Head of Legal & Internal Operations JD1522 - Barcelona (Spain) - 01 Jul 2026

As the Head of Legal & Internal Operations at the Group, the role holder will be responsible for overseeing, identifying, assessing, and mitigating all legal and regulatory activities within the organization. The role holder will provide strategic guidance and counsel to senior management on legal matters, ensuring compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and industry standards. The role provides strategic legal oversight and advice to the business segments, commercial transactions and strategic initiatives, governance, regulatory, and contractual matters. This position requires a dynamic leader with extensive legal expertise, strong business acumen, and the ability to navigate complex regulatory environments. Reporting directly to the board of directors, the role combines strategic legal leadership, transaction and structuring expertise, governance oversight and commercial legal management.

Primary duties and responsibilities

LEGAL STRATEGY AND LEADERSHIP

• Develop and lead the organization’s legal strategy across all jurisdictions and business lines.
• Establish and maintain legal policies, frameworks, and governance standards.
• Build a commercially focused legal function capable of supporting a fast-growing and cross-border business.
• Manage external counsel relationships and legal spend effectively.

COMMERCIAL LEGAL SUPPORT

• Fund Structuring & Investment Platforms: Provide legal oversight and support in relation to fund structures and investment vehicles, feeder-master fund arrangements, SPVs and holding structures. Support legal aspects of subscription and investor documentation, offering documents and disclosures, shareholder and investor arrangements, service provider agreements.
• AIFM/Management Company Legal Oversight: Support the legal aspects of the organization’s AIFM/management company activities; Advise on delegation arrangements, investment management agreements, distribution arrangements, governance requirements. Ensure legal documentation aligns with applicable regulatory frameworks.
• Fiduciary & Corporate Services Legal Support: Provide legal oversight relating to corporate structures, governance arrangements, board and shareholder matters, fiduciary obligations and responsibilities. Support legal review of directorship arrangements, nominee structures, administration agreements, corporate actions and restructurings.
• Capital Markets & Broker-Dealer Activities: Advise on legal and contractual matters relating to securities and capital markets activities, trading and brokerage arrangements, placement and distribution activities, structured finance and transaction support.
• Limit the use of external counsel, but co-ordinate with them on multi-jurisdictional structuring matters where required.
• Draft, review, negotiate, and manage client agreements, administration agreements, technology and vendor contracts, outsourcing agreements, confidentiality and data-sharing agreements.
• Ensure commercial contracts appropriately allocate risk, liability, operational responsibilities.

GROUP ENTITY GOVERNANCE

• Ensure that all group entities remain in good standing across all jurisdictions (registrations, licenses, annual returns, board records, UBO filings).
• Implement standardized Corporate Entity Management Frameworks, including document management, board reporting, and compliance calendars.
• Oversee internal corporate secretarial operations, including Board meetings, agendas, resolutions, minutes; Maintenance of statutory registers (directors, shareholders, UBO); Registration of capital changes, director appointments, entity restructuring, closures
• Maintain strong compliance with Companies Act, local corporate secretarial laws, and international entity maintenance regulations across multiple jurisdictions.
• Lead, mentor, and manage a global team of Account Managers/ Corporate Secretaries who manage internal group entities.
• Drive digitization of corporate governance, and workflow automation.
• Coordinate with Compliance and Risk functions to ensure alignment with licensing obligations.

GOVERNANCE & BOARD SUPPORT

• Support the Board and senior management on governance matters.
• Assist with board resolutions, governance frameworks, committee structures, delegated authority frameworks
• Provide legal input into strategic and operational decision-making.
• Support strategic initiatives, including expansion into new jurisdictions, new product launches, operational transformation projects, technology and AI initiatives

REGULATORY & LEGAL RISK & DISPUTES MANAGEMENT

• Identify and manage legal and regulatory risks across the organization, working closely with Compliance, Risk, Operations
• Ensure legal implications of regulatory developments are appropriately assessed and implemented.
• Manage legal disputes, claims, and litigation matters.
• Coordinate with external counsel where necessary.
• Advise management on dispute resolution strategies and risk exposure.

PERFORMANCE MEASURES

• Quality and effectiveness of legal support.
• Management of legal and contractual risk.
• Timely delivery of legal advice and documentation.
• Effectiveness of governance and legal frameworks.
• Support of commercial and strategic initiatives.
• Management of external legal costs.

OTHER DUTIES

• Undertake the role of director, trustee, nominee, manager, partner, secretary, authorized signatory or any related position in internal entities or client entities of the Group, where necessary and required by the Management.
• Undertake such other duties, as may from time to time, be required by the Management or/ and Group Human Resources.

Qualifications, Skills, and Experience

• Qualified lawyer in a recognized jurisdiction with 20+ years post-qualification experience.
• Strong experience in investment funds, asset management, fiduciary / corporate services, financial services regulation.
• The strongest candidates will combine legal depth + commercial judgment + structuring capability + operational pragmatism.
• Experience supporting cross-border and multi-jurisdictional structures preferred.
• Strong commercial and strategic mindset with excellent legal drafting and negotiation skills.
• Ability to balance risk management with commercial objectives.
• Strong judgment and decision-making capability with high integrity and professionalism.
• Ability to manage complex stakeholder environments.
• Practical and outcome-driven, focused on business impact.
• Exceptional client facing skills. Well-developed spoken and written communication skills and the ability to tailor style to relevant audiences and successfully liaise with people at different levels. Excellent English language fluency: additional languages preferred.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, solution driven, highly organized and detail-oriented with good decision making and time management skills. Independent, hands-on and takes accountability to deliver solutions and results.
• Ability to adapt and work in a smaller, dynamic local team environment with tight deadlines; along with being part of a bigger matrix organization.
• Proven leadership/team player skills, with ambition to excel in the role and grow into fund organization and structuring.

This is a demanding role. You will succeed if you have:

• High ownership and accountability
• Bias for action and speed
• High comfort operating in ambiguity
• Willingness to challenge stakeholders