Japanese Speaking General Counsel (Insurance)

First People Recruitment; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 127,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading recruiting agency is seeking a Japanese Speaking General Counsel in the Greater London area. This role will lead legal and compliance efforts across the organization while ensuring compliance with UK, EU, and Japanese regulations. Responsibilities include drafting contracts and collaborating with the parent company's legal teams. The ideal candidate is a qualified lawyer with experience in corporate law and technology law. The position offers a salary of up to £150,000 and supports hybrid work with visa sponsorship available.

Qualifications

• Practical experience in corporate law, regulatory law, or technology law.
• In-depth knowledge of the legal frameworks applicable to the insurance industry.
• Experience as in-house counsel within a financial institution.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational legal support across the organization.
• Ensure compliance with laws and regulations in the UK, EU, and Japan.
• Draft, review, and negotiate contracts including vendor contracts.

Skills

Corporate law

Regulatory law

Technology law

Data protection and privacy laws

AI risk management

Education

Qualified lawyer in the UK, Japan, or the EU

Job description

Japanese Speaking General Counsel

Salary: Up to £150,000

Location: Hybrid, Oxford

Employment Type: Permanent

Start: ASAP

Working Hours: Full-time

UK work visa sponsorship available for the right candidate.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Serve as the Head of Legal and Compliance, providing strategic and operational legal support across the entire organization.
• Ensure robust compliance with applicable laws and regulations in the UK, the EU, and Japan, with particular focus on corporate governance, data protection, AI ethics and risk, digital regulation, and insurance-related legislation.
• Act as the primary legal liaison with the parent company and group legal teams, supporting alignment of governance and compliance standards across jurisdictions.
• Oversee compliance frameworks, including data protection (GDPR, APPI, etc.), AI governance, and digital regulatory requirements.
• Draft, review, and negotiate contracts, including research collaboration agreements, non-disclosure agreements, vendor contracts, and memoranda of understanding relating to partnerships.

Qualifications

• Qualified lawyer in the UK, Japan, or the EU.
• Practical experience in corporate law, regulatory law, or technology law.
• In‑depth knowledge of the legal and regulatory frameworks applicable to the insurance industry in the UK or the EU, including FCA, PRA, and EIOPA regulations.
• Strong understanding of company law and corporate compliance frameworks.
• Strong understanding of data protection and privacy laws.
• Strong understanding of AI risk management and digital/technology regulation.
• Experience as an in‑house counsel within a financial institution.

Please send your CV as a Word document. If your application is successful, you will be contacted within 7 days. We regret that due to the high volume of applications we receive we cannot provide feedback on individual CVs. Please note that we can only consider candidates who are eligible to work in the UK and are able to provide relevant supporting documentation.

People First is committed to increasing diversity, and maintaining an inclusive workplace culture. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates regardless of their ethnicity, race, gender, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, age, marital status or whether or not they have a disability.