Lead Legal Counsel

We’re looking for a lead Legal Counsel to join the Legal Function with responsibility for ensuring the Society’s legal risks associated with its contractual arrangements with third parties are managed appropriately and in line with the Society’s Legal Risk Appetite. You'll report to the Head of Legal in a team that is evolving and you'll be expected to support development of people & the function.

This is a generalist role that includes overseeing our legal operations insurance & Lawtech. The role requires working with a range of stakeholders across the Society, including the Procurement and IT Functions. You will engage extensively with personnel at different levels of seniority, including Directors, Executives and Enterprise Leaders as required to successfully discharge these requirements.

The role involves managing a wider team who have responsibility for supporting the broader Legal Function. You will be expected to lead and develop the capabilities of this team, ensuring they provide support across the Legal Function as required.

As a member of the Society’s Legal Function, the role also requires you to take a leading role in relation to broader departmental level activities, including the identification, reporting and mitigation of legal risk in line with the Society’s Enterprise Risk Management Framework.

You’ll be legally qualified with substantial experience that also encompasses managing a small team of colleagues.

You’ll have a strong interest in contractual and technology matters and have the ability to build successful working relationships with, and communicate effectively with, colleagues including those who report to you.  You’ll manage and prioritise a wide variety of matters and stakeholders and work well under pressure, at all times demonstrating good organisational skills. Using these attributes you’ll manage suppliers within agreed performance and cost parameters.

You’ll have the skills to advise colleagues in a commercially practical, hands on and common-sense manner. You’ll have a strong alignment to the Society’s values and be able to evidence this in the way you manage and prioritise activities for which you have responsibility. You’ll also have strong drafting, research, negotiation and influencing skills.

Coventry Building Society has grown into the second largest building society in the UK. We’re a national society, with local values and loyalty, and a caring family ethos.

The best way to judge a company is based on what the people who work there say. Our recent employee survey rated us Number 2 in the Sunday Times 25 Best Big Companies to Work For list. We offer not only fulfilling jobs and exciting career opportunities but a place where everyone can be long and feel proud to work. What makes us such a rich and progressive place to work is the huge variety of people that make up our workforce.

We’ve got a whole range of different ways to support you, both in your role and wider wellbeing. Our flexible working arrangements and family-friendly policies also help to make sure you’re happy and in control of your work-life balance.

As an employee, we encourage you to take control of your career. We invest in our people, with regular opportunities for training and development. And later, if you’re looking for a new challenge, we actively champion internal progression.