Head of Legal

JMC Legal Recruitment; Slough; On-site; GBP 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

JMC Legal Recruitment seeks an Head of Legal in London to own the legal, regulatory and compliance function. You will lead negotiations on major commercial agreements and establish playbooks, policies and processes across the business. You will partner with founders and be involved in commercial, product and corporate matters.

You will own data privacy (UK GDPR, GDPR, CCPA/CPRA), privacy-by-design collaboration with Product/Engineering, and coordinate with security on trust and governance.

Qualifications

• US bar admission required; majority of contracts US-governed.
• Deep data privacy expertise across GDPR, UK GDPR, US equivalents.
• Proven track record negotiating complex B2B SaaS agreements with large buyers.
• Strong transactional and commercial grounding in fast-growth tech.

Responsibilities

• Lead negotiations on significant commercial agreements including MSAs and data-licensing terms.
• Develop and implement AI governance, data-use policies and regulatory readiness.
• Own privacy program across UK GDPR, GDPR, CCPA/CPRA; manage DPAs and records of processing.
• Collaborate with security on SOC 2, DPIAs and related commitments.
• Support corporate matters including governance, financing rounds and vendor contracting.
• Advise on people-related legal issues, immigration and international expansion.

Skills

US bar

Data privacy

Commercial transactions

SaaS experience

Job description

Head of Legal

London · Full-time, five days a week in the office · Reporting to the CEO

Our client is a profitable, high-growth AI-native SaaS business. It has built an AI-powered platform that enables investors and consultants to process large volumes of unstructured information — documents, data rooms, calls and filings — and turn it into structured, actionable output for research and due diligence. The platform is used by private equity firms and consulting and advisory firms internationally, with the majority of the client base based in the United States. These are large institutional clients, and engagements are typically six figures, with the largest accounts substantially higher.

The business is scaling and hiring across most functions, including several senior appointments alongside this role. The team includes a number of people with backgrounds in top-tier consulting and banking.

Your role

You will own the legal, regulatory and compliance function, leading negotiations on the company's most significant commercial agreements and establishing the standards, playbooks and processes used across the business. Based in London, you will work directly with the founders and be involved in commercial, product, security and corporate matters.

The company's clients are investors and consulting firms working on live transactions, so legal questions often need a fast, practical turnaround. As the sole in-house lawyer, you will be the first point of contact for legal matters across the business.

What you will do

• Lead negotiations on the company's most significant commercial agreements — enterprise MSAs, data-processing and data-licensing terms, and security schedules with global banks, advisers and content providers — and establish the playbooks that allow the deal team to move quickly without introducing unnecessary risk.
• Develop the company's AI-governance and compliance framework: consent structures across jurisdictions, model-training and data-use policies, and readiness for evolving AI regulation, including the EU AI Act.
• Own data privacy in full (UK GDPR, GDPR, CCPA/CPRA) — DPAs, records of processing, sub-processor management, and privacy-by-design collaboration with Product and Engineering.
• Partner with the security function on customer trust: SOC 2, security questionnaires, DPIAs and the contractual commitments underpinning them.
• Build and protect intellectual property, and support the corporate and financing side of the business, including governance, board support, financing rounds and vendor contracting.
• Advise on people-related legal matters, including employment issues and immigration/visa support as the company expands internationally.
• Act as a business-first adviser, credible with founders, customers' general counsel, CISOs and procurement teams alike.

Your profile

• Admitted to a US bar. The majority of the company's commercial contracts are US-governed, and this is a firm requirement, including for this London-based position.
• A minimum of eight years' experience spanning private practice and in-house roles, underpinned by a strong transactional and commercial grounding.
• Substantive in-house experience at a SaaS or data-intensive technology company, ideally at scale-up stage — you understand what it means to advise a business that operates simultaneously as a data processor and a data innovator.
• Deep, practical expertise in data privacy: GDPR, UK GDPR, US equivalents, DPA negotiation and sub-processor obligations. This forms a substantial and recurring part of the role.
• A demonstrable track record negotiating complex B2B agreements with large institutional buyers; experience within financial or professional services would be a strong advantage.
• Comfortable operating as a sole legal function, with the judgement to determine when a matter should be handled internally and when to instruct outside counsel.
• Good business acumen, able to understand client and stakeholder needs, prioritise effectively, and work at pace.
• Able to translate legal considerations into clear, practical recommendations for a non-legal audience.
• Familiarity with AI tools as part of day-to-day practice, together with a solid grasp of data and expert-network arrangements.
• Private equity or M&A experience is advantageous and provides useful context on the client base, though the core focus of the role is commercial SaaS.