Legal Counsel

About us

Vida Bank provides competitive savings products through Vida Savings and specialist mortgage solutions through Vida Homeloans. Our mortgage business supports Buy to Let (BTL) and residential borrowers (ROO) who find themselves underserved elsewhere. Our mortgage customers range from Buy to Let investors to the self-employed and customers with multiple jobs. Our savings proposition is delivered online via our website and is focused on providing savers with fair, transparent and competitive rates. Our typical customers are active savers, who tend to look beyond their current account provider for savings accounts.

Our business model and strategy are underpinned by our core purpose to ‘Help More People Find a Place to call Home’. We are here to help the under-served, especially those with more nuanced personal circumstances or borrowing needs who are not able to access a mortgage from a mainstream mortgage lender. Working exclusively with intermediary partners, we combine cutting-edge technology with skilled and caring underwriting expertise to solve complex customer problems.

As a fully regulated UK based bank with ambitious growth aspirations, we recognise the importance of having a clearly articulated culture strategy and the need to actively manage how it embeds in the business together with the behaviours which exemplify it. As a recognised Best Companies Top 100 mid-sized company to work for in the UK and a finalist at the Financial Reporter Women’s Recognition Awards, we take pride in our diverse workforce, championing both ethic and gender diversity through our EDI commitments. Having met the target set by being a member of the HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter we have 50% of senior management roles filled by women.

With offices in London, Newcastle and Skipton, we bring our teams together regularly to collaborate and empower our colleagues to have more choice around when and where they work on the days they are not in the office, with colleagues working remotely in various locations across the UK.

Our Culture

We are proud to have built a culture founded on an ethos of caring, and that sits at the heart of our Vida Values, driving the way we run our business, support our customers and other stakeholders on a daily basis. We genuinely care about delivering the right outcomes for all our stakeholders who we consider through the cultural framework as our customers, colleagues, company and communities that we operate in. By Joining Vida you will have a sense of belonging in what is a diverse and collaborative environment, where you will be empowered to take responsibility for driving delivery. We embrace a diversity of backgrounds and experiences in our people, in the deeply held belief that better outcomes are achieved for customers when our colleagues are better placed to empathise with and understand their unique circumstances. From application to interview, we place inclusion at the heart of all we do.

Role Overview:

The Legal team is a key part of a growing business at an exciting point in its strategic plans. We provide a supportive and friendly working environment which enables good personal and technical development. We can offer a flexible approach to working (Home/Office Flex) with options for some time to be spent in the London office, alongside other members of the team, as agreed. Reporting to the Director of Legal, this is a varied role with scope to focus on areas of interest, as agreed. You will work as part of a team alongside the Chief Legal and Culture Officer (CLCO), Managing Director - Legal and other solicitors. The in-house legal team advises on a wide range of areas (with external support where necessary) including providing company secretarial support.

We are looking for someone to play an integral part in the Legal team, working closely alongside colleagues and key stakeholders in providing proactive and effective legal advice and risk oversight and support to our business at an exciting time as a growing Bank.

Key Responsibilities:

• The majority of the work is non-contentious, but the legal team does support with complaints and litigation (usually with external counsel) when needed. Support and supervision will be provided by your line manager and the other qualified lawyers in the team.
• This role is broad, and the work is varied. It will include:
• Advising on our products including mortgages or savings and litigation/complaints, including supporting with queries, reviewing changes to documents and supporting change management processes.
• Advising on commercial areas (contractual matters or on projects undertaken by the business; intellectual property; contracting and supplier management including outsourcing regulation; and data protection).
• Supporting with corporate governance and company secretarial matters, including managing Executive Committees and taking minutes.
• Supporting with Vida’s corporate insurances and renewals.
• Supporting the team and business to manage legal risks including reporting and gathering MI/data and supporting the business to comply with Legal policies.
• Managing external legal counsel and other legal suppliers, and associated budgets.
• Providing legal advice and undertaking other responsibilities as agreed, plus the opportunity to be involved in wider business activities and forums.

Requirements:

• To be a qualified solicitor and admitted to practice in England & Wales (continue to, at all times, during the appointment)
• Ideally 1-3 years PQE.
• Background in private practice or in-house, ideally both.
• Understanding of financial services regulation with an interest in ensuring compliance with law and regulation.
• Proven track record of developing constructive working relationships within a team and with senior management, as well as other stakeholders.
• A proactive individual with the ability to work autonomously as well as part of a team, and to adapt to changing priorities and manage your own workload.
• A flexible member of the team, with the desire to have a broad practice area and an enthusiasm for learning.
• Ability to act with discretion and integrity and compliance with Conduct Rules.

Our Values

Our values are well established and recognised throughout our organisation. They provide a frame of reference for the behaviours expected from our colleagues every day. We find ways to break old conventions, especially those which cause exclusion or customer harm. We look for these qualities when hiring new talent into the organisation, and they underpin our approach to personal development and performance management for all our people. At the heart of this is the fact we care about our Customers, Our Colleagues and our Communities. We are:

• Visionary - We innovate and break old habits, thinking big and pushing boundaries together as one team
• Inclusive - We value each other’s differences and work to see people for who they really are
• Dynamic - We are flexible and fast, cutting through complexity and never accepting second best
• Authentic - We are honest and genuine, what you see is what you get

Benefits

We offer a comprehensive benefits package to support our employees’ professional and personal needs. Further details can be provided upon application.