General Counsel

Department/Team       Executive

Responsible to            Executive Director

Contract                      Permanent, 3-4 days per week/0.6-0.8 FTE

Location:                     Currently remote. Ordinarily at The Old Vic, 103 The Cut, London, SE1 8NB, although some long-term remote working will be considered

Hours:                         Core hours are 10 am – 6pm but we are open to discussing a flexible arrangement

Salary:                         £55-70k (pro rata), depending on skills and experience

Purpose of job

This is a broad in-house role. You will be sole legal counsel and Company Secretary for The Old Vic Group (comprising The Old Vic Theatre Trust 2000 and its subsidiaries and The Old Vic Endowment Trust) providing pragmatic, high quality legal, commercial and leadership advice for all aspects of the Group's affairs. You will be a senior adviser who can contribute to the direction and success of the charity acting as a member of the Senior Management Team. You will support the Board of Trustees in fulfilling their responsibilities as charity trustees and in the governance and risk management of the Group.

Areas of responsibility

The General Counsel will be responsible for:

• Corporate governance, including company secretarial filings, Charity Commission filings, Board appointments and retirements, management of conflicts of interest, servicing of Board sub-committees and compliance with relevant governance standards and codes
• Management of risk, including support the Board in setting and reviewing the risk policy, maintaining the risk register and ensuring appropriate reporting and assurance, overseeing risk management in day-to-day operations.
• Day-to-day legal advice on all legal matters for the Group, including but not limited to contract drafting and commercial negotiation, media, charity, IP and data protection, GDPR, property, employment and company law
• Providing all necessary legal advice and guidance to internal stakeholders, including the Board and the Executive and Artistic Directors, to safeguard the Group’s assets and reputation
• Day-to-day contractual and operational support to all departments including but not limited to production, theatre management, development, communications and marketing and employment (including for unionised permanent and casual staff)
• With the other members of the Senior Management Team, leading The Old Vic and helping shape its future through contributing to the development and delivery of organisational design and culture, processes and systems development, staff recruitment, retention and development and other shared areas of work
• General regulatory advice on all matters affecting The Old Vic Group
• Working with department heads to ensure appropriate internal policies and procedures are in place and are understood by all staff, contractors and freelancers
• Working with department heads to ensure appropriate external policies and procedures are in place and are accessible to external stakeholders
• Acting as data protection officer including management of all matters relating to privacy and data protection
• Procuring and managing external solicitors and counsel as required (including where support is provided pro bono) and managing costs within budget to mitigate risk and resolve issues as and when these arise
• To take responsibility for any litigation or dispute matters that may arise and the general dealing of issues associated with the public (including complaints)
• Acting as a general reference point within the organization for legal queries and empowering others to better understand and assess legal risks
• To work flexibly as may be required by the needs of The Old Vic and to carry out any other duties that are reasonably required of this role

This is not an exhaustive list of duties and the Theatre's management may, at any time, allocate other tasks which are of a similar nature or level.

Person Specification

For this role, we are looking for a likeminded team player who is genuinely passionate about applying their legal expertise within the theatre industry.  Our environment offers a completely unique and rewarding experience for the right person.

The successful candidate will have several years' post-qualification experience as a qualified lawyer. Whilst we are wholly flexible about the background in which the legal experience has been achieved (private practice / in-house / government etc), in-house experience in a charity or performing arts/media/entertainment industry organisation would be desirable.

Regardless of prior background, the successful candidate will be enthusiastic about the arts and committed to ensuring that The Old Vic achieves its aims through providing thorough, appropriate and innovative legal and commercial approaches and through maintaining rigorous and effective legal and contractual processes and advice.

Essential

• A qualified lawyer with several years' post-qualification experience
• Strong and demonstrable all-round legal experience gained at least partly in house
• Experience of working with/for a charity in a voluntary or professional capacity
• Ability to work under pressure combined with a calm and measured approach
• Self-motivated and able to manage and prioritise competing demands  
• Strong drafting and negotiating experience
• A practical, problem solving approach
• Strong administrative, planning and organizational skills
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with experience of adapting and communicating legal advice clearly to stakeholders at both a senior and junior level
• Ability to work at pace and adapt to change

Desirable

• Strong academic background
• Private practice experience in a well-respected firm
• In-house experience in a media/ entertainment industry/cultural/not for profit organization/theatre client
• Demonstrably good drafting skills, ideally with broad experience of drafting a variety of contracts to a high standard.
• Corporate governance, company secretarial and/or risk management experience
• Charity law experience
• GDPR and data protection experience
• Experience of/interest in organizational leadership/senior management role