Head of Legal

Head of Legal

£70,000 - £80,000

Based Burgess Hill, Sussex

Exciting opportunity for a Head of Legal looking to join a PE backed high growth IT managed services provider, delivering commercial legal support at an executive level

About Us 

Acora has 25 years’ experience of delivering IT services to a wide range of customers across varied markets and locations. As well as being expert in complex infrastructure solutions, Acora also has a business software division specialising in the Microsoft Dynamics suite of applications and a Business Advisory Consultancy. More than 200 clients trust Acora to take responsibility for part, or all, of their business IT from the design and build of complex solutions to the day-to-day management of services. Acora holds a variety of Industry accreditations including ISO 20000, ISO 27001 and BS 25999.

Acora has 250 staff located around the country, and has recently joined forces with Plan-Net, another owner-managed IT support and services company. With its Head Office in Burgess Hill in Sussex and its Midlands Office in Solihull in Birmingham, service desk teams based across both sites, along with offices in London and Milton Keynes, the business is growing. Now is an exciting time to join the dynamic and expanding team. 

The Role 

Reporting to the CFO and working closely with the CEO and Director of M&A, the Head of Legal will be responsible for the provision of a broad spectrum of legal advice. The post holder will interface with multiple internal stakeholders across Acora to ensure legal exposure is minimised, commercial value optimised and positive client relationships maintained. 

You will be required to identify, assess and manage legal, contractual and reputational risk, negotiate and facilitate the execution of legal and contractual documents and advise on all legal matters generally affecting Acora, seeking additional support where necessary.

Key Responsibilities: 

• Provision of competent and timely legal advice across Acora to ensure the delivery of the business plan is compliant with relevant laws and regulations 
• Work with stakeholders to proactively identify areas within Acora where legal involvement creates incremental value 
• Ownership of Risk, reporting material legal and contractual risks to the CFO with escalation to CEO if risk(s) remain unmitigated 
• Establish and embed contracting policies to ensure timely and thorough legal assessment prior to contractual engagement 
• Partner with the CEO and M&A Director on all legal aspects relating to potential acquisitions for the business, ensuring optimum risk management and preferential terms for the business where appropriate. 
• Attend Departmental, Management and Board meetings as required to advise on legal matters that may arise and act as first point of entry for all legal related matters 
• Deliver training to departments on contractual law and negotiation; provide ongoing coaching to cultivate a considered risk/value based and legally compliant approach to contracting 
• Maintain a central repository of contracts proactively managed by date of renewal 
• Establish and maintain ‘data room’ for future purchase/sale transactions 

Key attributes and skills:

• Excellent technical, analytical and drafting skills and a real eye for the detail 
• Self-motivated and with the ability to work under pressure 
• Experience of working in a highly acquisitive business and managing multiple processes at varying stages of maturity effectively
•  A pragmatic approach with the ability to assess and quantify commercial risk and value opportunity 
• Able to plan own work and manage conflicting priorities to achieve deadlines 
• Collaborative approach - able to build effective working relationships with stakeholders across Acora and multiple external partners 
• A compelling oral and written communicator
• Excellent commercial understanding and a pragmatic approach to risk management
• Strong professional stakeholder management skills
• High integrity combined with the ability to influence upwards effectively 
• Holistic perspective without losing sight of the detail. 
• Straightforward and clear communicator avoiding legal jargon where appropriate
• Strong project management skills and the ability to prioritise a significant workload effectively
• Solicitor qualified in a UK jurisdiction