General Counsel in Surrey

A growing, specialist UK finance brokerage is looking for an experienced General Counsel to take ownership of its legal and regulatory function. This is a newly created, strategically important role within a regulated business operating across asset brokerage and consumer finance brokerage. Working closely with senior leadership and the Compliance Officer, you will provide pragmatic legal advice, support the business's commercial objectives and help establish robust processes as the organisation continues to grow.

The role involves being the senior legal resource within the business, managing a broad range of commercial, contractual, regulatory and operational matters. You will work with senior stakeholders and operational teams to ensure the business operates responsibly, compliantly and with appropriate legal and commercial protections in place. Initially, this will be a standalone role, with the opportunity to help shape and build a wider legal and compliance function over time. This role would suit an experienced solicitor or barrister who is comfortable working autonomously, operating at both strategic and hands-on levels, and taking full ownership of a legal remit within a growing regulated organisation.

Key responsibilities:

• Act as the senior legal adviser to the business, providing clear, commercially focused advice to leadership and operational teams.
• Draft, review and negotiate merchant, lender and panel agreements.
• Prepare and manage Appointed Representative (AR) and Introducer Appointed Representative (IAR) contracts and onboarding documentation.
• Oversee the ongoing legal aspects of AR and IAR relationships, including variations, terminations and disputes.
• Support the preparation, review and submission of FCA filings and regulatory documentation alongside the Compliance Officer.
• Review financial promotions and marketing materials to ensure they meet relevant legal and regulatory requirements.
• Advise on consumer credit, data protection, commercial and general regulatory matters.
• Manage legal processes relating to unpaid fees, including correspondence, escalation and recovery routes.
• Establish, document and maintain standard operating procedures across legal and contractual processes.
• Identify and advise on emerging legal, contractual and regulatory risks.
• Support governance activity, including Board papers and reporting on legal and contractual matters.
• Assist with disputes, claims and litigation, engaging external counsel where appropriate.
• Instruct and manage external legal advisers when specialist advice is required.
• Maintain accurate records of contracts, legal advice and key decisions.
• Support internal training on legal, regulatory and contractual matters.
• Work closely with the Compliance Officer to ensure legal and regulatory requirements are aligned and consistently applied.

About you:

You will be a qualified solicitor or barrister in England and Wales, or have equivalent relevant experience, with significant post-qualification experience. You will ideally have:

• Significant in-house or advisory experience within financial services.
• Experience in a brokerage, lending, intermediary or similarly regulated environment.
• Strong knowledge of consumer credit law and FCA requirements relevant to finance brokers.
• A proven track record of drafting and negotiating commercial contracts, ideally including lender, merchant or panel agreements.
• Experience with AR and IAR arrangements, including contractual and oversight requirements.
• Experience contributing to FCA submissions or other regulatory documentation.
• Confidence reviewing financial promotions and marketing materials.
• Experience creating or improving SOPs, policies and internal processes.
• The ability to interpret complex legal and regulatory requirements and apply them pragmatically.
• Excellent drafting, negotiation and communication skills.
• Strong organisational skills and a high level of attention to detail.
• The confidence to challenge constructively and advise senior stakeholders.
• A proactive, solutions-focused and commercially minded approach.
• The ability to work independently and take full ownership of the legal function.

Working arrangements and benefits:

As this is a new role, it can be tailored to the right candidate, therefore full or part-time candidates can be considered. The client would also consider those keen to work on an interim or consultancy basis. The role could however be permanent for the right candidate understanding that as a fast-moving business, the remit of the role may change over time. The role will be mostly office-based, however some remote working could be considered for the right candidate. A salary of between £100K and £120K FTE is available, depending on skills and experience (relevant day rates could be considered within a similar budget).

The role offers:

• Genuine flexibility around working arrangements.
• Direct exposure to senior leadership.
• The opportunity to shape the legal and compliance function within a growing business.
• A collaborative and supportive working environment.
• Pension contributions and paid holiday entitlement, where applicable.
• The opportunity to help build a team and develop the function over time.

Apply today and discover how your experience could make a lasting difference.