The West Brom is seeking to appoint an experienced Deputy General Counsel to provide strategic legal leadership and expert legal advice across the Society.
Reporting to the Chief People Officer & Group Secretary, the successful candidate will act as a trusted legal adviser to the Executive Leadership Team, Board and senior stakeholders, helping to ensure the Society operates within a robust legal, governance and regulatory framework.
The Deputy General Counsel will lead on complex legal, regulatory and commercial matters affecting the Society and will play a key role in managing legal risk, supporting strategic initiatives, and maintaining compliance with the evolving regulatory landscape for mutual financial institutions.
This is a highly visible role requiring a qualified lawyer with significant experience within financial services and detailed knowledge of the Building Societies Act, FCA and PRA regulatory requirements, corporate governance, lending and savings products, and wider financial services legislation.
What the role will look like:
Strategic Legal Advice and Risk Management
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Provide strategic and pragmatic legal advice to the Board, Executive Committee and senior management on legal, governance, regulatory and commercial matters.
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Act as a trusted adviser on the legal implications of strategic initiatives, business transformation, product development and operational activities.
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Lead the identification, assessment and management of legal risk across the Society.
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Develop and maintain the Society's legal risk framework, ensuring emerging legal and regulatory risks are appropriately escalated and managed.
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Monitor legislative and regulatory developments and advise on their impact on the Society's activities.
Financial Services and Regulatory Matters
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Provide expert legal advice on matters relating to:
- The Building Societies Act and associated regulation;
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FCA and PRA rules and expectations;
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Consumer Duty requirements;
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Mortgage lending and savings products;
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Operational resilience and outsourcing requirements;
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Financial promotions and conduct risk;
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Data protection and consumer legislation.
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Advise on product governance and legal requirements relating to existing and future savings and mortgage products.
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Support regulatory engagement and reviews, including responses to regulatory enquiries where required.
Commercial and Corporate Legal Support
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Lead legal support on significant commercial contracts, supplier arrangements, strategic projects and procurement exercises.
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Review agreements to protect the Society's interests whilst enabling commercial objectives.
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Manage contractual disputes and contentious matters, working with external legal advisers where appropriate.
Governance and Secretariat Support
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Support the Chief People Officer & Group Secretary in maintaining an effective governance framework and ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory obligations.
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Provide legal input into Board and Committee activities, including governance reviews, constitutional matters and reserved matters.
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Support the preparation of the Annual Report and governance disclosures.
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Contribute to the delivery of the Annual General Meeting and associated shareholder communications.
Leadership
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Provide leadership and technical direction to members of the legal and secretariat team.
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Deputise for the Chief People Officer & Group Secretary on legal matters when required.
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Manage relationships with external law firms, counsel and specialist advisers.
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Support the development of legal capability across the organisation through training, coaching and knowledge sharing.
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Promote a culture of sound judgement, integrity and strong legal risk management.
For more details on the role please refer to the job description at the bottom of the advert
What you will bring to the role:
Essential
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Qualified Solicitor or Barrister entitled to practise in England and Wales.
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Significant post-qualification legal experience gained either in-house or in private practice.
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Extensive experience advising organisations operating within a regulated financial services environment.
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Detailed working knowledge of:
- Building Societies Act requirements;
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FCA and PRA regulatory frameworks;
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Corporate governance and regulatory compliance;
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Financial services law and regulation;
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Commercial contracts and legal risk management.
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Experience providing advice to Boards, Executive Committees and senior stakeholders.
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Strong commercial awareness and the ability to balance legal risk with business objectives.
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Excellent drafting, negotiation and influencing skills.
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Proven ability to analyse complex legal issues and provide clear, pragmatic advice.
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Experience managing external legal advisers and controlling legal spend.
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Strong stakeholder management skills with the credibility to operate at senior leadership level.
Desirable
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Experience within a building society, bank, mutual or other regulated financial services organisation.
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Knowledge of company secretarial and governance practices.
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Experience advising on lending, mortgage and savings products.
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Experience dealing with regulatory investigations, Financial Ombudsman Service complaints and litigation management.
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Leadership or management experience within a legal function.
What we are looking for
We are looking for an exceptional legal professional who is:
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A trusted adviser with strong judgement and integrity.
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Commercially minded and solutions focused.
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Comfortable operating in a highly regulated environment.
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Confident influencing senior stakeholders and challenging constructively where required.
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An effective leader who can develop people and build strong relationships across the organisation.
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Passionate about supporting the Society's purpose, members and long-term success.
We Value a diverse range of skills and experiences here at the West Brom. So even if you don't meet every single requirement listed in the job description but are passionate about the role, we still encourage you to apply.
What's in it for you:
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We pride ourselves on our development opportunities and always look to promote from within wherever possible,
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Holiday starting at 175 hours (25 days) plus bank holidays that grow with your time with us and the opportunity to buy or sell up to 5 days holiday each year,
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2 paid volunteering days a year,
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Living Pensions: Pension scheme starting at 5% contribution from you and 7% contribution from us, and we’ll match your further contributions up to 10.6%
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Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption leave with paid fertility treatment, neonatal and pregnancy loss leave,
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Life assurance provided by the Society at 4 times your salary,
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Yearly performance related pay scheme and pay review,
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Private medical insurance that’s discounted when your time with us grows, with the option to include family members,
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Salary Sacrifice Electric/Hybrid Car Scheme,
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A Perkbox account giving you 24/7 access to perks, benefits, discounts, wellbeing tools and loads more!
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And much more, from flexible working options, wellbeing support and a whole heap of warm West Bromness.
Why choose the West Brom?
At the West Brom we appreciate that our employees are unique individuals with differing needs depending on their specific circumstances and stages in life. When we say our people are the West Brom’s biggest asset that doesn’t mean just viewing them as employees. We’re proud of our heritage and absolutely believe that the West Brom is a great place to work. Our employers are the heart of bringing our new vision to life- where our customers and communities own a more secure future. Everyday, through the work they do together and the care they show, they’re helping turn that vision into real and lasting.
We’re a Disability Confident Leader and encourage disabled applicants and all from diverse backgrounds to apply. We’ll do what we can to adjust our recruitment journey and offer a guaranteed interview to disabled applicants who meet what we’re looking for. If you need any support with applying to one of our roles, get in touch at [email protected].
Do it today and click apply!
*Please note We reserve the right to withdraw our adverts earlier than the original published expiry date, therefore if you are interested please submit your application as soon as possible*
Head Office: 2 Providence Place West Bromwich B70 8AF. www.westbrom.co.uk The West Brom is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority. Register no. 104877. ‘the West Brom’ is a trading name of West Bromwich Building Society.
