Legal Counsel

D.C. Thomson

Dundee

A superb opportunity has arisen for an ambitious and talented lawyer to work within the legal team of D.C. Thomson based in its headquarters in Dundee.

DC Thomson

D.C. Thomson is one of the leading privately-owned media organisations in the UK. From its 19th century roots, this iconic Scottish business has continuously diversified, innovated, and evolved to delight, inform, and entertain generations of readers and the communities it serves in the UK and beyond.

Headquartered in in the heart of Dundee, and the last publisher with an office on Fleet Street in London, D.C. Thomson is a circa £130m revenue, multimedia organisation with over 1,200 staff and a diverse portfolio including children’s TV production, radio, live events, new/digital media, genealogy, energy, retail and IT service businesses alongside its traditional print media news and magazine titles. The Beano, The Press & Journal, The Courier, The People’s Friend, My Weekly, Findmypast, Stylist, Puzzler and bunkered are just some of the brands you may know DC Thomson for.

Serving communities with positive impact is at the centre of DC Thomson’s DNA and mission. We’ve recently reorganised and re-focussed our media businesses around that mission. Our media brands and business are grouped around our local news, history, puzzles and hobbies, kids, companionship, advocacy and energy communities. We’ve also consolidated talent into centres of excellence in marketing, subscriptions, product and technology and customer insight to support our activities with those communities. We’re continuing to invest in technology, data and talent to continue deepening our understanding of what really matters to our customers. This approach has won industry recognition, new customers and awards for the content, products and experiences that we are creating for our customers.

The Legal Team

The legal team of four at DC Thomson is small, but nimble and impactful. We operate a partnering model with our internal clients, allowing each member to develop a deep understanding of the business areas we work with. This autonomy develops the knowledge, trust and personal connection we believe essential to influence swift, relevant and risk-aware local decisions. As a small team in a matrixed group with numerous cross-over topics, we are also highly collegiate and supportive of each other’s work, be that through the insights each bring from our partnered businesses, or the specialisms (eg IP, M&A) we retain within the team. We also work closely with other compliance, governance and risk and functional professionals across the DC Thomson group in our work.

We reflect our autonomous/collegiate team model and ethos through our working practices. Our roles are based in our Dundee headquarters, but we currently work to a hybrid pattern, giving team members the flexibility, as business allows, to work where they choose around our two anchor team days in Dundee.

The Role

Reporting to the General Counsel of DC Thomson, you will be the primary business partner and day to day contact for DC Thomson’s puzzles and hobbies and energy communities as well as our subscriptions and product and technology teams. In this role, you will be expected to provide personable, pragmatic legal advice to support their commercial and strategic goals while also managing risk in accordance with the group’s requirements.

Alongside other members of the Group legal team, you will be expected to provide legal support to DC Thomson’s group functions and participate in and contribute to functional and compliance and governance initiatives with the Group.

Key Responsibilities:

• Being the primary point of contact for your partnered business areas on all legal issues.
• In this partner role, providing advice, drafting and negotiation support for daily business activity while also developing appropriate local process and templates to optimise consistent legal and governance outcomes in those areas.
• Supporting the wider legal team in building best legal and contracting practice and process across the wider group through template and policy development and training.
• Supporting the wider compliance and functional activities of the Group including providing advice on changes in law and regulation and providing legal support to its operationalisation into policy and process.
• Managing and directing the work of external legal advisors where applicable.

Skills and experience profile:

• UK Qualified solicitor with a minimum of 3 yrs PQE+ with strong academics and background including experience of working in a leading in-house team or private practice firm.
• A creative and pragmatic commercial lawyer, with a solid grounding in drafting and advising on issues within supply and consumer contracts in traditional goods and services as well as technology/digital products (including, preferably, outsourcing).
• Good working knowledge of IP, AI as well as data protection and other common commercial and consumer compliance topics.
• Self-starter with a positive attitude, solid influencing, presentation and negotiation skills and the EQ and business acumen to work effectively across functions and at all levels in developing pragmatic solutions to issues.
• Flexibility, resilience, organisation and ability to manage competing workloads at short notice or under pressure.
• Specific TMT/technology expertise and/or working with or within a media organisation would desirable, but is not a requirement.

On Offer:

• Attractive salary & benefits and flexible working arrangements

All applications will be managed by Liz Frost, Director, Frost Legal. For more information & confidential discussion please contact: E: liz@frostlegal.co.uk or call T: 0131 538 0900.