Head of Legal & Contracts

Croud Inc; Shrewsbury; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A global digital marketing agency is seeking a Head of Legal & Contracts to manage all legal and contracting operations. This hands-on role requires expertise in ensuring high-quality legal support and quick contract turnaround while maintaining compliance and legal risks. Ideal candidates will have significant experience in-house, leading junior paralegals, and improving legal processes. The company offers competitive benefits, including a hybrid working model and opportunities for professional development.

Benefits

Paid sabbatical after 7 years

25 days holiday a year

Discretionary annual performance based incentive

Health & Wellbeing contribution

Flexible working options

Enhanced family leave

Qualifications

• Able to balance business needs with legal risk, providing simple and actionable advice.
• Proven experience improving legal processes, workflows, and tools.
• Strong drafting skills and a high bar for accuracy and completeness.
• Able to manage high volumes of contracts and competing deadlines.
• Experience managing junior legal team members and developing capability.

Responsibilities

• Lead the day‑to‑day contracting function, ensuring timely and accurate drafting.
• Maintain and improve contract templates and playbooks.
• Oversee contract lifecycle management, including renewals and compliance.
• Act as the primary legal point of contact for commercial teams.
• Ensure contracts meet data protection and internal compliance requirements.

Skills

Commercially Pragmatic

Operationally Strong

Detail-Oriented

Organised & Delivery-Focused

People Manager

Education

Qualified Solicitor (5+ PQE) or equivalent legal qualification

Job description

As Head of Legal & Contracts, you will lead the day‑to‑day legal and contracting operations for Croud. This role is focused on execution, efficiency, and operational excellence – ensuring contracts are turned around quickly, high‑quality legal support is consistently delivered, and the business is well protected through strong commercial processes. You will manage and develop our in‑house paralegals, oversee contract workflows, maintain legal tools and templates, and ensure Croud’s legal operations are scalable, timely, and business‑friendly. This role is ideal for someone who is hands‑on, organised, commercially pragmatic, and passionate about building a high‑performing legal operations function that helps the business move faster.

Responsibilities

• Lead the day‑to‑day contracting function, ensuring timely and accurate drafting, review, and negotiation of client and supplier agreements.
• Maintain and improve contract templates, playbooks and guidance notes to ensure consistency and efficiency.
• Oversee contract lifecycle management, including renewals, amendments, and compliance with contractual obligations.
• Drive adoption of legal tools and technologies such as e‑signature platforms, CLM systems, and workflow automation.

Team Leadership & Development

• Manage, coach, and develop our two in‑house paralegals to ensure quality delivery and continued capability growth.
• Allocate work effectively to balance turnaround time, priorities, and stakeholder expectations.
• Foster a collaborative, supportive, high‑performance team culture within the Contracts function.

Business Support & Stakeholder Management

• Act as the primary legal point of contact for commercial and operational teams, helping them resolve contracting challenges quickly.
• Provide clear, practical legal advice on client terms, marketing regulations, data protection, and supplier arrangements.
• Support cross‑functional teams with contract interpretation, issue resolution, and day‑to‑day legal queries.
• Deliver accessible training and guidance to stakeholders to improve contracting fluency across the business.

Risk, Compliance & Process Governance

• Ensure contracts meet data protection, marketing law, and internal compliance requirements.
• Manage contract‑related risks, ensuring appropriate escalation pathways and clear decision‑making frameworks.
• Coordinate with external counsel for specialist or overflow work where required.

Standard Working Hours

Standard hours are from 9:00 am to 5:30 pm, with flexibility if agreed in advance with your line manager (it may also be necessary on occasions to work outside of these hours).

Qualifications

• Commercially Pragmatic: Able to balance business needs with legal risk, providing simple and actionable advice.
• Operationally Strong: Proven experience improving legal processes, workflows, and tools.
• Detail‑Oriented: Strong drafting skills and a high bar for accuracy and completeness.
• Organised & Delivery‑Focused: Able to manage high volumes of contracts and competing deadlines.
• People Manager: Experience managing junior legal team members and developing capability.
• Qualified Solicitor (5+ PQE) or equivalent legal qualification, ideally with in‑house experience in a marketing, digital, or technology business.

Core Values

• In it together – our value on integration, collaboration and outcomes
• Eye on the future – our value on futurism, creativity and passion
• Generous in spirit – our value on people, development and inclusion
• Do what you say – our value on integrity and accountability
• Make a difference – our value on purpose and impact

Benefits

Croud offers a clear path to progression for all members of staff. On completion of the three‑month probation period, every employee is eligible for the benefits listed on our careers site which include:

• Sabbatical: Paid sabbatical at 7 years with an option to take it unpaid at 5 years
• 25 days holiday a year
• Discretionary annual performance based incentive
• Sale commission
• Recruitment referrals bonus
• Health & Wellbeing contribution
• 2 Recharge Days each holiday year
• Ride to Work scheme
• Railcard
• Season Ticket loan
• Home office chair and home office screen
• Free fruit, breakfast cereals, snacks and tea & coffee in the office
• Enhanced Primary and Secondary family leave as well as extended Parental Leave and Shared Family Leave
• Life insurance and income protection
• Medical Cash Plan
• Pension
• Curated 3rd party learning platform as well as access to Croud Campus (our bespoke learning and development platform)
• IPA Membership
• Peer to peer recognition scheme ‘bonusly’
• Team off‑sites/regular socials
• Year‑round holiday parties
• Flexible working options
• Day to make a difference, At Croud, our vision centres around the idea of unlocking potential. We do this by elevating everyone in an inclusive and progressive culture, empowering individuals to deliver their best work. This means we build better brand outcomes and unlock potential for our people, our clients and our communities.

About Croud

Croud is a global, full service digital marketing agency with a unique business model that helps businesses drive sustainable growth in the new world of marketing. Croud was recently named a Sunday Times Best Place to Work for the second year in a row, and was named Performance Marketing Employer of the Year by PMW.

We operate as a unique scaled network of Intelligent, Creative Specialists, enabling us to deliver superior brand outcomes and unlock potential for our people, our clients and our communities. Our culture is strategically driven and inspired by a shared long‑term vision. It is collaborative and connected, with a focus on continuous learning and mutual support. We are energised by future thinking, driving innovation to achieve better outcomes. We are instinctively generous, actively including and empowering our people. Above all, we are purpose‑driven, committed to positively impacting our people, the planet, and our global communities.

Croud operates a hybrid working model with a minimum of 3 days a week based in our Shrewsbury office and the remaining days from home if you wish.