Head of Legal, Debt Products – Commercial Banking Legal

About this Opportunity

We are seeking a versatile, enthusiastic, and proactive colleague for the Head of Debt Products Legal role in the Business & Commercial and Corporate & Institutional Business (BCB & CIB) Legal team. This opportunity suits a highly motivated individual who excels in managing relationships, leadership, and organization, working as part of the senior leadership team.

Serving as Head of Debt Products Legal entails managing a diverse team of roughly 25 lawyers across London, Edinburgh, and Bristol, working with the BCB and CIB business units alongside the Business Support Unit on commercial lending products, propositions, and strategy. This team addresses all aspects of product lifecycle, from product development through to insolvency and restructuring.

At BCB, this spans multiple projects ranging from significant digitisation work, product advancement, customer experience redesign, to legal and regulatory reform. In CIB, the team handles a variety of strategic concerns, such as international expansion (US and Europe), ESG proposals, and major transaction growth goals.

Working closely with the GC and leadership team, you’ll be involved in influencing and contributing to vision, values, and decision-making. The role requires an ability to coordinate a diverse portfolio of activity across multiple partners.

As DPL continues to evolve within the L&S Future Ready strategy, and both BCB and CIB adapt to changes in senior executive leadership, the Head of Legal will lead an agile, upbeat, and innovative team, driving the next stage of strategic change through data, technology, and simplification. They will also play a key role within the broader L&S extended leadership team, contributing to Future Ready’s delivery and demonstrating the Group’s values.

What you'll be doing

• Lead a team comprising roughly 25 lawyers over multiple locations.

• Handle legal risk associated with all commercial lending products from development to restructuring.

• Influence key collaborators and strategic decision-making.

• Guide strategic transformation initiatives within the DPL team.

• Collaborate with other BCB & CIB legal teams on strategic matters.

What you'll need

• Legally qualified in England & Wales (or equivalent for other jurisdictions).

• Proven experience in commercial banking.

• Remarkable leadership and management capabilities.

• Strong collaborator management abilities.

• Capacity to handle a wide portfolio of responsibilities.

About working for us

Our ambition is to be the leading UK business for diversity, equity and inclusion supporting our customers, colleagues and communities, and we’re committed to creating an environment in which everyone can thrive, learn and develop.

We were one of the first major organisations to set goals on diversity in senior roles, create a menopause health package, and a dedicated Working with Cancer Initiative.

We offer reasonable workplace adjustments for colleagues with disabilities, including flexibility in office attendance, location and working patterns. And, as a Disability Confident Leader, we guarantee interviews for a fair and proportionate number of applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the role with a disability, long-term health or neurodivergent condition through the Disability Confident Scheme.

We provide reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process to reduce or remove barriers. Just let us know what you need.

If you’re excited by the thought of becoming part of our team, get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.