Litigation Manager

PPL PRS Ltd; East Midlands; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

PPL PRS Ltd is seeking a senior operational leader to head the Litigation Department, overseeing debt recovery and copyright litigation while managing risk and stakeholder expectations. You will drive strategy, leverage panel law firms, and optimize workflows across the enforcement lifecycle.

The role requires strong leadership, extensive debt recovery experience, and the ability to balance recoveries with legal risk and customer outcomes within a complex licensing environment.

Qualifications

• Legal qualification and significant experience in debt recovery or commercial litigation.
• Proven experience managing high-volume debt recovery activity in a B2B environment.
• Strong leadership and performance management of teams.
• Experience managing external suppliers such as law firms.
• Knowledge of debt recovery processes, civil litigation and enforcement.

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day operational management of the Litigation Department.
• Develop and implement debt recovery and copyright litigation strategies.
• Oversee the litigation pipeline from pre-action to judgment and enforcement.
• Act as senior escalation point for complex matters and risk guidance.
• Manage panel law firms, supplier networks and contractual performance.
• Drive improvements in processes, reporting and governance.
• Prepare operational reporting on performance, costs and risks.
• Support strategic projects requiring legal input.

Skills

Debt recovery

Litigation management

Stakeholder management

Analytical skills

Team leadership

Commercial awareness

Communication

IT skills

Education

Chartered Legal Executive

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Can you imagine a world without music? Neither can we.

Key Details

To lead the operational delivery of debt recovery and copyright infringement litigation cases, ensuring case progression, maximising recoveries while managing customer, legal, commercial and reputational risk.

What you will be doing

• Lead the day-to-day operational management of the Litigation Department including the Infringement Lead.
• Develop and implement effective debt recovery, copyright litigation and enforcement strategies that maximise recoveries while managing customer, legal, commercial and reputational risk.
• Oversee the litigation and enforcement pipeline from pre-action activity through to proceedings, settlement, judgment and enforcement, ensuring cases are appropriately reviewed and progressed.
• Act as a senior operational escalation point for complex debt recovery, copyright infringement and litigation matters, providing guidance on risk, proportionality and customer outcomes.
• Work closely with PPL and PRS stakeholders, as well as senior management and panel law firms, to support case and overall litigation strategy, risk assessment, dispute resolution and decision making.
• Manage relationships with panel law firms and other related suppliers, ensuring performance is in line with contractual obligations, service levels, budgets and governance requirements.
• Take responsibility for managing our panel of litigation firms to ensure that the case pipeline progresses effectively.
• Monitor law firm panel spend, challenge costs where appropriate and ensure activity remains proportionate to the value, complexity and strategic importance of each matter.
• Ensure teams follow agreed procedures, deliver a high standard of customer service and effectively resolve customer queries, disputes, objections and complaints.
• Review dashboards, caseloads, reports and performance trends to identify risks, missed targets, improvement opportunities and future activity plans.
• Prepare clear operational reporting on department performance, litigation pipeline, supplier performance, costs, risks and relevant mitigating activity.
• Lead our working group and strategy sessions, including preparation of reports and giving presentations to key stakeholders.
• Drive continuous improvement across people, process, systems, reporting and governance, including appropriate use of technology, automation and workflow improvement.
• Maintain and improve operational policies, procedures, case handling guidance and governance documentation.
• Ensure activity complies with relevant legal processes, internal policies and regulatory requirements.
• Attend (and support case handlers to attend) hearings, mediations, settlement meetings and conferences with external advisers or counsel, as required, and support the preparation of witnesses and evidence.
• Identify and implement improvements to litigation processes, precedents, workflows, reporting and instructions to external legal providers, including appropriate use of technology and automation.
• Maintain and develop legal precedents, policies and governance documentation.
• Actively engage in knowledge sharing within the department, across the company and its shareholders.
• Support our internal teams with queries about litigation and support with complex complaints where necessary.
• Contribute to strategic projects and wider business initiatives requiring legal input.

Management & Leadership

• Manage, motivate and develop case handlers to achieve agreed revenue, recovery, litigation, enforcement, quality and customer service targets.
• Plan and manage day-to-day workflow, resources, processes and performance to ensure service levels and operational standards are achieved and maintained.
• Hold regular team meetings and performance reviews to communicate priorities, review workloads, recognise success, resolve operational issues and maintain focus on delivery.
• Take responsibility for performance management of direct reports, including one-to-ones, objective setting, coaching, development planning and formal review processes.
• Support effective recruitment, onboarding and succession planning to ensure the right capability and capacity is in place to deliver the required work.
• Build and demonstrate business expertise in debt recovery litigation, infringement and enforcement, contributing to operational improvement and risk management.
• Interpret reports and management information to support performance analysis, decision making, forecasting and escalation of risks or variances from plan.
• Manage key stakeholder relationships across PPL, PRS and external supplier networks

You will have

Essential:

• Demonstrable legal qualification and significant equivalent experience in debt recovery or other relevant commercial litigation. Preferred qualification: Chartered Legal Executive or equivalent.
• Proven experience of managing high-volume debt recovery or other relevant commercial litigation activity, preferably in a business-to-business environment.
• Strong operational management experience, including leading teams, managing performance, delivering service levels and supporting colleague development.
• Experience of managing external suppliers such as law firms or other outsourced service providers.
• Working knowledge of debt recovery processes, civil litigation, enforcement activity and dispute resolution requirements.
• Strong understanding of credit management and related operational controls.
• Commercial awareness with the ability to balance recoveries, legal risk, cost, proportionality, business objectives and customer outcomes.
• Strong analytical skills with experience reviewing operational performance, trends, budgets, service levels and management information.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence, challenge constructively and build credibility across operational, commercial, finance, legal, senior leadership and joint venture teams.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present complex operational or legal matters clearly and pragmatically.
• Strong Microsoft Office and IT skills, with confidence using operational systems, reporting tools and workflow processes.
• Confident senior operational leader with the ability to engage, motivate and develop high-performing teams.
• Commercially minded and pragmatic, with sound judgement when balancing recovery potential, risk, cost, customer impact and business value.
• Collaborative and credible, able to build strong relationships with internal teams, external suppliers, legal providers and senior stakeholders.
• Analytical and detail-oriented, with the ability to interpret performance data and translate insight into practical action.
• Clear, concise and confident in communication, able to explain complex issues in a straightforward and accessible way.
• Resilient, solutions focused and adaptable, remaining calm and effective when managing competing priorities, challenging cases and operational pressure

Desirable:

• Knowledge of copyright infringement and/or the music licensing sector.
• Experience managing complex litigation, enforcement or supplier-led case portfolios across multiple recovery routes.