Legal Counsel

MARKS&SPENCER; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading UK retail company is seeking a Legal Counsel to join their Corporate Governance team. This pivotal role involves providing legal support on regulatory compliance in various areas, including Product Compliance and Consumer Rights. The ideal candidate will be a UK-qualified solicitor with in-house experience, focusing on delivering legal solutions that support business growth. Join a dynamic team committed to inclusion and innovation.

Benefits

20% colleague discount

Competitive holiday allowance

Discretionary bonus schemes

Strong pension and life assurance

Tailored induction and training

Exclusive perks and savings

Market-leading family policies

24/7 wellbeing support

One paid volunteer day

Qualifications

• Experience supporting regulatory compliance matters.
• Ability to provide legal counsel on product development.
• Experience in a fast-moving, dynamic environment.

Responsibilities

• Provide expert legal counsel on regulatory matters.
• Advise on regulatory interpretation and compliance risks.
• Support product development with legal solutions.
• Manage regulatory issues and compliance in operations.
• Contribute to legal projects across departments.

Skills

UK-qualified solicitor

Regulatory compliance

In-house experience

Customer-focused

Highly organized

Job description

Summary

We are looking for a Legal Counsel to join our Corporate Governance team at M&S. This pivotal role will provide legal support across a broad remit of regulatory compliance matters, including Product Compliance, Marketing, Consumer Rights, ESG, Food Safety, and Health & Safety.

You will act as a trusted advisor to senior executives and colleagues across the business, offering regulatory interpretation and guidance on product development, operations, compliance, competition, and public policy. You'll also play a key role in managing regulatory inquiries, supporting product teams, and contributing to wider legal projects that underpin business growth and transformation.

To stay close to customers, our support teams are in the office three days a week as we believe that skills are developed through collaboration, and that spending time together makes us more creative and connected.

Due to high interest, this role may close earlier than advertised. We recommend applying as soon as possible.

What you'll do

• Provide expert legal counsel on regulatory matters, ensuring compliance across Product Compliance, Marketing, Consumer Rights, ESG, Food Safety, and Health & Safety.
• Advise senior executives and business teams on regulatory interpretation, compliance risks, and public policy issues.
• Support product development and operational teams with pragmatic legal solutions that enable innovation and growth.
• Manage and resolve regulatory issues, respond to inquiries, and oversee compliance in current and future operations.
• Contribute to wider legal projects, collaborating across departments to support business continuity and transformation initiatives.

Who you are

• UK-qualified solicitor with experience of supporting on regulatory compliance matters.
• Experience working in-house.
• Customer-focused, with a passion for innovation, simplification, and enabling commercial outcomes.
• Highly organised, resilient, and able to prioritise effectively in a fast-moving, dynamic environment.
• Desirable: Experience in Product Compliance, Marketing, Consumer Rights, ESG, Food Safety, Health & Safety or supporting an FMCG business.

What's in it for you?

Working at M&S means being part of something bigger - helping to deliver quality, value and service to millions of customers every day. We're inclusive, fast-moving and always evolving, with a strong sense of purpose and a focus on doing the right thing.

• 20% colleague discount on all M&S products and many third-party brands for you and someone in your household, available once you've completed your probation
• Competitive holiday allowance with the option to buy more
• Discretionary bonus schemes linked to your performance and ours
• Strong pension and life assurance to help plan for the future
• Tailored induction and training to support your development from day one
• Exclusive perks and savings through our M&S Choices portal
• Market-leading family policies, including parental, adoption and neonatal leave
• 24/7 wellbeing support, including virtual GP access and mental health services
• One paid volunteer day a year to support a cause that matters to you

Everyone's welcome

We are ambitious about the future of retail. We're disrupting, innovating and leading the industry into a more conscientious, inspiring digital era. We're transforming how we work together and offering our most exciting opportunities yet. Marks & Spencer strives to be an inclusive organisation, trusted and admired by our colleagues, customers and suppliers. Join us and make change happen.

We are committed to building diverse and representative teams, where everyone can bring their whole selves to work and be at their best. We support each other and work together to win together.

If you feel you'd benefit from any support or reasonable adjustments during any stage of the recruitment process, please don't hesitate to let us know when completing your application. This information will be picked up by our team, so we can try and put steps in place to help you be at your best through this process.