Senior Legal Counsel

Senior Legal Counsel (Group Employment, Benefits and Incentives Legal) (GCB4) – JOB SHARE (PART-TIME: 17.5 HOURS) – Global Legal – London (Hybrid)

Some careers open more doors than others! If you’re looking for a career that will unlock new opportunities, join HSBC and experience the possibilities. Whether you want a role that could take you to the top, or simply take you in an exciting new direction, HSBC offers opportunities, support and rewards that will take you further.

As an HSBC employee in the UK, you will have access to tailored professional development opportunities and a competitive pay and benefits package. This includes private healthcare for all UK-based employees, enhanced maternity and adoption pay and support when you return to work, and a contributory pension scheme with a generous employer contribution.

Global Legal plays an important role in protecting the Group’s reputation by helping to future-proof the organisation through robust legal risk and issue advisory. Responsible for providing comprehensive legal advice to senior management and all global businesses and functions, the team offers a diverse range of legal skills, jurisdictional experience and practice specialisms across all countries and territories in which our businesses operate.

We are currently seeking a professional to join the Employment, Benefits and Incentives Legal team in the role of Senior Legal Counsel, on a part-time contract, working as part of a job share, with a focus on UK employment law as it relates to HSBC’s operations. The Employment, Benefits and Incentives team (EBI) provides expert and professional legal advice to colleagues across HR and the various HSBC business lines globally, helping to support growth and shape policy whilst managing risk. This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced employment lawyer with a curious and commercial mindset, seeking a balanced, flexible role which will entail providing high-quality strategic advice in a seamless manner with their job share partner.

In this role, you will:

1. Manage (as accountable lawyer) a predominantly UK caseload, providing legal advice, guidance and support to HSBC’s ER and HR departments working as part of the Employment, Benefits and Incentives Legal team to ensure that the Group’s exposure to legal risk is managed.
2. Be a trusted adviser to the Bank by ensuring that commercially sensitive, pragmatic and practical legal support and advice is provided in a cost-effective manner.
3. Apply learnings from cases and available data to recommend enhancements and improvements to processes and policies, and partnering with HR to drive necessary change.
4. Proactively identify and manage current and forward-looking employment legal risk across various HSBC Lines of Business and/or Functions in accordance with established policies and procedures.
5. Help manage external legal spend and support/drive productive, efficient and focused relationships with external providers.
6. Manage a GCB 5 Legal Counsel (also London-based) and a legal secondee(s).
7. Ensure key stakeholders are fully briefed on major issues arising in relevant business area and major legislative changes impacting HSBC from a legal risk/litigation risk standpoint.

To be successful in this role you should meet the following requirements:

1. UK qualified employment lawyer with extensive experience of practicing in all aspects of contentious and non-contentious employment law in the UK.
2. Experience of working with financial services clients is preferable but not essential.
3. A keen curiosity and willingness to learn more in general and in particular about the multijurisdictional and regulatory environment is a pre-requisite.
4. Be a proactive self-starter, able to follow through on delivery with appropriate support.
5. Effective cost management skills, with an understanding of the internal and external costs of providing legal services.
6. Ability to prioritise effectively, often against the backdrop of changing facts and stakeholder demands.
7. Ability to exercise judgment, confidently advise, partner and influence stakeholders.
8. Lateral thinking with good problem-solving skills and be able to work independently.

The base location for this role is London with a hybrid working pattern (working Wednesday afternoons and full days on Thursdays and Fridays to ensure full coverage of the role).

Being open to different points of view is important for our business and the communities we serve. At HSBC, we’re dedicated to creating diverse and inclusive workplaces. Our recruitment processes are accessible to everyone - no matter their gender, ethnicity, disability, religion, sexual orientation, or age.

We take pride in being part of the Disability Confident Scheme. This helps make sure you can be interviewed fairly if you have a disability, long term health condition, or are neurodiverse.

If you’d like to apply for one of our roles and need adjustments made, please get in touch with our Recruitment Helpdesk:

Email: [emailprotected]
Telephone: +44 207 832 8500