Purpose of job:

The Head of Legal will provide expert advice on, and hold overall responsibility for, all legal and information governance matters. The postholder will lead and coach the Legal team and work closely with the Executive Leadership and the Board of Comic Relief.

The postholder will report to the Executive Director of Operations and work closely with them and other leads and functions across the organisation to ensure that Comic Relief complies with laws and regulations, and effectively manages legal and contractual risks and opportunities, whilst employing streamlined processes, systems and policies to allow the organisation to achieve its strategy in a financially sustainable manner. This position is a key member of the organisation’s senior management team.                                                              

Key responsibilities:

Legal Counsel

• Provide accurate, relevant, and timely end-to-end legal advice for the organisation, including managing resource (internal, external) to ensure effective, timely delivery of legal services.

• Provide legal input into organisational strategy and ensuring legally effective implementation of agreed strategy.

• Lead on identifying, advising on and mitigating legal risks arising from the charity’s operations to protect the charity’s reputation and assets, in particular around contracts, intellectual property, data protection, marketing and advertising, charity, fundraising and corporate laws.

• Employ a risk based approach to contracts, aligned with the organisation’s risk appetite.

• Implement and apply appropriate policies and processes for legal and contractual matters across the organisation to ensure our practices and use of legal resource are risk-based, efficient and effective.

• Employ legal protocols, templates, guidance, training and toolkits for staff as necessary to ensure our practices comply with the law and are efficient and effective.

• Provide legal support to management, the assurance business partners and staff to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

• Ensure the organisation maintains effective record keeping for legal matters including for contract management and data protection compliance.

Information governance & Compliance

• Oversight and leadership of organisational information governance and data protection, including serving as Data Protection Officer.

• Ensure that our practices and processes relating to compliance with applicable laws, regulations and relevant industry codes are fit for purpose.  This includes information governance and data protection; fundraising requirements; and compliance with the BBC Editorial Policy.  Support and, where appropriate, supervise the Assurance Business Partner with day to day responsibility for compliance in respect of these areas 

Person specification 

Essential criteria

• Qualified solicitor, with post qualification experience as a solicitor, including in-house.

• Significant senior level experience within legal and data protection areas,

• Broad commercial legal experience within the charity, media or tech sectors

• Strong analytical skills and demonstrated ability to understand complex legal concepts and analysis and translate those to non-lawyers to create practical processes, guidance and training.

• Experience advising senior management of complex organisations.

• Proven leadership and management of high performing departments.

• Strategic, solution focused thinker that can create, evaluate and develop ambitions into success by connecting the dots.

• Confident decision maker, with high resilience that can motivate teams and thrives in cross-functional and collaborative working.

• Effective relationship builder with strong emotional intelligence and political awareness to proactively challenge and persuade senior stakeholders and partners and with ability to build effective relationships and networks across organisational boundaries.

• Exceptional communicator that knows how to engage and inspire teams the ability to present complex and technical issues simply and effectively.

• Comfort with ambiguity and the ability to work through challenging situations. 

Desirable criteria

• Knowledge of compliance and rules applicable to non-profit, charitable organisations in the UK and other jurisdictions.

We recognise diversity and inclusion are a source of strength in achieving our mission. We therefore welcome everyone, trusting what makes us different brings creativity, styles and experiences to help us collectively do our best work. That’s regardless of your gender, age, ethnicity, disability, religion, sexual orientation, and cultural identity. We especially welcome those from under-represented groups in modern grant-making and fundraising. We are on a journey, but if you join our team you will be part of a community that is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment where we want you to:

• Be valued for being yourself

• Do your best work, and be supported to break down barriers so you can succeed

• Be heard, respected, and treated as an equal, whatever your level, experience or background

• Be part of a team that is committed to making this happen – with our colleagues, partners, and contributors.

Comic Relief is committed to preventing and protecting all people from harm in their interactions with us. We expect all those that act in our name to uphold our approach to doing no harm.