Senior Legal Counsel - - London

At HX, our purpose is to awaken people to the beauty and fragility of the planet, with adventure that reignites a sense of wonder. We take curious travellers to incredible destinations, sustainably in true expedition-style with science and education at the heart of every journey. We bring them off the beaten track, to special destinations across the Arctic, Antarctic, Galapagos, British Isles, Alaska, Northern Norway, and Central / South America.

The Senior Legal Counsel is an in-house senior legal position partnering with senior leaders to provide legal, governance and compliance support across a global expedition travel organisation operating across land and sea. Reporting to the SVP, Legal and General Counsel, you will be joining a dynamic team of experienced legal and risk specialists supporting a fast-paced global business in the travel sector where you will have or develop a deep knowledge of the sector and our business.

This position requires a seasoned professional with 6+ years appropriate post-qualification legal experience, with at least 2 years gained in-house with a consumer brand business, ideally in the travel, hospitality or leisure sectors, who possesses an Explorer spirit, ready to get stuck in and work both independently and collaboratively to deliver practical solutions, navigate challenges and create value.

Key Responsibilities:

• General: Providing effective support and advice as part of a closely connected team delivering across four integrated areas of Legal, Governance, Compliance and Risk. Supporting the General Counsel across all aspects with particular areas of focus to ensure coverage and support for the Business. Assume responsibility and leadership in support of the General Counsel as required. Working collaboratively across the Business on a broad range of matters to deliver value, drive efficiencies, manage risk and navigate challenges. Supporting delivery of key business strategic projects. Focused on the fifth dimension of Legal Operations, helping drive legal delivery strategies and operational efficiencies within budget.
• Legal: Supporting our Operations colleagues deliver extraordinary guest experiences at sea and on shore, both directly and via commercial partners, including operational activities, structures and relationships. Drafting and negotiating a wide variety of commercial agreements, partnering with Operations and Procurement functions. Developing and maintaining self-service legal and contracting tools including HX form documents and guidance. Implement and manage contract lifecycle management. Guest affairs support including irregular operations and guest relations matters. Supporting Commercial teams in areas including Sales & Marketing with sales, pricing/offer compliance, marketing, B2B contracting and relationships and customer loyalty matters. Brand and IP management. General advice and support on employment and human resource matters. Supporting Corporate Communications in managing external communication and relations. Assets management including Marine contracts, IP, Brand and property. Assist with strategic projects including refinancing, capital raising and business reorganisation. Managing disputes, investigations (both internal and external) and other contentious challenges including strategies for resolution and settlement.
• Governance: Helping to deliver significant governance and cultural transformation, including developing and implementing appropriate governance structures, rhythms, owner relations, compliance policies and initiatives. Company secretariat delivery for HX Group entities. Enhance the Business Decision making and Authority matrix and drive implementation. Policies management and audit process implementation and refinement.
• Compliance & Risk: Ensuring compliance with our values, legal and ethical standards. Manage Corporate Compliance culture, awareness and rhythm through shared leadership of Policy Committee. Operational Compliance management including consumer protection (ABTA, ATOL), IATA, ASA, Trade organisations (AECO, IAATO), Alcohol licensing. Collaboration with Marine Operational Compliance team. Assisting with managing Ethics Compliance & Reporting and associated investigations. Manage risk registers, implement policies, controls, audit and follow ups. Active participation in our Crisis Management organisation.
• Legal Operations: Support General Counsel in managing internal and external legal resources and service delivery to internal partners. Developing and maintaining legal tools, resources and knowhow to drive efficiencies. Utilisation of external legal tools, platforms with enhanced focus on leveraging AI. Budget management. Other duties as assigned.

Key Interfaces for Collaboration:

• Collaborating with key partners throughout the Business, including Operations – Marine, Hotel and Expedition Teams, including the specialist Irregular Operations group.
• Commercial – Sales & Marketing, Revenue Management, Product and our Creative Studio.
• Communications and Public Affairs.
• Guest Excellence (GX) Service Centre – responsible for our guest relations.
• Finance (including Accounting, Treasury and Tax) and People & Culture.
• Well defined collaborations with other functions that share Governance, Compliance or Risk responsibilities, including Finance, Tax, Treasury, People, Procurement, IT and Marine Operational Compliance.

Requirements:

• Law degree from a Common Law jurisdiction (alternatively Norway or Germany).
• Qualified solicitor or barrister in a Common Law jurisdiction (alternatively Norway or Germany) or equivalent legal professional.
• Fluency in English is required. Additional business level language fluency in Czech, Norwegian, or German beneficial but not required.
• Minimum of 6 years of appropriate post-qualification legal experience with at least 2 years gained in-house with a consumer brand business, ideally in the travel, hospitality or leisure sectors. Or if not in-house, then advising such businesses at a commercial/operational level.
• Experience in maritime, expedition, or cruise industry beneficial but not required.
• Extensive commercial law experience, including drafting and negotiating commercial contracts with exposure to IPR and brand management.
• Consumer protection and advertising law knowledge and experience managing guest relations preferred.
• Corporate law knowledge and experience, including corporate structures and governance desirable.
• Experience of employment law and contentious matters including managing dispute resolution.
• Exposure to elements of Governance, Compliance, Investigations, Crisis Management, Insurance and Risk Management all desirable.
• Commercially and numerically literate with experience providing optimal recommendations through sound judgement and cost/benefit analysis.
• Well-developed legal drafting skills, strong legal analysis and comprehension and proficient in legal research.
• Excellent written and spoken communication skills, including presentation skills and experience delivering training.
• Tech-forward and adaptable, with a proven ability to quickly learn new systems.
• Proficiency in MS Office applications including Outlook, PowerPoint, Word, and Excel.
• Experience working in a multi-national organisation with a global guest mix.

Key Personal Attributes/Behavioural Competencies:

• Safety and compliance minded for yourself and others.
• High degree of personal integrity and honesty.
• Excited to work in a hybrid work environment to leverage time in person with colleagues across the business.
• Passionate about inclusion and belonging. You take pride in bringing people and different perspectives together to promote a diverse and inclusive workplace.
• Pragmatic and solution focused.
• Possess an Explorer spirit, ready to get stuck in and work both independently and collaboratively to deliver practical solutions, navigate challenges and create value.
• Highly structured, efficient and well organised with the ability to prioritise and follow up.
• Interpersonal and communication skills that build trust and instil confidence.
• Ability to work under pressure to meet deadlines.
• Independent and proactive working style, including self-sufficient in running own matters/correspondence but still a dedicated team player.

HX Spirit:

• Passionate Explorers: We are proud of our history and are driven to create more.
• Can-do Mindset: We jump-in and proactively contribute to the greater good.
• Humble Leadership: We have a short distance between leaders and teams.
• Genuine Interactions: We want all people to be their true selves.
• Supportive & Collaborative Teams: We are curious and generous with our knowledge. We Trust.