Head of Legal with UK regulatory expertise – 12-14 month FTC

BCB Group is seeking an experienced and proactive UK qualified lawyer with 8-9 years PQE to join our team as the Head of Legal on a 12 – 14 month fixed term contract to cover a period of maternity leave. This role, reporting directly to the General Counsel (based in the EU), will be based in the UK and ideally requires a start date of early October to allow for a comprehensive handover.

This is a fantastic opportunity for a motivated legal professional to step into a leadership position which will be instrumental in steering the business through complex UK regulatory landscapes while leading and mentoring a small, dedicated 6 member legal function.

The Role

As our Head of Legal, you’ll be the primary legal advisor for the business in the UK, reporting to our General Counsel. You will have a heavy focus on UK financial payment services and fintech regulation and be responsible for a range of duties including:

UK Regulatory Legal Work:

• Taking the lead on all UK regulatory matters, including providing legal counsel on a broad spectrum of financial services regulations, including those from the FCA, PRA and PSR.
• Engaging with UK regulators, legislators and industry bodies in the financial services space.
• Managing and working with internal stakeholders to submit key UK regulatory applications to expand our business alongside working with internal stakeholders to manage existing licenses.
• Providing UK regulatory advice to the business on the design and configuration of emerging products and solutions that involve digital asset and payments technology.
• Advising on existing and emerging rules, standards and trends in the regulation of fintech and digital assets and stablecoin payments.

Strategic Operational Leadership & Development

• Champion a comprehensive legal operations strategy that aligns seamlessly with the company’s hyper-growth trajectory and evolving business objectives.
• Continuously identify opportunities for operational excellence within the legal function, translating strategic vision into actionable plans and measurable outcomes.
• Act as the central point of contact for operational matters, collaborating with leadership to forecast needs and scale the legal function proactively.

Process Optimisation & Workflow Automation

• Monitor all existing legal workflows across contracts, litigation, regulatory compliance, product and general legal advice to ensure they are working at an optimum level.
• Where necessary, implement improvements and automation to enhance efficiency, reduce manual effort, and ensure consistent application of best practices.
• Where necessary, drive change management initiatives to ensure successful adoption of new processes and tools across the legal team and relevant business units.

Legal Technology & Innovation

• Lead the ongoing management of the legal department’s technology stack. This includes, but is not limited to, Contract Lifecycle Management , e-billing, and legal research platforms.
• Stay abreast of emerging legal tech trends and make recommendations for future investments that will further enhance the legal team’s capabilities and efficiency.

Financial Management & Spend Optimisation

• Assume full ownership of the legal department’s budget, including forecasting, financial planning, and rigorous cost control measures.
• Manage robust outside counsel guidelines and billing policies. Systematically track, analyse, and optimise external legal spend, ensuring favorable terms and ensuring maximum value from our external partners.
• Provide transparent and actionable financial reporting to the General Counsel and executive leadership, demonstrating ROI on legal investments.

Data Analytics & Performance Reporting

• Develop and deliver regular, insightful reports on legal department performance, operational efficiency, risk profiles, and financial outlays.
• Leverage data to drive informed decision-making, identify areas for improvement, and demonstrate the strategic value of the legal function to the broader organisation.

Cross-Functional Integration & Collaboration

• Act as the critical liaison between the legal department and other key business units (e.g., Finance, Banking, Compliance, Tech, Product, Commercial, Operations).
• Facilitate seamless collaboration on projects requiring legal input, ensuring legal operational processes support broader company initiatives without becoming bottlenecks.
• Champion effective communication channels to ensure legal requirements and processes are understood and adhered to across the organisation.

What are we looking for?

• Available to start in October 2025
• A UK qualified lawyer with a minimum of 8-9 years of post qualification experience who is based in the UK.
• Crypto experience or regulated financial services/ payments experience.
• A proven track record of successfully dealing with UK regulators and legislators, including the FCA in the payments and digital asset space.
• Extensive experience in submitting and managing UK regulatory applications.
• Demonstrable people management skills and a positive, collaborative attitude.
• Must have previous experience as a Head of Legal, or in a similar senior leadership position with direct responsibility for managing a legal function.
• A strong focus on legal operations and a drive for process improvement.

So, what’s in it for you?

Our people are constantly striving to be the best through operational excellence. The professional development and learning opportunities create an agile, hardworking, conscientious, and knowledgeable team.

The opportunities for personal growth are exponential. You grow as the business grows. The roles and responsibilities are broad and ever-changing, and the dynamism of BCB keeps you engaged and highly motivated.

At BCB, we believe in empowering individuals to create a culture of personal growth, together, and driving empowerment from the bottom up, up-skilling every individual at every level. This means our team has a sense of commonality and belonging, driven by a shared belief in our mission. We’re passionate about our business, our people, and providing 360-degree support for success.

• The chance to operate at the forefront of our industry
• You can talk to anyone in the business as there are no barriers and everyone is accessible
• You will be collaborating with teams on a hybrid working arrangement
• We value team success where every individual can grow and prosper
• 30 days annual leave each year, excluding bank holidays
• 4 wellbeing days per year to prioritise your mental health
• 1 company volunteering day per year
• Strong benefits package including; Private Healthcare, Pension, Income Protection (long-term absence), Life Insurance, Menopause Policy, and an enhanced Parental Leave policy

About BCB GROUP

BCB Group is a leading provider of regulated payment and trading services in crypto and fiat for the digital asset economy. We provide accounts, cryptocurrency and foreign exchange market liquidity for some of the world’s largest, crypto-engaged businesses, including crypto exchanges, liquidity providers, market makers, investment firms, custodians, payment processors and wallet providers.

Our end-to-end suite of products are accessible through our Client Console UI and API. We offer more than 40 fiat and cryptocurrencies, deep trading liquidity, 24/7 instant payments through our instant settlements network, BLINC, and secure crypto services. Our strong focus on compliance matches our technical and business expertise, and we are regulated by some of the world’s most respected regulators. Authorised in the UK, France and Switzerland, we place the utmost importance on our regulatory-first institutional principles.

Our leadership team boasts years of relevant, high-level experience at globally-renowned institutions. They combine finance, law, regulatory and technology skills in traditional and crypto financial services with a deep understanding of the new digital asset economy.

Our mission is to create the trusted platform to pay, store, trade and earn fiat and digital assets, globally 24/7

www.bcbgroup.com