Interim Head of Legal – Asset Finance – South West London (6-Month Fixed Term Contract)

Competitive basic plus bonus and excellent benefits.

James George Recruitment is working with a well-established, bank-owned equipment and vendor finance business. They’re looking for an experienced commercial or finance lawyer to lead their UK legal function as Interim Head of Legal for six months.

This is a senior role. You’ll report to the Deputy CEO, sit in the Senior Management Group and lead a team of four (a Senior Legal Counsel, two Legal Counsel and a Paralegal). You’ll be the business’s main legal adviser, giving clear, commercial direction that supports growth while keeping risk at the right level.

What you’ll be doing:

• Leading, coaching and developing the UK legal team, and setting KPIs, SLAs and delivery targets that make the function a real partner to the business
• Acting as Legal Counsel for the UK business: legal sign-off on new products, processes and regulatory change, and keeping local legal policies and procedures fit for purpose
• Owning the suite of customer and introducer documentation, handling amendments and new requests, and supporting Sales on framework agreements, including visits to customers and introducers
• Reviewing European structures and paperwork for new products and cross-border agreements
• Managing pre-litigation and litigation files, and supporting hard arrears cases (statutory demands, witness statements, disclosure packs)
• Mapping legal risk, putting action plans in place and training the business on the correct use of contractual documentation
• Keeping up with changes to law and regulation, and briefing local management and the wider Group legal network
• Managing external law firms and making sure Legal is built into crisis management and business continuity planning

What you’ll bring:

• Qualified commercial or finance lawyer with UK law expertise, working at Senior Lawyer or Head of Legal level
• Solid understanding of vendor finance programmes. Experience in equipment leasing or finance, banking or wider financial services is highly preferred
• Excellent drafting and contract analysis skills, with practical, commercial solutions
• Good knowledge of UK debt enforcement and commercial dispute resolution, and of relevant legislation such as the CCA, CCD and AML
• Proven ability to lead, coach and mentor qualified and junior lawyers
• The presence to influence senior executives and Group-level stakeholders, with strong negotiation and presentation skills
• Able to meet SMCR fit and proper requirements
• Self-motivated and comfortable stepping in and making an impact quickly

The package

Competitive basic plus bonus and excellent benefits.

This is a great interim opportunity to lead a legal function within a major international banking group, in a business with clear growth plans.

Contact: To find out more in confidence, contact Adam Sommerville or Nicola Rouse at James George Recruitment on 07986 968647 or adam.sommerville@jgrecruitment.com / nicola.rouse@jgrecruitment.com