Manager - Legal Counsel (Employment Law): Virgin Atlantic in Crawley

Hours: Full Time 37.5 hours per week Monday to Friday

Location: Crawley, West Sussex (Hybrid) 3 days on site per week in line with hybrid working policy

Contract: Permanent

Closing Date: 10th June 2026

In a nutshell

This is a rare opportunity to step into a unique employment law role at the heart of Virgin Atlantic. As our Manager Legal Counsel – People Relations, you’ll be a trusted advisor to our People function, senior leadership, and wider business. You’ll bring clarity and confidence to complex employment issues, helping us make decisions that are not only legally sound but also commercially savvy and people focused. From providing fast‑paced day‑to‑day guidance, supporting change projects and new business initiatives, guiding senior hirings and exits to shaping our approach to employee relations for unionised and non‑unionised workforces, you’ll ensure we deliver fair, compliant and pragmatic outcomes that support both our people and our purpose.

Day to day

• Provide expert legal advice on UK and international employment law, covering recruitment, contracts, disputes, and terminations.
• Advise on TUPE, business transfers, and industrial relations matters including trade union engagement and collective bargaining.
• Deep understanding of diversity, equity and inclusion and its impact on business considerations.
• Draft and review employment‑related agreements such as contracts, settlement agreements, and incentive schemes.
• Lead and manage employment litigation, including tribunal work and engagement with external counsel.
• Partner with HR, Reward, Employee Relations, internal audit and senior leaders to deliver pragmatic, commercially aligned advice.
• Contribute to policy development, governance, and compliance processes, ensuring best practice.
• Support broader corporate and commercial initiatives, adding legal value to strategic projects.
• Share knowledge and develop templates to drive consistency and continuous improvement within the legal team.

About you

• Qualified solicitor in England & Wales (or equivalent jurisdiction) with a strong academic background and ideally 5+ years’ PQE, including significant exposure to UK employment law within a complex, fast‑paced organisation.
• Demonstrated experience advising on the full employee lifecycle, including disciplinary, grievance, performance management, absence management, discrimination, whistleblowing, redundancy, restructuring, and senior exits, with the ability to assess both legal and reputational risk.
• Proven expertise managing Employment Tribunal litigation end‑to‑end, including drafting pleadings, instructing external counsel, developing case strategy, negotiating settlements, and delivering commercially pragmatic outcomes while minimising legal and financial exposure.
• Strong working knowledge of TUPE, collective consultation obligations, industrial relations, and trade union engagement, with experience supporting organisational change programmes, restructures, outsourcing activity, or operational transformation in a unionised or highly regulated environment.
• Demonstrated ability to draft, review, and negotiate employment contracts, settlement agreements, policies, and executive service agreements, ensuring legal compliance alongside alignment to broader business objectives.
• Commercially astute, with the judgement to balance legal robustness against operational realities, enabling leaders to make informed, risk‑based decisions at pace.
• Credible and confident operating at senior stakeholder level, with experience influencing leaders through complex or sensitive employee relations matters and building trusted relationships across HR, leadership, and wider business functions.
• A clear and engaging communicator, able to translate complex legal concepts into practical, accessible advice for non‑legal audiences, both verbally and in writing.
• Highly organised and delivery‑focused, with experience managing a varied caseload, balancing competing priorities, and maintaining high standards of accuracy and responsiveness under pressure.
• Collaborative and pragmatic in approach, with a proactive mindset and the ability to work independently while contributing positively to a high‑performing legal and people team.

Be yourself – Our differences make us stronger

Our customers come from all walks of life and so do our colleagues. That’s why we’re proud to be an equal opportunity employer and actively encourage applications from all backgrounds. At Virgin Atlantic, we believe everyone can take on the world – no matter your age, gender, gender identity, gender expression, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disabilities, religion, or beliefs. We celebrate difference and everything that makes our colleagues unique by upholding an inclusive environment in which we can all thrive. So that everyone at Virgin Atlantic can be themselves and know they belong.