6 Operation manager jobs in Milton Keynes

Title: Head of Legal

Reports to: Chief Executive Officer

Salary: £60,000+ (depending on experience)

Contract: Permanent

Hours: 37.5 per week over 5 days (Monday to Friday) 

Holiday: 25 days per year plus bank holidays 

Location: Home based with regular travel to London and across the UK

Probationary Period: 3 months

Benefits: Additional 3 days holiday between Christmas and New Year, Flexitime policy, 5% pension contribution, Cycle to work scheme

Start date: As soon as possible in 2027

We are River Action

We are a small and agile campaigning organisation on a mission to rescue the UK’s rivers from a toxic cocktail of agricultural, sewage and industrial pollution and water shortages. We support community action, galvanise public opinion, influence government policy, take legal action and call out destructive industrial practices to drive change that will end river pollution and secure freshwater. 

We are a talented team of positive disrupters and mobilisers who work collaboratively to deliver our strategy to urgently protect and restore our rivers for the benefit of communities, rivers and wildlife.

Our rivers are our life support system and they are dying. We need urgent action to bring them back to life.

Who we’re looking for

We’re looking for an exceptional lawyer who understands how to use the law as a tool for change alongside campaigning, policy and advocacy strategies. This is an exciting opportunity to develop strategic legal actions that shift public debate, influence decision-makers and deliver tangible environmental outcomes.

You’ll be a qualified solicitor or barrister with relevant legal experience who understands that systemic change rarely comes from legal action alone. You’ll have the ability to identify opportunities to bring strategic litigation as part of integrated campaigns capable of changing policy, behaviour and corporate practices.

We’re looking for someone who brings energy, creativity and courageous leadership. You will be excited by developing and delivering legal action that challenges the status quo, comfortable navigating complexity and able to combine bold thinking with sound judgement. You will know when to disrupt, when to collaborate and how to inspire others to believe that together we can restore the UK’s rivers. 

If you're motivated by creating change and want to be responsible for legal action that makes a difference to one of the UK's greatest environmental challenges, we'd love to hear from you. 

What you’ll be doing

You’ll lead River Action’s legal function, developing and delivering its legal strategy and programme as well as informing and supporting its campaigning, policy and advocacy work. You’ll oversee River Action’s contentious (judicial review and other forms of strategic litigation) and non-contentious legal work and provide or commission legal advice to support River Action’s mission and objectives.

As the Head of Legal, you’ll be responsible for planning, budgeting, resourcing, delivery and evaluation across the legal function. You'll work with others to ensure our legal work is informed by robust evidence, guided by clear objectives and measured against meaningful outcomes, using insight and learning to continually strengthen our impact. You’ll work closely with partners and stakeholders to ensure River Action is using the law for maximum effect to help rescue rivers across the UK. 

You’ll manage the day-to-day relationship with external legal teams and provide instructions, acting as a professional client. You’ll act as the link between legal expertise provided by external lawyers and River Action’s campaigning, policy, advocacy and operational work. 

The Head of Legal will have responsibility and accountability for day-to-day management and delivery. You’ll line manage River Action’s Legal Coordinator and work closely with colleagues across River Action, ensuring our work is strategically aligned and greater than the sum of its parts.

River Action’s current Head of Legal, Emma Dearnaley, will move into a Legal Counsel role in which she’ll provide senior legal and wider strategic advice and lead agreed projects following the successful recruitment of a new Head of Legal. You’ll work closely with Emma to develop and deliver impactful legal action.

You’ll work with the Head of Campaigns to develop campaigns that achieve change within and outside of court and legal processes, with legal action as a catalyst for wider public awareness, policy change and industry accountability.

You'll work in partnership with the Head of Public Affairs to ensure our legal action reinforces and accelerates our political influencing work, with communities and grassroots action informing our priorities and work.

As a member of River Action's Senior Management Team (SMT), you'll help shape the strategic direction of the organisation and contribute to organisational leadership beyond your own team. You'll work alongside the CEO and fellow Heads of Department to deliver our organisational strategy, embedding collaboration, innovation and impact across all areas of our work.

You'll also play a key role in securing the resources needed to deliver our ambitions. Working with the Head of Development, you'll help develop compelling funding proposals, inspire funders with our vision and demonstrate the impact of our work through robust monitoring, evaluation and reporting. Working with the Finance and Operations Manager, you'll oversee legal budgets, ensuring resources are managed effectively and strategically.

You'll work proactively as part of the River Action team to develop innovative, impactful campaigns while fostering a collaborative, ambitious and supportive culture. 

Key Duties & Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership as a member of the SMT, supporting the CEO to deliver River Action's organisational strategy, theory of change and long-term vision.

• Contribute to the development and delivery of River Action's integrated campaigning strategy, ensuring our campaigns drive measurable environmental, political and societal change.

• Lead, manage and oversee River Action’s portfolio of strategic litigation including judicial review and other legal actions, ensuring there is effective post-judgment implementation. 

• Line manage and support the Legal Coordinator, setting clear priorities, allocating work and supporting professional development. 

• Commission and manage specialist external legal services, selecting appropriate providers and negotiating scope, fees and terms. Act as professional client on River Action’s litigation, managing external legal teams and providing day-to-day instructions. 

• Maintain a strong working knowledge of the legal frameworks relevant to River Action’s work and brief colleagues on significant developments.

• Ensure River Action’s campaigning and communications are legally compliant, supporting colleagues to manage publication to protect the charity from media law claims, commissioning specialist advice where needed. 

• Support colleagues to understand and communicate legal information accurately and handle sensitive, confidential or privileged material responsibly. 

• Oversee and coordinate non-contentious legal work, including contracts, charity governance and data protection, commissioning specialist advice where needed.

• Manage legal risks arising from River Action’s work and, alongside other SMT members, advise on wider organisational risks.

• Work with the Campaigns Team to develop impactful legal actions as part of creative and positively disruptive campaigns to deliver organisational goals. 

• Work with the Public Affairs Team to ensure political advocacy and legal work are fully integrated, maximising opportunities to influence decision-makers.

• Work with the Public Affairs Team to identify opportunities for River Action to support communities, using community evidence to inform legal action and to strengthen river protection.

• Work with the CEO and Head of Development to secure funding for legal activities, contributing to funding proposals, donor engagement and impact reporting. 

• Work with the Finance and Operations Manager to develop and implement organisational policies and advise on charity governance and compliance with relevant law, obtaining specialist advice where needed.

• Work with the SMT to carry out annual budgeting and planning, ensuring that legal budgets are monitored and managed effectively. 

• Support organisational reporting by contributing to Board papers, quarterly and annual reports, organisational planning and performance monitoring. 

• As part of the SMT, foster a collaborative, creative and high-performing culture that enables colleagues to thrive and deliver exceptional work. 

• Build relationships and partnerships across the legal sector and environmental sector to secure high-quality advice and legal services and to help generate new ideas.

• Serve as a senior public representative and spokesperson for River Action, building the organisation's profile and influence through media engagement, public speaking and stakeholder engagement.

General Duties & Responsibilities

• Follow all of River Action’s policies and procedures.

• Proactively engage in professional development and training. 

• Help to promote a positive, healthy and happy work environment and team culture. 

• Demonstrate a strong commitment to creating an inclusive, equal and diverse workplace and a positive organisational culture.

• Work collaboratively with colleagues, external lawyers and stakeholders to deliver River Action’s mission.

• Carry out other duties reasonably required and consistent with the responsibilities and level of the role. 

What you’ll bring

The Head of Legal role will suit a strategic, organised and dedicated legal professional who combines sound judgement with the ability to lead and inspire people and manage a busy and varied workload. You will thrive in a small, collaborative and dynamic campaigning organisation. You will be passionate about protecting and restoring our waterways and holding those responsible for environmental harm to account.

Essential experience and skills

• At least five years’ post-qualification experience as a solicitor or barrister.

• Experience in one or more of environmental law, public law, planning, regulatory law or civil litigation, with the ability to apply your expertise to River Action’s work. Experience in information rights, charity governance, human rights or corporate accountability would also be relevant.

• Experience of instructing and managing external lawyers.

• Experience of managing a small team, with the ability to bring out the best in people.

• Strong organisational and interpersonal skills, with demonstrable experience of coordinating multiple projects, adapting to changing priorities and working at pace.

• Ability to assess and develop strategic litigation and use the law as a tool for change.

• Highly articulate with excellent spoken and written communications skills to engage with a wide range of people, including the ability to translate complex legal issues into accessible outputs.

• Ability to build and maintain effective relationships in the legal sector and with senior and influential external individuals and bodies.

• Ability to work independently, exercise sound judgement and take initiative, identifying practical solutions and opportunities for systemic change. 

• Willingness and ability to work flexible hours to meet operational needs, in line with River Action’s policies. 

• Ability to think clearly even when working under pressure.

• A good team player with a willingness to muck in as and where required. 

• Excellent time management, including the ability to prioritise competing demands, agree and meet realistic deadlines and coordinate colleagues and external advisers and stakeholders under time pressure.

• Excellent IT skills.

• An understanding of the issues that are impacting our rivers and the solutions.

• A passion for River Action’s mission and commitment to its values.

Desirable experience and skills

• Experience of bringing strategic litigation, with a track record of leading legal actions that have shifted opinion, influenced policy or held powerful institutions to account. 

• Senior leadership team experience.

• Experience in public and/or political campaigning either within or outside the environmental sector.

• Experience working with parliamentarians and of UK parliamentary procedures.

• Media/spokesperson experience. 

Location

You will work from home with some travel required to London and across the UK.

The full team meets in person at least four times a year. These are multi-day meetings held in different locations in the UK. Additional UK travel will also be required for training and operational activities. 

The fast-paced nature of our work and small size of our organisation means we are in very regular contact, with close working and strong connections across the team. 

Diversity and Inclusion

We are committed to building a diverse, inclusive and equitable workplace. We welcome and encourage applicants from all backgrounds. We particularly welcome applications from candidates who are underrepresented in the environmental sector.

Don’t meet every single requirement? We know that long lists can be daunting and that some candidates will not apply for a role unless they feel they are 100% qualified. If you like the look of this role but your past experience does not align perfectly with everything in the job description, we’d still like to hear from you. You may be just the right person for this role.