Head of Legal

Location: Hybrid / Lavington St, London SE1 0NZ, UK
job type: Contract / Part-time
Sector and subsector: Business Operations | Legal
Salary: Competitive salary

About London CIV

London CIV (London LGPS CIV Limited) is the asset pooling company for the London Local Government Pension Scheme, established in 2015 to manage pension assets on behalf of its partner funds, which include the London Boroughs, the City of London, and Buckinghamshire Council. London CIV is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and operates its pooled fund range through an Authorised Contractual Scheme (ACS) structure, giving it direct responsibility for dealing and execution across the funds it manages on behalf of underlying LGPS investors.

The Role

The Head of Legal is responsible for leading and managing the firm's legal affairs, providing commercially focused and pragmatic legal advice across all business activities and ensuring that legal risks are effectively identified, managed and mitigated.

The role holder will operate as a hands-on practitioner overseeing legal matters relating to investment funds and outsourced service arrangements; managing external legal advisers; and coordinating legal support across fund launches, changes, restructures and ongoing fund governance activities.

They will be the principal legal adviser to the Executive Committee, supporting the firm's strategic objectives while maintaining compliance with applicable laws, regulations and industry standards.

As this is a newly created role, we are open to flexible working arrangements and welcome applications from candidates seeking a 3 or 4 day working week. The role is offered on an initial 12-month contract, with the potential to become permanent.

What you'll be doing

Funds and Investment Products

• Provide legal oversight and guidance for authorised and unauthorised investment funds and related investment products.
• Support the establishment, launch, modification, merger and closure of funds.
• Review and advise on constitutional documents, prospectuses, investment management and trading agreements and related fund documentation.
• Work closely with Investment, Operations, Compliance and Risk teams on fund-related projects and governance matters.
• Provide legal input into product development initiatives and investment structures.

Oversight of Third-Party Legal Relationship

• Lead, manage and maintain an appropriate panel of external legal advisers.
• Support strategic project work and activities, operating as the legal subject matter expert giving credible and pragmatic counsel.
• Coordinate, triage and oversee legal work undertaken by specialist third-party firms to ensure quality, consistency and value for money.
• Act as the primary internal stakeholder for fund-related legal advice provided by external counsel.
• Turn external legal advice into clear, practical recommendations for the business.
• Drive cost efficiencies through establishing appropriate legal service standards, budgets and performance monitoring for external providers. This will include bringing appropriate legal work in house.

Commercial Contract Management

• Lead negotiation of key supplier, technology, outsourcing and service agreements.
• Advise on material vendor relationships and outsourcing arrangements.
• Support procurement activities from a legal and risk perspective.
• Ensure contractual arrangements appropriately protect the firm's interests.
• Identify, assess and manage legal risks across the organisation.
• Maintain legal policies, procedures and governance documentation.
• Support incident management, dispute resolution and litigation matters where required.
• Develop legal reporting and management information for senior stakeholders.
• Oversee signing authorities, powers of attorney and NDAs, ensuring records are accurate, controlled and kept up to date.
• Provide practical, risk-based legal advice to senior management, the Board and business teams.
• Advise on corporate, commercial, procurement, technology and regulatory matters.
• Review, draft and negotiate a wide range of commercial agreements.
• Support strategic business initiatives, change programmes and organisational developments.
• Monitor legal developments affecting the business and advise on potential implications.

Governance and Regulatory Support

• Advise on FCA regulatory requirements and wider financial services legislation where required.
• Work closely with Compliance and Risk teams to support regulatory change initiatives and internal governance processes.
• Assist with regulatory interactions, investigations and responses where required.
• Support the maintenance and enhancement of legal risk management frameworks.

Leadership and Culture

• Work closely with senior leaders across the organisation to support the performance of the team. This will involve leading by example to inspire colleagues, support talent, and role model what good looks like to your peers.
• Demonstrate the behaviours and standards that contribute to a strong organisational culture.
• Act as an internal centre of excellence within your area of specialism, promoting consistent standards, sharing knowledge, and driving continual improvement across the organisation.
• Maintain high standards of professionalism at all times. Adhere to the conduct rules expected of a Conduct employee under the SMCR.
• Proactively lead engagement across all LCIV teams, as well as external stakeholders ensuring clear and timely communication. When it comes to high-priority projects, proactively act as a bridge between the executive team, stakeholders, and employees, ensuring alignment in objectives, priorities and delivery.

What we're looking for

• Qualified solicitor, barrister or equivalent legal professional.
• Significant post-qualification experience within financial services, asset management or investment management.
• Broad legal expertise covering commercial, corporate and regulatory matters.
• Experience advising FCA-regulated firms, including from within an in-house or industry role.
• Strong experience in contract drafting, negotiation and legal risk management.
• Experience overseeing and managing external legal advisers and specialist counsel.
• Experience supporting fund launches, restructures, transitions and product governance activities.
• Experience engaging with Executive Committees and senior stakeholders.
• Excellent communication, influencing and stakeholder management skills
• Understanding of pensions sector, as well as LGPS pooling arrangements or public-sector institutional investors.
• Experience supporting authorised fund structures (ACS, OEIC, AUT, ICAV or similar).
• Experience advising on investment management agreements, custody agreements, fund administration arrangements and delegated service models.
• Knowledge of AIFMD, UCITS, the COLL and FUND Sourcebooks and broader UK asset management regulation.
• Experience supporting outsourced operating models and third-party service provider arrangements.

What we offer

10% employer pension contribution, 26 days' annual leave plus 3 extra days over Christmas, hybrid working, private medical insurance, enhanced family-friendly pay, study sponsorship and more. Ask us for our full benefits summary.

We are committed to building an inclusive team and welcome applications from all backgrounds. If you need any adjustments during the recruitment process, just let us know.

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