Post Office Ltd Job Application – Head Of Legal In London

Overview

Position Title: Head Of Legal

Company:Post Office Ltd
Location: London, England, United Kingdom

Job Description

Two additional Head of Legal posts, reporting directly to the Principal Legal Adviser (the most senior lawyer within HMU), are being established to work alongside the existing Head of Legal and to lead teams of lawyers focused on the management of all aspects of legal risks for HMU. The legal team is responsible for identifying and solving strategic and operational legal issues and providing understandable, accurate and timely advice (often with short deadlines and limited resource) to the business on a very wide-ranging and changing set of complex issues, many of which are novel.
The HMU legal team has the overall lead in advising on (and co-ordinating) the legal workstreams within various remediation schemes and legacy issues. This includes (but is not limited to) the Historical Shortfall Scheme (a remediation scheme arising from the settlement of the Post Office Group Litigation in 2019), matters connected with criminal convictions, and compensation for historical liabilities. The team will also support Post Office in the submissions it makes on matters connected to the work of HMU to the Public Inquiry chaired by Sir Wyn Williams.
These are key leadership roles in which the successful candidates will be expected to provide effective leadership and management of their team, creating an inclusive, supportive, resilient and friendly work environment where people are encouraged to be the best they can, are clear about the aims of HMU and wider POL and are proud to work for POL.

Responsibilities: 

• Ensuring the provision of high quality, prompt and pragmatic (industry leading) legal advice and reports to
• HMU and the wider business, predominantly focused on dispute resolution
• Identifying the most efficient and appropriate mix of internal and external legal spend to ensure that costs are sensibly controlled
• Assisting the Principal Legal Adviser with functional management of the broader legal team to ensure that legal resource is used efficiently and effectively
• Empowering employees to take responsibility for their role, objectives and own development. Delegate responsibility and expect accountability and regular feedback.
• Reporting directly to the Principal Legal Adviser of HMU, successful candidates will be responsible for:
  One post will require co-ordination and quality assurance of all work needed to support the Inquiry on matters within scope of HMU
• Ensuring compliance with relevant legislative, regulatory, or contractual requirements
• Coaching, mentoring, and developing team members including overseeing new employee on-boarding and providing career development planning and opportunities.
• Proactively managing legal risk and ensuring that the business operates within its governance processes and legal risk appetite
• Educating/ training the business and support functions in anticipation of or as a reaction to legal/ regulatory developments

Requirements: 

 

• Qualified to practice in England & Wales with substantial experience at a top 100 law firm or in-house, operating in a high profile politically challenging environment
• Excellent communication skills including the ability to synthesise and clearly present complex legal matters/risks for senior and non-legal management;
• Demonstrable experience of leading through others and developing high performing teams
• Strong interpersonal skills; excellent at relationship building with significant experience of influencing senior internal and external stakeholders
• Experience of operating at a senior level with demonstrable ability to gain trust and credibility across peers and stakeholders quickly
• Able to translate complex legal and compliance requirements into practical workable solutions for the business
• Able to thrive in a fast-moving environment; prioritise workloads and to deliver against demanding deadlines
• Able to work collaboratively and lead by example
• Able to think strategically in setting direction and following through to delivery
• Self-motivated self-starter with drive and determination to deliver results
• Able to work autonomously
• High degree of professional ethics and integrity
• Good understanding of the political environment within which Post Office operates
• Working knowledge of data protection law and GDPR.