Regional General Counsel - Based in the North of England

About DFT Operator

Join Our Team at DFTO

DFTO is the government’s public sector rail owning group. Its purpose is to bring all currently privately-owned train operators into public ownership in advance of the creation of Great British Railways in 2027 - and deliver improvements in the here and now by unifying and integrating train operations under common public ownership.

DFTO has over 30,000 employees, runs over 8,500 services a day and delivers over 640 million customer journeys across its networks every year. 7,000people joined the railway family in the last year

Major improvements are being delivered by DFTO train operators (TOCs) that are already under public ownership - these are LNER, Northern, Trans Pennine Express (TPE), Southeast, South Western Railway (SWR), c2c, Greater Anglia and WM Trains.

We work closely with the DfT but operate independently with our own governance and leadership teams. Our priority is ensuring efficient, dependable rail services for everyone.

To lead on providing legal support, oversight and strategic direction to agreed DFTO TOCs (“TOC Group”) to ensure the efficient, timely and risk mitigated provision of quality legal advice. Managing a team of legal professionals and reporting directly to the Group General Counsel, this role requires a strong leader who can navigate challenging legal landscapes, manage complex legal issues and multiple stakeholders, and align the TOC Group’s legal strategies with the overarching goals of DFTO.

A TOC Group will, ultimately, consist of multiple DFTO TOCs, but in the early stages of the transition programme, a GC may only have responsibility for one TOC. The composition of each TOC Group may change over time, and on more than one occasion, as the DFTO Group grows in size and to reflect wider business decisions in relation to the structure of the Group.

• Demonstrable experience of rail related legal and regulatory requirements
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to interpret complex legal and commercial documents
• Credible role modeller and ambassador of the DFTO culture/brand
• Consistently delivers on time and accurately.
• The ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Dynamic can do attitude with the ability to find creative legal solutions and seek alternative options in challenging environments
• Track record of building strong relationships with the ability to engage, inspire and influence stakeholders
• Sound judgement, strong commercial acumen, resilience, and a balanced attitude to risk
• Experienced line manager
• Proficiency in identifying, assessing, and mitigating legal risks to protect the company from potential legal issues

• Act as the primary legal officer for material and agreed legal matters relating to the DFTO TOCs in the TOC Group, liaising closely with the Group General Counsel and other TOC Group General Counsel to facilitate an aligned approach within the Group legal function.
• Identify and mitigate materially significant legal risks within the TOC Group, providing proactive advice and risk mitigations to senior management on legal issues.
• Provide high-level, professional and strategic legal advice, underpinned by quality and commercially focussed decision making, to the Board, executive team and senior management of each TOC within the TOC Group.
• Maintain effective oversight of materially significant legal matters within the TOC Group, ensuring routine matters and lower risk matters are delegated to appropriate legal team members or handled at an operational level.
• Work closely and in collaboration with the Group General Counsel on any other matters which require support.

• Lead, mentor and manage the TOC Group’s legal team in their provision of agreed legal support across the TOC Group’s TOCs, fostering a high-performance and collaborative culture.
• Promote professional development and ensure the team is equipped to meet the TOC Group 's legal needs.
• Lead the TOCs and team members through legal challenges and high-stakes issues, ensuring minimal disruption to business operations

• Develop and execute…