HEAD OF LEGAL & DEPUTY Company Secretary; Maternity Cover

Location: Sunderland (Hybrid – 3 days in office)

Contract: FTC (10 months initially, maternity cover)

Start date: Mid-April to ensure thorough handover

Reports to: Group General Counsel & Company Secretary

Salary: Competitive salary along with bonus eligibility

Direct reports: 3

We are partnered with a major European transport organisation operating across 10 European countries and delivering millions of passenger journeys each year. With a dynamic shareholder, an ambitious growth agenda and significant upcoming corporate activity, this is a pivotal moment to join the business.

This maternity cover role sits at the centre of the Corporate Centre, reporting directly into the General Counsel and Company Secretary and working closely with a high‑calibre, sophisticated board. It offers exceptional exposure to senior leadership and strategic decision‑making.

• Lead, develop and mentor a team of legal and company secretarial professionals.
• Foster a culture of operational excellence, best‑practice governance and strong risk management.
• Provide visible, people‑focused leadership within a highly engaged team.

• Advise senior leaders on complex corporate, commercial, regulatory and strategic matters.
• Support key initiatives including group reorganisations, technology transformations, refinancing, funding arrangements, general treasury support and intragroup lending.
• Lead contractual execution for major Corporate Centre projects including framework agreements, IP and IT.
• Manage external counsel and engage effectively with senior stakeholders across the business and shareholder representatives.

• Oversee governance, board administration and statutory compliance for the organisation’s top‑tier board and its committees, and the Corporate Centre’s funding and operational entities.
• Oversee governance for the organisation’s Executive Management Committee led by the CEO.
• Serve as the senior governance conduit for the shareholder, including managing KYC and UBO requirements.
• Ensure compliance with legal obligations, regulatory filings and maintenance of corporate records.

This role provides substantial exposure to a sophisticated, internationally experienced board. You will work closely with the Executive Chair, CEO, senior executives and support independent non‑executive directors with backgrounds across major global transport, infrastructure and financial institutions.

• Support enhancements to legal and governance technology and reporting.
• Contribute to succession planning and continuous improvement across the wider legal function.

• Qualified lawyer with at least 10 years’ PQE.
• Strong in‑house experience supported by a solid private practice background.
• Experience handling complex, multi‑entity, multinational corporate or commercial matters.

• Proven team leadership experience.
• Confident, resilient and able to challenge appropriately.
• Excellent communicator with strong stakeholder management skills.
• Pragmatic, commercially minded and collaborative.