Head of legal and Governance
| Company: | Hartford Care |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £55,000 to £55,000 a year |
| Hours: | Full-time |
| Location: | RG21 7JE |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Posting date: | 20 Oct 2026 |
| Closing date: | 17 Nov 2026 |
Summary
Hartford Care Group is creating a senior, standalone role to own legal, governance and corporate compliance across the Group. As Legal & Governance Lead you’ll be the central point of control for contracts, company secretarial, insurance and data protection, and you’ll have the authority to challenge senior stakeholders and stop commitments that haven’t followed the right process. This is a hands-on role with no direct reports and a lot of scope to put proper controls in place.
What you’ll be doing
Owning the Group’s legal, governance and corporate compliance framework across all entities
Controlling all material contracts and reviewing, drafting and negotiating commercial, supplier, service and property-related agreements
Maintaining the Group contracts register, including obligations, renewal dates, termination provisions and risk areas
Overseeing the legal entity structure, statutory registers, Companies House filings and Board approvals
Managing disputes, claims and contentious matters through to resolution, and coordinating external advisers and legal spend
Leading insurance governance, including renewals, claims oversight and coverage reviews
Acting as the Group’s Data Protection Officer and leading the UK GDPR and information governance framework
Maintaining governance policies, delegated authorities and approval frameworks, and supporting the Board and Executive Team
Reporting on legal, contract, claims, insurance, data protection and governance risks to the CFO and Executive Team
Supporting acquisitions, restructures, refinancing and other strategic projects
What we’re looking for
A law degree or closely related qualification, or equivalent substantial senior legal, governance or company secretarial experience
Strong experience of reviewing, drafting and negotiating commercial contracts and spotting material risk
Demonstrable experience of corporate governance, Companies House requirements, statutory filings and legal entity management
A strong grounding in UK company and commercial law, with experience of managing disputes and external counsel
Working knowledge of UK GDPR and the confidence to act as, or support, the DPO function
Insurance, claims or corporate risk experience (strongly preferred)
Commercial judgement, independence and the credibility to challenge the CFO, CEO, Board and senior leaders
High organisation, attention to detail, integrity and discretion with privileged and confidential information
Comfort taking ownership of areas where records and controls may initially be incomplete
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