Position Type - Full Time

Grade - Director

Reporting into – General Counsel

Contract – Permanent

Location – Palestra Head Office (Hybrid

About Us

Transport for London (TfL) is one of the world’s leading transport authorities overseeing London's extensive transport system, facilitating 31 million journeys daily.

We run the day-to-day operation of the Capital's public transport network and manage various modes of transport, including buses, Underground, the Elizabeth line, Overground, trams and river services, along with road networks and road user charging schemes. In addition to our core transport purpose, we have a significant advertising portfolio, ranked as London's top electricity purchaser and we engage in substantial property development, including supporting the provision of affordable housing. With a workforce of approximately 28,000, we impact millions of lives daily and this is an exciting opportunity to join as Director of Legal.

The Legal Directorate is instrumental in delivering high-quality, strategic legal direction and advice across TfL and to the Greater London Authority (GLA) group (including the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, the London Legacy Development Corporation and the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation) to ensure that the operations, projects, and policies are legally compliant and aligned with the broader Mayoral strategies.

The Legal Directorate encompasses a wide range of specialisms, including commercial law, property and planning law, employment law, disputes resolution, and public and regulatory law. Our team works closely with other TfL departments and the GLA bodies to provide robust legal advice on major initiatives, projects, and transactions that often have significant financial, operational, and reputational implications.

About the Role

As the Director of Legal, you will play a pivotal role in setting the legal strategy for TfL and the wider GLA group, overseeing a directorate of approximately 100 legal professionals and managing an associated budget of around £5 million. You will also oversee external legal spend for TfL and the GLA bodies.

In this senior leadership position, you will provide expert legal counsel on a wide range of issues, including but not limited to, complex commercial contracts and infrastructure projects, property and planning matters, employment law, public and regulatory law and commercial disputes. Your advice will be crucial in helping TfL and the GLA bodies achieve the Mayoral strategies while ensuring compliance with relevant legislation and regulations.

You will be responsible for ensuring that the Legal Directorate maintains the appropriate levels of expertise and resources across all specialisms. Additionally, you will lead the team in managing legal risks, providing strategic guidance on significant transactions and complex issues and disputes that could have significant reputational and financial impact.

In this role, you will regularly interact with the most senior levels of the organisations we advise, including the Commissioner, Executive Committee, and Directors of TfL, senior officers across the GLA Group including the Mayor’s Chief of Staff and Deputy Mayor’s and key stakeholders across Government departments, and external partners.

This is a unique opportunity to lead a high-performing legal team in one of the UK’s most dynamic public sector organisations, influencing the legal landscape of London’s transport network and beyond.

About You

You will be a professionally qualified solicitor or barrister in the UK (or equivalent jurisdiction) operating at a senior level, with extensive post-qualification experience within a complex public sector or regulated environment.

Your background will demonstrate a deep expertise across multiple areas of law, with a proven track record of successfully managing significant legal matters of high value and complexity.

As a strategic leader, you will possess exceptional communication and influencing skills, with experience of engaging credibly and effectively at the highest levels of your organisation (up to and including Board level) and of navigating politically sensitive issues.

You should be able to demonstrate a highly developed ability to assimilate complex and ambiguous information and to get to the core of situations to provide clear legal direction. Strong communication and negotiations skills will be essential to bring credibility to relationships.

You will have experience leading large and diverse teams of legal professionals, fostering a culture of collaboration, development, and excellence and will be driven by best practice and ensuring your team remains at the forefront of legal expertise through ongoing professional development and training programmes.

You will have extensive experience of overseeing relationships with external legal providers, ensuring that your organisation’s legal services are delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner.

Your ability to balance legal risks with strategic objectives will be crucial in helping TfL navigate the complex legal landscape in which it operates, ensuring that all business activities are conducted in accordance with statutory powers, internal standing orders, and relevant regulations.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. We want to represent the city we serve, which will help us become a more innovative and efficient organisation. Our goal is to make our recruitment as inclusive as possible. We are a disability confident employer who guarantee an interview to any disabled candidate who meets all of the essential criteria.

Hybrid Working (for eligible roles only)

Hybrid working within this role enables a balance of 50 per cent of time split between the office and home over a 4-week period. Hybrid working arrangements can evolve subject to business requirements.

We will make every effort to give you as much notice as possible, however some interviews/assessments could be organised at short notice.

Closing date: 23 September 2024

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Transport for London (TfL)

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Director of Legal