Legal Counsel jobs in United Kingdom

Location: Remote (UK/EU)

Reporting to: Director of Risk

At Nivoda, we’re reimagining how the world buys and sells jewellery. Our global marketplace connects retailers and suppliers across diamonds, gemstones, and finished jewellery, already powering over $300M in annual transactions and scaling fast toward our billion-dollar vision.

We’re bringing tech, data, and automation to a $350B industry that’s barely scratched the surface of digital transformation. The result? Explosive growth and massive opportunity — powered by a team that makes it happen.

As we scale, legal is becoming increasingly central to how we fund, govern, and operate the business. This role exists to help us do that thoughtfully, pragmatically, and at speed.

The idea of Nivoda was inspired by the ongoing inefficiency of diamond trading. We set out to develop the solution to help businesses, regardless of their size or location, increase their sales and margins, whilst removing the operational burden of sourcing diamonds.

We are looking for a Legal Counsel to be our first in-house lawyer - a strong generalist with a clear track record supporting equity fundraising and investor diligence who wants to grow into a senior legal leader in a high-growth tech environment.

This role will cover a broad remit across corporate governance, debt and equity funding, equity programmes, commercial contracts, and employment matters - with exposure to the board and senior leadership from day one.

We're looking for someone who has spent time in private practice supporting startups or scale-ups and is now excited by the idea of owning the legal function, professionalising our legal foundations, and building toward IPO-grade readiness.

Corporate, Finance & Fundraising

Support the company’s capital and ownership structure:

• Support debt and equity financings, working closely with external counsel, investors, and leadership.

• Assist with cap table management, option schemes, and equity programme administration.

• Provide pragmatic advice on corporate structuring and shareholder matters.

• Build and maintain Nivoda’s investor due diligence packs.

Your impact: Funding processes run smoothly, compliantly, and without unnecessary friction.

Governance & Board Support

Help run best-in-class governance:

• Act as Company Secretary, supporting board and committee meetings.

• Prepare agendas, attend board meetings, and take accurate minutes.

• Ensure statutory filings, resolutions, and governance obligations are met across entities.

• Strengthen governance documentation to build toward IPO-ready governance standards.

Your impact: Strong governance that supports growth, and ensures adherence to our shareholder agreements.

Commercial & Contractual Matters

Support day-to-day commercial activity:

• Draft, review, and negotiate a wide range of commercial agreements.

• Partner with Sales, Partnerships, and Operations to unblock deals pragmatically.

• Help create and maintain contract templates and playbooks.

• Drive contract standardisation and control environment improvements to support diligence and audit-readiness.

Your impact: Commercial teams move fast with appropriate legal protection.

Employment & People Matters

• Provide support across people-related legal topics:

  • Advise on employment and labour law matters in partnership with People and external counsel.

  • Support with offer letters, contracts, and employee equity participation.

  • Support equity and incentive programmes (EMI/CSOP where relevant, option documentation, governance and employee comms)

Your impact: People decisions are compliant, fair, and scalable.

Build the In-House Legal Function

Help shape how legal operates at Nivoda:

• Decide what to own in-house vs outsource to external counsel.

• Create a “legal readiness roadmap” for IPO-grade maturity.

• Improve legal processes, documentation, and standardization across the business.

• Act as a trusted advisor to leadership on legal and risk-related questions.

Your impact: Legal becomes a proactive enabler of growth, not a bottleneck.

What do we need from you? 😎

• 5-7 years PQE, trained at a reputable law firm with a corporate and/or finance background

• Experience advising startups or scale-ups (either directly or via outsourced firm work)

• Hands‑on experience supporting equity fundraises, including diligence and closing processes

• Strong grounding in corporate law, financing transactions, and governance

• Commercially minded - able to balance risk with speed and pragmatism

• Comfortable working autonomously across a broad and evolving remit

• Motivated by the opportunity to grow into a General Counsel role over time

Nice to have:

• Prior in‑house experience at a high‑ tech‑led company

• Experience acting as or supporting a Company Secretary

• Exposure to equity incentive schemes and cap table management

• Familiarity with international or multi‑entity corporate structures

• Exposure to IPO readiness frameworks, internal controls, or public‑company style governance

At Nivoda, we believe that employees today want to evolve in a collaborative, high‑growth environment where they can demonstrate their abilities and thrive both professionally and personally.

We are convinced that employees need to find alignment between their inner values and their company's culture and mission to unlock their full potential. We work to create a culture of empowerment, continuous learning and growth where everyone can bring expertise, own projects and easily measure their impact.

• Be the first in‑house lawyer at a fast‑scaling, global tech company

• Board‑level exposure and close partnership with the CEO, CFO, and leadership team

• A genuine pathway to becoming a General Counsel in the next 4–5 years

• High autonomy, broad scope, and meaningful ownership

• Join a hyper‑growth company transforming a global industry

🕰️ Flexible working hours and a vibrant company culture
💻 Remote work (Spain/Portugal/UK)
🏥 Private health insurance to keep you at your peak
🧠 Plenty of opportunities for growth and learning
💳 Flexible compensation card for meals, transport and childcare
🏖️ Unlimited holiday allowance
🚀 Chance to join and contribute to a company during its exponential expansion phase

Nivoda is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace dedicated to promoting diversity. We don't discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability status.

Even if it seems you don't meet 100% of our musts don't let it stop you, we are all about finding the best talent out there! Skills can be learned, and embracing diversity is invaluable.

Please note: Our Talent Acquisition Team is international coming from across the world. We kindly ask you to please submit your CV and application in English so that it can be reviewed correctly.

If after reading this job description you believe this is not the best fit for you, we'd encourage you to join our Talent Pool so we can keep you in mind as new roles open up.

This ensures you're among the first to hear about openings aligned with your skills and interests.

Nivoda Talent Pool