Manager - Legal Counsel (Employment Law) Job at Virgin Atlantic (Crawley)

Job Description

This is a rare opportunity to step into a unique employment law role at the heart of Virgin Atlantic. As our Manager Legal Counsel – People Relations, you’ll be a trusted advisor to our People function, senior leadership, and wider business. You’ll bring clarity and confidence to complex employment issues, helping us make decisions that are not only legally sound but also commercially savvy and people focused. From providing fast paced day to day guidance, supporting change projects and new business initiatives, guiding senior hirings and exits to shaping our approach to employee relations for unionised and non -unionised workforces, you’ll ensure we deliver fair, compliant and pragmatic outcomes that support both our people and our purpose.

Job Responsibility

Provide expert legal advice on UK and international employment law, covering recruitment, contracts, disputes, and terminations
Advise on TUPE, business transfers, and industrial relations matters including trade union engagement and collective bargaining
Deep understanding of diversity, equity and inclusion and its impact on business considerations
Draft and review employment-related agreements such as contracts, settlement agreements, and incentive schemes
Lead and manage employment litigation, including tribunal work and engagement with external counsel
Partner with HR, Reward, Employee Relations, internal audit and senior leaders to deliver pragmatic, commercially aligned advice
Contribute to policy development, governance, and compliance processes, ensuring best practice
Support broader corporate and commercial initiatives, adding legal value to strategic projects
Share knowledge and develop templates to drive consistency and continuous improvement within the legal team

Requirements

Qualified solicitor in England & Wales (or equivalent jurisdiction) with a strong academic background and ideally 5+ years’ PQE, including significant exposure to UK employment law within a complex, fast-paced organisation
Demonstrated experience advising on the full employee lifecycle, including disciplinary, grievance, performance management, absence management, discrimination, whistleblowing, redundancy, restructuring, and senior exits, with the ability to assess both legal and reputational risk
Proven expertise managing Employment Tribunal litigation end-to-end, including drafting pleadings, instructing external counsel, developing case strategy, negotiating settlements, and delivering commercially pragmatic outcomes while minimising legal and financial exposure
Strong working knowledge of TUPE, collective consultation obligations, industrial relations, and trade union engagement, with experience supporting organisational change programmes, restructures, outsourcing activity, or operational transformation in a unionised or highly regulated environment
Demonstrated ability to draft, review, and negotiate employment contracts, settlement agreements, policies, and executive service agreements, ensuring legal compliance alongside alignment to broader business objectives
Commercially astute, with the judgement to balance legal robustness against operational realities, enabling leaders to make informed, risk-based decisions at pace
Credible and confident operating at senior stakeholder level, with experience influencing leaders through complex or sensitive employee relations matters and building trusted relationships across HR, leadership, and wider business functions
A clear and engaging communicator, able to translate complex legal concepts into practical, accessible advice for non-legal audiences, both verbally and in writing
Highly organised and delivery-focused, with experience managing a varied caseload, balancing competing priorities, and maintaining high standards of accuracy and responsiveness under pressure
Collaborative and pragmatic in approach, with a proactive mindset and the ability to work independently while contributing positively to a high-performing legal and people team

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Manager - Legal Counsel (Employment Law)

Job Description

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