Job Title: Legal Counsel
Contract Type: Permanent, Full Time, part time, job share options available
Salary Range:  £47,200 - £66,000
Location: Eastleigh on a hybrid contract
Closing Date for applications:  Monday 6th January 2025 

Please not due to the Christmas period applications will be reviewed and responded to after 6th January 2025

Legal Counsel:Ageas are looking for a Legal Counsel to work within the Ageas UK in-house legal team to provide legal support to Ageas’s UK insurance business. The Legal Counsel role will report into a Senior Legal Counsel and will operate within the environment of the UK legislative and regulatory framework, with the principal areas of focus being commercial and contract law, but also covering applicable regulatory expectations within the insurance sector.

Our Legal team operates as a business partner, and provides consistent, effective, and professional legal support to the business at all times. As Legal Counsel you will be expected to engage effectively with employees at all levels throughout the organisation, and to work closely with, and command the trust and confidence of, the senior management teams of Ageas in the UK.

Main Responsibilities as Legal Counsel:

• Drafting, negotiation and review of legal contracts relating to all external relationships.
• Provide updates, legal advice and assistance to departments as appropriate.  This shall include but not be limited to advising in relation to company, commercial, data protection, competition, intellectual property and consumer protection legislation and industry practice.
• Identify and undertake such activity as may be required within the jobholder’s area of responsibility to meet strategic business plans including involvement in projects.
• Work closely with business teams, and other support functions, in drafting, negotiating, and reviewing of all commercial contracts to be entered into by the companies and to ensure that all external relationships are evidenced by appropriate and up to date written agreements. 
• Liaise with external solicitors on legislative, regulatory and contract related matters where appropriate.
• Understand, interpret and advise contract owners on the implications of contract terms and to develop the awareness of contract terms and obligations within the businesses.
•  Undertake research on current and upcoming legal obligations and to provide updates to the team and other business areas as may be required from time to time

Knowledge, skills & experience you will need as Legal Counsel:

• Qualified solicitor or legal executive with 2 to 4 years PQE.
• Understanding of English commercial and contract law. A broad knowledge of the companies’ operations and relevant business environment.
• Application of English commercial and contract law and applicable regulatory requirements within the companies’ business environment.
• Excellent contract drafting and negotiating skills.
• Ability to work under pressure to tight deadlines and to manage time effectively.
• High level of written and spoken communication skills. Ability to communicate clearly and concisely and to adapt a style to suit the listener.
• Consultative and democratic, approachable and good at probing facts. Integrity. Respected and trusted by others.
• Proven post-qualification experience in commercial and contract law.
• Ability to undertake majority of work unsupervised and take proactive role in identifying business areas where legal input is required.
• Experience of handling clients at management and/or director level evidenced by reputation, integrity and/or credibility within and/or outside the business.
• Proven experience of building successful professional relationships at all levels (internally & externally).

Here are some of the benefits you can enjoy within the Legal Counsel role based in Eastleigh: 

At Ageas we offer a wide range of benefits to support you and your family inside and outside of work, which helped us achieve, Top Employer status in the UK.

 Flexible Working - Smart Working @ Ageas gives employees flexibility around location (as long as it’s within the UK) and, for many of our roles, flexibility within the working day to manage other commitments, such as school drop offs etc. We also offer all our vacancies part-time/job-shares . We also offer a minimum of 35 days holiday (inc. bank holidays) and you can buy and sell days.

 Supporting your Health – Dental Insurance Health Cash Plan, Health Screening, Will Writing, Voluntary Critical Illness, Mental Health First Aiders, Well Being Activities – Yoga, Mindfulness.

 Supporting your Wealth – Annual Bonus Schemes, Annual Salary Reviews, Competitive Pension, Employee Savings, Employee Loans.

 Supporting you at Work - Well-being activities, yoga, mindfulness sessions, Sports and Social Club events and more.

Supporting you and your Family – Maternity/pregnant parent/primary adopter entitlement of 16 weeks’ at full pay and paternity/non-pregnant parent/co-adopter at 8 weeks’ full pay.

 Benefits for Them – Partner Life Assurance and Critical Illness cover

 Getting Around – Car Salary Exchange, Cycle Scheme, Vehicle Breakdown Cover

 Get some Tech – Deals on various gadgets including Wearables, Tablets and Laptops.

 Supporting you back to work - Return to work programme after maternity leave

About Ageas:
We’re one of the largest car and home insurers in the UK. Our People help Ageas to be a thriving, creative and innovative place to work. We show this in the service we provide to over four million customers.