General Counsel (interim)  - Fixed term role: 6 months (maternity cover, full time) 

In order to be successful the candidate must be comfortable taking pragmatic and commercial day to day decisions on a wide range of areas. You will know when to engage external support and be able to use your judgement and experience to weigh up legal risks and provide a view to the executive team and/or the board of directors.  

Working at pace and the ability to respond quickly and prioritise work effectively are key skills.  There is never a dull moment! Flexibility will also be key, as you will need to engage with colleagues in the UK and in BIT’s international offices in Australia, NZ, Singapore, France, Canada and the USA on a frequent basis.

You will report directly to the CEO and you will have the support of a small team of experienced lawyers and support staff based in the UK and the US. 

Your role will entail the following: 

LEGAL: Responsible for delivering legal support to all areas of the BIT business on a global basis with the assistance of the other members of the legal team.  The key elements are comprised of:

• contractual negotiations and management;

• third party outsourcing contracts e.g. external legal suppliers, IT suppliers and consultants etc;

  data protection and privacy e.g. drafting and negotiating data processing and data sharing agreements;

• managing any disputes and litigation (customer, supplier and regulatory);

• protection of IP portfolio and advising on any issues relating to copyright, trademarks and web domain use

CORPORATE AND TRANSACTIONAL: Supporting the executive team and the board of directors with general governance and corporate transactional matters; and liaising with the Company Secretary to provide advice and support to the Board. 

BIDS AND PROPOSALS:  Advising on and reviewing tender documentation (RFPs) received from prospective customers and reviewing responses to such tenders from a legal perspective and (where applicable) providing advice on public procurement and contracting strategy and structuring options (e.g. subcontracting arrangements).

RISK MANAGEMENT: Attending the company’s Risk Evaluation Group and advising the company and the FD on the legal risks, including litigation, of possible business decisions and offering advice on how to best manage those risks.

MANAGING EXTERNAL COUNSEL: Ensure delivery of a cost-effective legal and Compliance strategy with minimal input required from external counsel and manage external counsel and budgets when engaged.

INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS SET- UP AND SUPPORT: Provision of legal support on establishment and ongoing operation of international offices.

PROCESSES: Create and improve procedures and processes in the legal function e.g. creation of legal templates and guidance notes, assessment of innovative technological solutions.

INNOVATION: Be a trusted business partner for innovative teams in BIT such as the digital and data science teams and the growth team

Skills and qualifications

We are looking for candidates with the skills, experience and qualifications listed below.

Essential qualifications: A lawyer qualified in England and Wales with a minimum of 8 years post qualification experience (PQE) and preferably an individual with in-house experience.

Transition Experience: You have experience in high-growth organisations and are able to guide teams through structural change. You are able to act as a change agent when managing organisational change where it relates to core legal and compliance activities. 

Broad knowledge: Excellent knowledge and understanding of a wide range of legislation including freedom of information, data protection, contract/company law, including the ability to source further research and expertise when required.

Innovative: A high level of innovative thinking and judgement to adapt to new demands where there may be no precedents, deal with complex/unusual business approaches, make quick risk assessments and determine the most appropriate course of action to take.

Leadership, influencing and negotiating: Strong leadership, influencing and negotiating skills used internally and externally with the ability to build relationships at all levels and work with the business to achieve its aims.

Flexibility and judgment: A very high level of flexibility and resilience to meet the needs of a dynamic organisation with ever more complex commercial arrangements combined with the ability to work autonomously with minimal direction and technical input, knowing when to take decisions and when to escalate.

Clear and convincing communications: You can explain complex topics in simple terms. You can lead a training session and write clearly and concisely.

Managing projects: You can manage your own time and have strong organisation, project management and planning skills to manage high workloads and competing priorities to produce high quality work at pace

Who are we and what can we offer you?

The Behavioural Insights Team is the world leader in applying behavioural science to public policy challenges in order to strengthen communities and improve lives. 

We design and rigorously test new ideas across a range of areas such as health, crime and education, to establish what works and what doesn’t. We have helped Tuberculosis patients take their medicine; reduced police susceptibility to cyberattacks; and helped organisations close their gender pay gap.

BIT really is a great place to work:

• You will work alongside a friendly, talented and driven team with diverse expertise – from economics to anthropology, psychology and neuroscience – and a wide variety of personal and professional backgrounds. What unites us is the goal to have positive social impact through our work.

• We have regular team lunches with inspirational guest speakers. 

• We have a flexible benefits programme which currently includes things like gym memberships, cycle to work schemes and the ability to buy extra annual leave at the start of the year.

• We’re a social bunch and have a variety of interest groups including Film Club, BIT Kids for our parents & 5-a-side team to name a few.

• We have a great office in Westminster! Unfortunately due to Covid-19 we are currently working remotely but hope that will change during the course of the year (dependent on government guidelines).

How to apply

As part of your application you will need to upload your CV and a cover letter explaining why you are interested in the role and what qualities and experience you will be able to bring to The Behavioural Insights Team. Please can these be one document that you upload together via the CV section. 

Successful candidates will be invited to a structured interview where you get to meet some of the team. At the interview stage you will be asked questions that reflect the role and also asked to complete a work-based task, so you have the chance to demonstrate your skills. 

Please note:

If you do not already hold the right to work in the UK and/or require sponsorship in order to continue working here, you should think carefully before applying. This is because we will be unable to sponsor you unless there is no other suitably qualified settled worker available to fill the role or your current immigration status means that the resident labour market test will not apply in your case.

Some of the personal data you provide to Applied when you apply for a role with The Behavioural Insights Team will be passed on to The Behavioural Insights Team for the purposes of (a) reviewing your application; (b) inviting you for interview; and/or (c) offering you a job and getting you set up as an employee/contractor. For full details on how BIT collects and uses your personal data please visit our website - https://www.bi.team/bit-global-recruitment-privacy-notice/ 

If your application is not successful, any personal data provided to us by Applied (including any personal data relating to equal opportunities monitoring as set out above) will be retained by The Behavioural Insights Team for no longer than 6 months after the application deadline has passed (other than in exceptional circumstances where we may need to retain your personal data for longer), at which point your personal data will be securely deleted. We only keep your information for that period in order to allow us to comply with relevant legal obligations.