Interim Commercial Counsel - Financial Services
| Posting date: | 04 March 2026 |
|---|---|
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 11 March 2026 |
| Location: | London, London, W1S 3BE |
| Remote working: | On-site only |
| Company: | Hays Specialist Recruitment |
| Job type: | Temporary |
| Job reference: | 4776555_1772643163 |
Summary
Your new company
A leading global investment organisation is seeking an interim legal professional to join on a full‑time, rolling 3‑month contract. The business operates within a high‑performance trading environment and is currently undertaking a strategic programme of work to strengthen its data‑governance and contractual infrastructure. This includes a major initiative to update, streamline, and repaper a broad suite of market‑data licencing agreements across both exchange and non‑exchange providers.
This role is fully office-based, with occasional flexibility.
Your new role
You will play a key role within a lean but highly effective legal function, taking ownership of a specialist portfolio of work focused on market‑data licencing, contract repapering, and regulatory support. Your main responsibility will be reviewing, negotiating, and repapering exchange and non‑exchange data‑licensing agreements.
You may also be involved in:
- Managing updates to agreements with market‑data vendors, index providers, and other data sources
- Supporting the development of a stronger, more independent contractual and governance structure for data usage within the business
- Advising internal teams on contractual obligations, licencing restrictions, and regulatory considerations
- Serving as a subject‑matter expert on data‑licensing frameworks within a sophisticated trading environment
This role offers meaningful autonomy, high visibility, and the opportunity to influence a core strategic programme within a global investment business.
What you'll need to succeed
You must be a qualified solicitor or barrister with hands‑on experience in market‑data licencing. Although the role is typically suited to someone around 3-5 years' PQE, this is a guideline only, and candidates above or below that range are welcome to apply. You must have:
- Demonstrable experience handling exchange and non‑exchange data‑licensing agreements
- Experience in contract repapering, remediation, or regulatory uplift
- A background in financial services - such as financial regulation teams, banks, asset managers, or market‑infrastructure firms
- Strong commercial contracting and negotiation skills
- The ability to operate independently and communicate effectively with senior stakeholders
Experience working with market‑data providers such as index publishers, execution venues, or large financial‑data vendors would be really beneficial.
What you'll get in return
- A competitive day rate, dependent on experience
- The opportunity to work within a globally respected investment environment
- Exposure to high‑impact, business‑critical data‑governance and licencing initiatives
- A collaborative, intellectually rigorous, and fast‑moving culture
What you need to do now
If you're interested in this role, click 'apply now' to forward an up-to-date copy of your CV, or call us now.
If this job isn't quite right for you, but you are looking for a new position, please contact us for a confidential discussion about your career.
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