Senior Legal Advisor/Legal Manager

Role Overview

We are seeking a highly skilled and commercially minded legal professional to join our Legal & Compliance team. This role is pivotal in supporting our global operations, managing legal risk, and ensuring compliance across multiple jurisdictions.

Key Responsibilities

Legal Leadership & Team Management

• Lead, mentor, and develop junior legal advisors, providing training, guidance, and performance oversight.
• Act as a senior escalation point for legal and contractual queries raised by junior team members and the Contracts & Compliance team.

Contractual & Commercial Legal Support

• Draft, review, and negotiate a wide range of commercial contracts and legal documents across global ERSG entities.
• Advise on contractual risk and provide pragmatic, business-focused legal solutions.

Dispute Resolution & Legal Risk Management

• Manage and resolve national and international legal disputes, including:
• - Contractual disagreements
• - Employment law matters
• - Debt recovery procedures
• - Preparation of court documentation

Compliance & Regulatory Advisory

• Provide legal advice on compliance matters, including immigration, employment law, and international regulatory requirements.
• Monitor legislative changes in global employment and contract law, advising the business on necessary adaptations to remain compliant.
• Offer guidance on UK-specific regulations such as IR35, AWR, and Conduct Regulations.

Entity Set-Up & International Expansion

• Support or lead the legal aspects of new ERSG entity set-ups globally, including:
• - Engaging external legal counsel
• - Advising on legal risks and costs
• - Coordinating with payroll, insurance, and immigration providers
• - Ensuring full compliance with local laws

Employment Law & HR Support

• Advise HR on employment law issues including parental leave, immigration status, and health-related regulations (e.g., COVID-19).

Immigration & Work Permits

• Oversee the work permit application process, supporting junior team members and liaising with local immigration partners as needed.

Insurance & Claims Management

• Manage global insurance arrangements including budgeting, tracking, and claims (e.g., US auto, travel, medical, and client claims).
• Support contractor insurance matters, including seafarer-related coverage.

Data Protection & GDPR

• Manage the Privacy inbox and respond to GDPR-related queries.
• Coordinate internal responses to data subject requests within ICO timelines.
• Deliver GDPR training and promote internal awareness of data protection policies.

Core Competencies

Commercial Awareness & Responsiveness

• Proactively respond to business needs, balancing legal risk with commercial objectives.
• Prioritise tasks effectively based on urgency and impact.

Time Management & Accountability

• Independently manage workload and deadlines.
• Communicate progress clearly and manage stakeholder expectations.

Professionalism & Growth Mindset

• Approach challenges with a positive, solutions-oriented attitude.
• Demonstrate initiative and creativity in complex or non-standard matters.
• Tenacious and resilient-remains composed under pressure and unfazed by setbacks
• Embrace evolving responsibilities and seek continuous development.

Communication & Collaboration

• Communicate clearly and professionally across all channels.
• Maintain high standards in both written and verbal interactions.

Attention to Detail & Knowledge Sharing

• Ensure accuracy and consistency across legal and compliance workstreams.
• Share expertise and provide training to support team and business-wide compliance.

Process Orientation & Flexibility

• Enthusiastic and proactive, with a flexible approach to changing priorities.
• Comfortable managing multiple tasks simultaneously in a fast-paced environment.
• Follows structured processes while identifying opportunities for improvement.

Candidate Profile

• Minimum 5 years of practical legal experience.
• Experience in the recruitment or staffing industry is highly desirable, including regulatory compliance expertise (AWR, IR35, Conduct Regulations).
• UK-qualified solicitor or foreign-qualified lawyer with UK law experience.
• Fluent in English; additional languages are a strong asset.
• Enthusiastic, proactive, and process-driven, with the ability to multi-task and adapt to changing demands.
• Tenacious and resilient, with a calm and confident approach in high-pressure situations.

*This role is based on site 4 days a week, with the option to work 1 day per week from home*

About ersg

Set up in 2008, ersg is an award winning, international leader in staffing services to the global energy and built environment markets. We work with major international companies through to smaller independent businesses to enable their projects to be facilitated effectively throughout the entire project life cycle. Whilst headquartered in London, our global business has over 200 staff with offices across Europe, North America and Asia.

ersg are an equal opportunities employer; we are committed to promoting equality of opportunity for all staff job applicants. We do not discriminate against staff or applicants on the basis of age, sex, race, disability, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender reassignment or religious background; all decisions are based on merit.