Interim Head of Legal

We are looking for an Interim Head of Legal to lead the RBL Legal Team and act as the organisation’s principal legal adviser. This Head of Legal role will take ownership of legal strategy and delivery across a broad portfolio including charity law matters, commercial contracts, governance, regulatory compliance and data protection.

As Head of Legal, you will work closely with the Chief of Staff, Executive Team and Board of Trustees, providing clear, practical legal advice that supports decision-making, manages risk and keeps the organisation compliant across the UK and overseas.

Come and be part of the leading Armed Forces charity, making a difference to the lives of those who have served to keep us safe and protect our way of life.

In this Head of Legal role, you will lead the Legal Team and set the direction, standards and quality of legal advice across the organisation. You will oversee key legal and regulatory risk areas including safeguarding, intellectual property, disputes, and data protection, ensuring these are properly embedded within our governance and risk frameworks. You will also lead engagement with key regulators including the Charity Commission, ICO, FCA and Fundraising Regulator, including serious incident reporting and Audit & Risk Committee liaison where required.

This is a senior leadership role with genuine breadth and influence. You will be trusted with complex and often sensitive legal matters where judgement and clarity are essential, working at the centre of organisational decision-making alongside senior leaders. For an experienced legal professional, this Head of Legal role offers the opportunity to shape how legal services are delivered, influence strategy at the highest level, and play a key role in how risk and governance are managed across a national organisation.

You will be an experienced UK-qualified solicitor operating at a senior level, with multi discipline inhouse experience of at least 10 years PQE, ideally within the not for profit/charity sector. You will be confident working independently whilst managing a small in house team.

You will be contracted to our Haig House hub with a minimum expectation of two days per week working in person at the hub and flexibility for working remotely/at home when not on site. This is a full time post, however we are open to discussion around flexible working for the successful individual.

Employee benefits include -

- 28 day’s paid holiday (plus bank holidays) increasing with service, with optional annual leave purchase scheme of up to 5 working days
- Private Healthcare
- Enhanced paid maternity, paternity and adoption leave
- Generous pension contributions, with Employer contributions ranging from 6% to 10%
- Employee Assistance Programme providing confidential counselling, financial and legal advice
- Range of courses delivered by learning specialists to support your development goals and objectives
- Opportunities to volunteer
- Travel loans, Cycle to Work, and more!

For more detailed information about the role, please see the Job Description attached to our direct advert. Our teams take a personalised approach to shortlisting, which is carried out without the use of AI and is based on the evidence provided in your application against the essential and desirable criteria in the Person Specification.

RBL is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive organisation, reflecting the diversity of the armed forces community and of wider society. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and personal characteristics.

As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interview schemes for candidates who declare an Armed Forces connection and/or a disability. However, candidates are only eligible for this scheme if their application clearly demonstrates that they meet all of the essential criteria listed in the Person Specification for the role.

We may close this vacancy early if we believe we have enough strong applications to be able to successfully fill the role. Interested candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.