Associate Director Legal Counsel

At OakNorth, we’re on a mission to empower the UK’s most ambitious businesses. Since 2015, we’ve lent over $21 billion across the UK and US, helped create more than 58,000 new homes and 36,000 new jobs, and supported hundreds of thousands of personal savers — all while fuelling the UK economy.

Role Summary

The Associate Director, Legal Counsel role is designed for a commercially minded lawyer who can provide day-to-day legal support to OakNorth and also help drive and enable the bank’s strategic projects. This role will report to the Director, Legal Counsel and will work closely with them across corporate legal, regulatory and strategic matters.

Responsibilities :
Primary focus:

• Support the provision of legal advice on house matters. This will include:

• preparing first drafts and reviewing and negotiating complex documentation relating both to OakNorth products and internal corporate matters; and

• carrying out legal research, providing initial analysis and developing practical guidance for internal stakeholders.

• Help coordinate and run legal workstreams on strategic projects such as investments, joint ventures, integrations, reorganisations and business exits.

• Build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders.

Secondary focus:

• Support the Director with the provision of legal advice on strategic matters.

• Support corporate governance, entity management, compliance and broader risk management matters as needed.

• Supervise work produced by offshore resources, including on commercial contract matters.

• Contribute to the development and scaling of the legal function, including process improvement, knowledge management and the use of legal technology and GenAI tools.

Requirements:
• Likely 2-4 years’ post-qualification experience, with flexibility to consider candidates with less or more experience depending on capability, judgment and fit.

• Training at a strong law firm and/or relevant in-house experience, ideally with exposure to transactional legal work.

• Grounding in financial services, fintech, banking, funds or capital markets work, with comfort operating in a regulated environment - including the ability to spot issues, frame initial advice and identify when specialist external input is needed.

• Interest in working across both transactional and regulatory matters rather than specialising narrowly in one lane.

• Strong drafting, negotiation and transaction management skills, with the ability to manage multiple matters and keep projects moving.

• Good commercial instinct and an interest in understanding the business, its strategy and how legal can add value.

• Ability to operate as a practical business partner, not just a technical legal adviser.

• Comfort taking ownership of process-heavy workstreams, coordinating stakeholders and driving execution on transactions and strategic projects.

• Excellent communication skills, sound judgment, attention to detail and a proactive, adaptable approach.

• The role offers close day-to-day partnership with the Director, Legal Counsel, with increasing ownership over time. Interest in growing with the role, team and business is key, including willingness to take on a broad remit in a fast-moving environment.

Benefits & Perks :
• Equity. We want people to have a stake in the business so that all our interests are aligned.

• 25 days holiday

• Personalized benefits – opt-in to what matters to you

• Subsidised Private Medical Insurance with Bupa

• Enhanced maternity and paternity leave

• Wellbeing and social events

• In-house Barista Bar in London office

• Support causes that matter to you – Volunteering time off

• Salary sacrifice schemes (Cycle to work, nursery, gym, electric car scheme)