Head of Group Commercial Legal

Monzo; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 170,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading digital bank is seeking a Director to lead the Group Legal team for commercial contracts globally. You will provide strategic legal advice and manage all aspects of contracting, positioning the bank as a pioneer in the financial services sector. The role offers a competitive salary of circa £170,000 plus benefits, including flexible working hours and a learning budget.

Benefits

Salary circa £170,000

Share options

Flexible working hours

Learning budget of £1,000 per year

Qualifications

• 10+ years post-qualification experience as a commercial contracts lawyer.
• Experience in technology or financial services with IT and outsourcing expertise.
• Ability to balance legal risk with commercial reality.
• Experience advising on contracts across multiple jurisdictions.

Responsibilities

• Provide legal advice and insights for Monzo's commercial contract needs.
• Lead and manage a team of contractors.
• Develop standard contract templates and management strategies.
• Manage risks and ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.

Skills

Commercial contracts expertise

IT and outsourcing knowledge

Cross-border legal compliance

Excellent negotiation skills

Strong communication skills

Education

Post-qualification experience (10 years)

Tools

Legal technology solutions

Job description

Overview

We’re on a mission to make money work for everyone. We’re waving goodbye to the complicated and confusing ways of traditional banking. After starting as a prepaid card, our product offering has grown in the UK over the last 10 years. We offer personal and business bank accounts, joint accounts, accounts for 16-17 year olds, a free kids account and credit cards in the UK, with more exciting things to come. Our UK customers can also save, invest and combine their pensions with us. With our hot coral cards and get-paid-early feature, combined with financial education on social media and award-winning customer service, we have a history of creating magical moments for our customers. We’re not about selling products — we want to solve problems and change lives through Monzo. Hear from our UK team about what it’s like working at Monzo.

Location: London/Cardiff/UK Remote | circa £170,000 + Benefits. Hear from the team.

Our Legal team and you We’re looking for a Director to operate as the Group Legal lead for commercial contracts globally. You’ll be a strategic legal advisor to our Supplier Operations and wider leadership teams globally and help us build one of the best, most innovative banks in the world.

You’ll join Monzo Bank Limited (MBL) in a Group Centre role within our Legal & Board Governance Collective, which includes legal, company secretarial, sustainability and public policy teams. In this leadership role, you’ll report to the Group Centre General Counsel to give first-rate legal advice and commercial contract support to our UK, Europe and US businesses as we pursue our commercial objectives.

Responsibilities

• Be a trusted senior advisor providing legal advice and commercial insights supporting all of Monzo’s operating entities globally with their commercial contract needs.
• Operate as a commercial contracts expert and strategic partner to Supplier Operations and work proactively with broader teams involved in contracting across the Monzo Group, including Risk & Control teams.
• Lead and manage a team of highly-skilled contractors and mentor other lawyers across the wider team.
• Develop and maintain standard contract templates, playbooks, and best practices to ensure consistency and speed; embed technology solutions to promote automation and self-service.
• Own and develop our Contract Lifecycle Management strategy, including embedding the use of AI and LLM systems.
• Lead a panel of IT and outsourcing commercial contract experts and manage demand into and delivery by the panel.
• Manage recruitment, onboarding, work allocation, escalations and billing for the panel.
• Deliver key insights and metrics relating to the flow of contract work, management of costs and progress in embedding automation.
• Identify and assess legal and commercial risks within contracts and provide pragmatic, commercially focused advice to mitigate those risks.
• Identify and help implement best practice in mapping key contractual obligations into business processes and controls.
• Drive efficiency and innovation in contracting processes, championing technology to streamline workflows, enhance reporting, and reduce risk. Familiarity with Ironclad and Omnea platforms is preferred.
• Be responsible for evaluating, implementing, and embedding new legal technology solutions.
• Find ways to empower business teams to manage contracts and contractual risks/obligations within appropriate frameworks and tools.
• Support in-country General Counsels and their teams with legal and regulatory advice relating to outsourcing and other contract-related issues in financial services.
• Support the Head of Technology, Data and Operations Legal in respect of intra-group service provision related to Monzo’s technology, data and product platform.

• Work with the General Counsel Group Centre to identify and manage legal and regulatory risks related to commercial contracts, partnerships and outsourcings, ensuring robust governance and regulatory compliance.
• Provide forward-looking guidance on key legal and regulatory developments, risks and opportunities relevant to commercial contracts and outsourcing.
• Collaborate with the Legal and Board Governance collective to champion new technology innovations to improve productivity, including adopting suitable tech solutions to streamline workflows and increase scalability.
• As a senior leader, lead broader initiatives owned by the Legal & Board Governance Collective to grow the teams and the services they provide.
• Proactively manage relationships with external suppliers and law firms to optimise spend and deliver top-quality legal support.

Qualifications and what we’d love to hear

• Technically excellent and experienced commercial contracts lawyer with deep expertise in technology or financial services, minimum 10 years post-qualification experience (UK).
• Expert in IT and outsourcing arrangements with knowledge of material outsourcing, operational resilience, data protection, IP and AI/LLMs, preferably in financial services.
• Experience advising on commercial contracts in multiple jurisdictions (UK, EU, US) and understanding cross-border implications and data protection regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA).
• In-house experience for a global technology company or technology-led financial services group, leading a commercial contract team; or equivalent private practice experience with in-house exposure.
• Comfort leading a team of engaged contractors and scaling legal processes and systems with technology integration across the contract lifecycle.
• Ability to balance legal risk with commercial reality; excellent drafting, negotiation and communication skills; able to explain complex issues simply.
• Strategic thinker who seeks innovative, agile solutions aligned with commercial objectives and can implement mitigating actions quickly.
• Strong communicator able to provide clear, practical legal advice and persuade stakeholders at all levels, including Board and C-suite.
• Outstanding interpersonal and teamwork skills with cross-functional collaboration experience.
• Energetic, open, and able to build trusted relationships across the organisation in global or international settings.
• Excellent organisational skills and attention to detail; able to prioritise and work independently under tight deadlines across multiple projects.
• Dynamic and entrepreneurial with comfort in a fast-paced, evolving environment; passionate about banking and technology and excited to join Monzo.

Interview process

• Recruiter call
• Initial call
• Full loop: Technical, Behavioural & Leadership interviews

Our average process takes around 3-4 weeks; we will work around your availability. For questions, contact business-hiring at monzo dot com.

What’s in it for you

• Salary circa £170,000 + share options; relocation and visa sponsorship available.
• London office-based role; remote discussions may be possible on a case-by-case basis.
• Flexible working hours and a learning budget of £1,000 per year for books, training and conferences.
• Learn more about benefits and company programs in our full listing.

#LI-DH1 #LI-REMOTE

Equal opportunities for everyone

Diversity and inclusion are a priority. Monzo is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered without regard to age, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, family or parental status, national origin, veteran status, neurodiversity or disability status. For more on our commitment, see our Diversity and Inclusion Report, Gender Pay Gap Report and related materials.

If you have a preferred name, please use it to apply. We do not require full or birth names at the application stage.