer, larger schemes – schemes that could not just impact the retirement outcomes of millions of savers, but could also move markets. That is why it is shifting from a compliance-focused approach to a risk-based, high-performance culture, requiring new capabilities, training and behaviours. The goal through transformation is to foster a high-performance organisation through greater alignment, accountability, collaboration, and a performance mindset.

The Legal Director, Market Oversight, is a strategic partner and main legal advisor for TPR’s Market Oversight function, which provides the core of TPR’s front‑line supervisory activity. The Legal Director will be part of the Legal Leadership team and TPR’s senior leadership team, working closely with colleagues across TPR. The Legal Director will oversee the legal aspects of current supervision work and the implementation and operationalisation of future legislative changes, working closely with the Legal Director, Pensions Reform. The Legal Director will share responsibility for building, maintaining and leading a skilled and dynamic legal function that delivers measurable, high‑quality outputs in the service of TPR’s corporate strategy and statutory functions. The role also requires close collaboration with counterparts in Policy, Supervision, Enforcement, and Government partners to deliver joined‑up regulatory outcomes. This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced lawyer - ideally with a background in regulatory, financial services, litigation or public law - who is looking to apply their expertise within a modern systems regulator.

Key responsibilities

• Based on the risk appetite as set by TPR’s Board, provide concise, high level analysis, assessment and advice regarding the legal risks and opportunities arising from TPR’s duties to regulate.
• Provide in‑depth legal analysis and opinion, including the assessment of risk, regarding supervisory cases, changes to the law and evolving legal trends. Ensuring that advice is clear, factually accurate, legally sound and well‑reasoned.
• Provide concise legal advice on risks and mitigation, designed to support risk‑based decision making balancing the need to engage with entities to prevent member harm but with TPR’s regulatory framework.
• Contributing to TPR’s legal strategy and making a high‑level contribution to Market Oversight’s strategy and business planning process, identifying and addressing areas of legal risk or opportunity.
• Overseeing the deployment of legal resources for the function, which involves providing effective leadership and direct line management of the team, ensuring that legal expertise is integrated proportionately and appropriately throughout TPR’s regulatory activity and that the team are clear about expected standards of performance and are motivated to provide an effective and efficient service.
• Driving and embedding a culture of high performance, relying on coaching, influencing and negotiating skills with a range of internal and external stakeholders.
• Seek out and support opportunities for legal staff to develop their own experience with a view to delivering flexible legal services to the function.
• Seek continuous improvement in all areas of responsibility, recommending changes where required, and managing projects and initiatives.
• Play a significant role in the leadership of the function and all relevant corporate initiatives, taking personal responsibility for ad hoc initiatives agreed.
• Demonstrating strong stakeholder management skills, with evidenced experience of influencing internally and externally, often in high‑pressure contexts.

The successful candidate will bring:

• Qualification as a solicitor or barrister with a current practising certificate for the UK and extensive experience advising at the board level.
• Expertise in providing risk‑based, audience‑tailored legal advice on complex and high‑profile matters.
• Comprehensive post qualification experience of two or more areas from regulatory, pensions, financial services, litigation or public law.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, with evidenced experience influencing internally and externally.
• Demonstrates an understanding of the regulatory and political environment in which TPR operates.

The closing date for this role is Monday 30 March at 23:59. For more information and to apply, please visit www.odgers.com/95613.