Managing Legal Counsel (Employment Legal | S4 | Legal | London TSQ)

Join Santander UK Group as a Managing Legal Counsel – Employment Legal. In this role, you will lead the Employment Legal team, providing strategic advice on significant employment legal, regulatory, and reputational matters. You will oversee material contentious matters, provide strategic non-contentious advice, and strengthen legal risk management. The ideal candidate will have substantial experience leading a legal team or significant legal practice area in a complex, regulated organization, and deep UK employment law expertise.

• Lead the Employment Legal team and provide strategic, business-focused advice on significant employment legal, regulatory and reputational matters across Santander UK Group.
• Oversee material contentious matters, including employment litigation, ADR, investigations, whistleblowing, complex employee relations issues, industrial relations and settlement strategy.
• Strengthen legal risk management through effective governance, controls, reporting, MI, lessons learned and continuous improvement.

• Our people are our greatest strength. Every individual contributes unique perspectives that make us stronger as a team and as an organisation. We’re enabling teams to go beyond by valuing who they are and empowering what they bring
• The following requirements represent the knowledge, skills, and abilities essential for success in this role. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions
• Credibility and judgment to advise Executive, Board and senior governance audiences on sensitive, business-critical matters. (Required)
• Substantial experience leading a legal team or significant legal practice area in a complex, regulated organisation. (Required)
• Track record of improving legal service delivery, controls and commercial outcomes. (Preferable)
• Proven ability to manage complex litigation, investigations, organisational change, external counsel, budgets and competing priorities. (Required)
• Deep UK employment law expertise across contentious and non-contentious matters, in a financial services environment. (Required)
• You must hold either a current Solicitors Practising Certificate for England and Wales or be fully admitted to the English Bar or hold a Scottish or foreign jurisdiction equivalent or commercial qualification
• Governance and resource management – Ability to oversee material legal risk, advise senior committees, manage external counsel and budgets, and give clear strategic advice
• Employment legal expertise – Strong expertise across contentious and non-contentious UK Financial Services-related employment law, including SMCR, Conduct Rules, remuneration, investigations, whistleblowing, people change, TUPE, collective consultation and industrial relations
• Leadership and people development - Sets direction, develops capability, manages performance and builds an inclusive, high-performing team
• Influence and communication - Communicates with clarity and judgment, influences senior stakeholders and challenges constructively
• Commercial judgment - Combines strong legal analysis with pragmatism, accountability and focus on outcomes