Head of Legal

Hastings Direct; Bexhill-on-Sea; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Hastings Direct seeks a legal manager to support the Chief Legal Officer. The role requires leadership in legal operations, contract negotiation, and stakeholder management across business units. With a competitive salary and benefits, this position offers opportunities to drive legal excellence in a rapidly growing insurance company.

Benefits

Flexible working

Competitive bonus scheme

Private medical insurance

Life assurance cover

Pension contributions up to 10%

Mental wellbeing programme

27 days annual leave

Qualifications

• Experience managing an in-house legal team.
• Solid experience in drafting and negotiating commercial contracts.
• Capability to build strong stakeholder relationships.

Responsibilities

• Support Chief Legal Officer in managing legal department.
• Negotiate and advise on complex legal issues.
• Draft and negotiate commercial contracts.

Skills

Stakeholder relationship management

Commercial awareness

Contract negotiation

Legal analysis

Education

Qualifying law degree

Solicitor or barrister qualification

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

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Welcome to Hastings Direct – From our Group HR Director Pam Angel

We’re a digital insurance provider with ambitious plans to become the best and biggest in the UK market. We’ve made huge investments in our data and tech capabilities over the past few years, along with nurturing our 4Cs culture. We’re proud of the journey we’re on as a company and know that our continued success will rely on the contribution of our talented colleagues.

We provide insurance for over three million customers, but we know there’s even bigger opportunity out there. The fact you’re now reading this job advert means we’ve tempted you to find out more about #lifeatHD – we really hope you like what you see, and you’ll join us to share in the success of the exciting chapter that lies ahead.

We understand some people may not apply for jobs unless they feel they tick every box. If you’re excited about joining us and think you have some of what we’re looking for, even if you’re not 100% sure we would love to hear from you.

Role overview

This role will support the Chief Legal Officer in all areas of the Group Legal department’s duties and responsibilities, taking specific responsibility as directed and including:

Setting and implementing the strategic and operational delivery of legal services to the business

Prioritising and allocating work within the department

Ensuring legal resource is appropriately skilled to support the business and performance management of the legal team members

To be responsible for negotiating and advising on complex contractual, project and other legal issues within the business. A focus on data, IT, general insurance and intermediary/broker activities (personal lines), claims and outsourced services

Job details – you’ll need to have demonstrable experience in:

Plans, directs and reviews (where appropriate) the Legal Department’s work, assigns work activities and responsibilities to appropriate personnel

Reviewing and evaluating operational procedures and resources (including templates and legal advice), identifies and resolves issues and looks to continually improve delivery of the legal services

Developing and training Legal Department personnel, establish performance requirements and developments goals, identifies and resolves personnel deficiency as appropriate

Assisting with the development and delivery of legal education programme to all colleagues

Keeping the company informed and up to date on new laws and regulation applicable to the business

Drafting and negotiating commercial contracts with third parties and drafting and advising on policy terms

Advising and resolving sensitive and complex contractual and legal inquiries and issues including litigation and communications with regulators

Performing other duties to support the Chief Legal Officer as directed

Essential skills/experience:

Previous experience in managing an in-house legal team and supporting legal operations

A solid commercial experience of drafting and negotiating commercial contracts including data (PII) and software contracts

Ability to build strong stakeholder relationships across the business

Capability to use Office applications to a high standard including Word, PowerPoint, Excel and MS Teams and PowerPoint

The interview process

Our interview process involves the below:

Recruiter screening call

Initial interview with hiring leader

2nd interview with hiring leader’s leader

As a Disability Confident employer, we’re committed to ensuring our recruitment processes are fully inclusive – what this means to you is if you’re applying for a job with us, you’ll have fair access to support and adjustments throughout your recruitment journey. We also welcome applications through the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS).For more information on the DCS, please visit our inclusive business page on our careers website

Regrettably we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role

Benefits: in addition to a competitive salary and £6k car allowance you will also receive…

Flexible working –we champion a flexible hybrid working approach –please speak to your recruiter to discuss in more detail

Competitive bonus scheme- all colleagues are eligible for our annual 4Cs performance bonus

Physical wellbeing – as a Band 5 colleague, Hastings pay for you to receive private medical Insurance (also known as PMI). This gives you flexibility and convenience to see a specialist or consultant and allows you to decide when and where you will be seen

Financial wellbeing – as well as providing you with 4x your salary with our life assurance cover, income protection at no extra cost, and matched pension contributions up to 10%, we are proud to provide you with an award winning package which includes – discounts, cashback, free independent mortgage advice and free access to financial wellbeing support

Mental wellbeing programme – we have the thrive mental health app, our colleague assistance programme available 24/7, our own in-house mental health first aiders, support groups and a dedicated team to make sure we are covering your needs

There's more! – 27 days annual leave + bank holidays, with the option to buy or sell one of your weeks, access to our health care cash back plans, dental plans, discounted health assessments, Cycle to work and tech schemes, discounted and free onsite facilities, social events throughout the year and much more ….

Join us and you’ll find a different way of doing things. We call it the 4Cs. We focus on getting it right for our colleagues, customers, company and community. As one of our colleagues, you’ll be helping to drive our growth, so in return, we’ll give you all the support, training and development you need. Our 4Cs principles are simple: we believe by creating the right culture for our colleagues and giving them the right tools to do their job, we’ll deliver good outcomes for every customer, helping us to grow the company profitably and sustainably and allowing us to invest in the communities we serve.

At Hastings Direct, we’re committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, we encourage you to be open with us. Our recruitment team is here to provide the support you need to ensure a fair and accessible experience for all.