Senior Legal Manager

AAT is the UK’s leading qualification and professional membership body for vocational accountants. We pride ourselves on providing practical qualifications that meet the needs of both employers and employees.

Term: Permanent

Location: We have hybrid working in place, with 1-2 days per week, in our office in Canary Wharf.

What exactly will you be doing?

As Senior Legal Manager at AAT, you will work closely with the Legal and Governance Director to manage a diverse range of legal matters across the organisation. Your role will encompass everything from regulatory compliance to commercial contracts and charity law. You will be responsible for drafting and reviewing various commercial agreements, including supplier contracts, partnership agreements, and SaaS contracts. A key part of your role will involve providing practical legal advice to different divisions within AAT, ensuring compliance with relevant laws and regulations. You will manage intellectual property rights for organisational products and services, handle commercial disputes, and work on pre-litigation settlements when needed. This role requires you to collaborate effectively with internal departments while maintaining strong relationships with external legal suppliers and advisors.

Major objectives

1. Provide comprehensive legal support across AAT's operations
2. Manage and mitigate legal risks in commercial transactions
3. Ensure organisational compliance with relevant laws and regulations
4. Develop and maintain standard legal templates and documentation
5. Protect and manage AAT's intellectual property rights
6. Support dispute resolution and pre-litigation processes
7. Lead commercial contract management and negotiations
8. Deliver practical legal advice to internal stakeholders

What are we looking for?

1. Qualified solicitor, barrister, or legal executive
2. Strong expertise in commercial and contract law
3. Comprehensive knowledge of employment law, company law, and charity law
4. Experience in commercial litigation
5. Proven in-house legal experience
6. Strong commercial legal background
7. Excellent drafting and negotiation skills
8. Outstanding interpersonal skills for working with senior stakeholders
9. Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment
10. Strong attention to detail and analytical skills
11. Experience in legal research and contract management
12. Ideally, experience in education, regulation, or professional bodies
13. Preferably, experience in the technology sector, particularly with SaaS agreements
14. Ability to provide practical, business-focused legal solutions

What are the benefits?

At AAT we believe in treating our staff well and this is reflected in our wide-ranging benefits, which include:

• Hybrid working (1-2 days per week in our London office) and opportunities for further flexible working.
• 25 days’ annual leave, increasing one day per year up to a maximum of 30 days plus bank holidays.
• Great pension scheme, life assurance, and critical illness cover.
• Health cash plan.
• Enhanced maternity and shared parental leave contributions of up to 6 months’ full pay depending on the length of service.
• Regular wellbeing initiatives.
• Cycle2Work scheme and much more.

Closing Date: The planned closing date for this role is 19 March 2025 at 17.00, however, we reserve the right to close the role earlier than planned.