Interim General Counsel (9 month Fixed Term Contract) 

Location: Hyrbid working: 2 days a week in the office. Either based in London or Milton Keynes. 

Rightmove’s General Counsel will be taking parental leave during 2025, and we are therefore seeking a highly skilled and experienced Interim General Counsel to lead and develop Rightmove’s in-house legal compliance, data protection, and procurement strategies. This role is critical to supporting the current and future needs of the business, our services, and product offerings and reports to the CFO.

We’re looking for a strategic thinker who can balance legal risks with business opportunities, ensuring compliance, minimising legal exposure, and providing guidance to senior management and the Board on a wide range of legal issues. This is a dynamic, fast-paced role in an exciting and ever-evolving industry.

What you’ll be doing

Legal Strategy Leadership: Develop and drive Rightmove’s legal strategy to align with the company’s strategic goals and operational plans. Ensure our legal frameworks evolve to support business growth and innovation. Executive Advisory Role: Provide expert legal counsel to the Board of Directors and executive leadership, guiding on corporate policies, governance, and best practices. Regulatory Engagement: Serve as the primary contact for Government, regulatory bodies, and professional organisations, ensuring full compliance with industry regulations (FCA, CMA, ICO, ASA, RICS, and more). Data Protection Oversight: Act as Data Protection Officer, ensuring full compliance with data protection laws and overseeing all data governance for Rightmove Group entities. Team Leadership: Manage, mentor, and inspire a team of 11 legal, compliance, and procurement professionals, fostering a high-performance culture. Contract & Agreement Management: Lead negotiations and oversee drafting for a range of contracts, including commercial, vendor, employment, and customer agreements. Ensure contracts align with business objectives and legal standards. Regulated Subsidiary Oversight: Manage the first line of defence for Rightmove’s FCA-regulated subsidiaries (RMFS and RLTS), ensuring full adherence to FCA requirements and promoting ethical conduct. Intellectual Property Management: Safeguard and manage Rightmove’s intellectual property, including patents, trademarks, and copyrights, ensuring robust protection of our assets. Procurement Strategy: Oversee procurement and supply chain management to drive cost-efficiency, quality, and compliance, ensuring the smooth delivery of goods and services. Litigation & Dispute Resolution: Manage litigation and disputes, collaborating with external counsel to ensure cost-effective and timely outcomes. Corporate Transactions: Provide legal guidance and support for mergers, acquisitions, and strategic transactions, including due diligence and documentation. Risk Management: Identify and mitigate legal risks across the business, proactively addressing compliance matters before they arise.

Who you are

Senior Legal Expertise: Extensive experience in senior legal roles with a focus on contract law, corporate governance, and regulatory compliance. Risk & Compliance Knowledge: Strong understanding of legal risk management, particularly in data protection and industry-specific regulations. Broad Legal Acumen: Proven ability to manage diverse legal areas, from contracts and litigation to intellectual property and procurement. Leadership & Collaboration: Strong leadership skills with experience guiding cross-functional teams and working closely with senior stakeholders. Commercial Focus: A commercially minded legal professional who understands business needs and can balance legal considerations with strategic goals. Communication Skills: Excellent ability to communicate complex legal issues clearly and effectively to non-legal audiences. Third-Party Management: Experience managing external counsel, consultants, and auditors to ensure seamless legal operations. High-Pressure Experience: A track record of handling high-stakes legal matters in fast-paced environments with competing priorities. Industry Knowledge (Optional): Experience in the property industry or financial services is a plus but not essential. Adaptable & Hands-On: Comfortable rolling up your sleeves and managing a variety of tasks simultaneously in a dynamic environment.

What’s in it for you

People are the foundation of Rightmove – we’ll help you build a career on it.

Competitive compensation package. Cash plan for dental, optical, and physio treatments. Private Medical Insurance, Pension and Life Insurance, Employee Assistance Plan. 27 days holiday plus two (paid) volunteering days a year to give back, and holiday buy schemes. Hybrid working pattern with 2 days in the office (either Milton Keynes or London). Contributory stakeholder pension. Life assurance at 4x your basic salary to a spouse, family member other nominated person in your life. Paid leave for maternity, paternity, adoption, and fertility. Travel Loan, Bike to Work scheme, Rental Deposit Loan. Charitable contributions through Payroll Giving and donation matching. Access deals and discounts on things like travel, electronics, fashion, gym memberships, cinema discounts, and more.

About Rightmove

Our vision is to give everyone the belief they can make their move. We aim to make moving simpler, by giving everyone the best place to turn to and return to for access to the tools, expertise, trust, and belief to make it happen.

We’re home to the UK’s largest choice of properties and are the go-to destination for millions of people planning their next move, reading the latest industry news, or just browsing what’s on the market.

Despite this growth, we’ve remained a friendly, supportive place to work with employee #1 still working here! We’ve done this by placing the Rightmove How’s at the heart of everything we do. These are the essential values that reflect our culture and include:

Be approachable and appreciate what others do Make complex things as simple as possible Build great teams, because Rightmove is people Drive improvement, we can always be better Share early, honestly, and often

We believe in careers that open doors and help our team develop by providing an open and inclusive work environment, offering ongoing training opportunities, and supporting charity fundraising events. And with 88% of Rightmovers saying we’re a great place to work, we’re clearly doing something right!

If all of this has caught your eye, you may well be a Rightmover in the making!

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As an Equal Opportunity Employer, Rightmove will never discriminate based on age, disability, sex, race, religion or belief, gender reassignment, marriage / civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity or sexual orientation.

At Rightmove, we believe that a diverse and inclusive workforce leads to better innovation, productivity, and overall success., We are committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for all employees, regardless of their background or identity, to develop and promote a diverse culture that reflects the communities we serve.