General Counsel
Jersey
Vacancy listed 25/06/2026
Application deadline 03/07/2026
Details
Opera is a privately owned financial services group, created to build a world-class portfolio of fund, corporate and fiduciary businesses.  Majority backed by Pula, the family office of Stephen Lansdown CBE - co-founder of Hargreaves Lansdown - and like-minded shareholders such as Sealyham, the family office of Tom Scott.

Opera’s growing portfolio includes Accuro, Amber Trust Ltd (now Oak Bahamas), HFL, Meritus and Oak, with operations across eight jurisdictions: Bermuda, Geneva, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, London, Mauritius and The Bahamas. The group administers assets totaling $81bn.

For more information, please visit: https://www.operalimited.com/

Job Summary
Opera is at an important stage of growth, with greater scale, jurisdictional reach, transaction activity and operational complexity. Legal responsibilities are currently spread across senior executives, local teams and external counsel, creating inconsistent oversight, unnecessary cost and distraction from core leadership priorities.

The General Counsel (“GC”) will provide clear accountability for legal leadership across the Group. As Opera’s senior legal advisor and a member of the Executive Committee, the GC will work closely with the Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”), the Opera Board and senior leadership team to support growth, mergers and acquisitions (“M&A”), governance, risk management, client matters, and operational delivery.

The GC will build and lead a scalable, multi-jurisdictional legal and company secretarial function, bringing together senior specialists across corporate, commercial, funds, fiduciary, tax, employment, data protection, intellectual property, insurance, regulation and litigation. The role will also oversee succession planning, external counsel and the development of a cohesive Group legal team. The GC will provide practical, commercially focused advice on corporate transactions, contracts, regulatory developments, emerging technologies and the legal implications of artificial intelligence. The role requires a versatile lawyer who can combine strategic leadership with hands-on execution across private client, fiduciary, funds and corporate environments.

 The GC will also help commercialize Opera’s legal capability by supporting business development and client pitches, developing emerging-manager and fund-launch services, evaluating fractional legal and GC services, and embedding legal expertise within Opera’s wider funds, private client and founder propositions. These services must be appropriately governed, priced, resourced and operated profitably, with legal, regulatory and conflict risks properly managed.
 
Key Responsibilities:
Strategic Legal Leadership

  • Serve as principal legal advisor to the CEO, Board and Executive Committee, providing commercially pragmatic advice in support of Opera’s strategy and growth.
  • Build and maintain a modern, scalable legal operating model across the Group.
  • Evaluate and support the launch of new business lines, products, services and client propositions that draw on Opera’s legal, funds, fiduciary and private client capabilities.
  • Advise on opportunities involving emerging and incubated managers, including GP investments, management trail fees and other long-term alignment models, subject to appropriate regulatory, conflict and capital approvals.
  • Advise on the feasibility, structuring and governance of fund-of-funds, placement and co-investment propositions that broaden clients’ access to capital.
 
Corporate Governance & Company Secretarial

  • Lead the Group Company Secretariat function and maintain high standards of governance across Opera and its subsidiaries.
  • Oversee Board and Committee processes, including meetings, resolutions, approvals, statutory obligations and corporate records.
  • Maintain Group governance policies, delegated authorities and compliance with applicable requirements across all jurisdictions.

Mergers & Acquisitions

  • Lead legal workstreams for acquisitions, divestments, strategic investments and related transactions, coordinating internal stakeholders and external advisers throughout the transaction lifecycle.
  • Lead the legal integration of acquired businesses, including the review and rationalization of corporate structures, contracts, governance, policies and legal risk profiles, and oversee post-completion obligations.
  • Partner with the CFO on fundraising and debt and equity transactions, coordinating with investors, lenders, shareholders and external counsel as appropriate.

Legal Risk & Regulatory Oversight

  • Identify, assess and mitigate legal and regulatory risk, working with Risk and Compliance to maintain effective governance, policies and controls.
  • Lead Opera’s legal response to disputes, litigation, crises, sensitive third-party matters and other issues requiring coordinated Group-level intervention.
  • Own the external counsel strategy, including panel appointments, matter allocation, budgets, fees and legal spend, retaining work internally where appropriate.
  • Partner with People and Culture on employment law and significant people matters, including employee relations, restructurings, incentives, investigations and senior appointments or departures.

Commercial & Client Support

·         Anticipate and resolve legal issues, delegating effectively while remaining hands-on where needed, including delivering chargeable client work.
·         Bring senior legal expertise and credibility to business development, strategic pitches and intermediary relationships.
·         Lead significant commercial negotiations and provide legal oversight of client onboarding, vendors and strategic partnerships.
·         Develop standardized templates, playbooks and self-service contracting processes to reduce friction and improve speed to market.
·         Manage pricing, matter allocation, time recording and profitability across jurisdictions, balancing internal priorities, client delivery and team development.

Client Legal Services & Revenue Generation

·         Develop and commercialize an Emerging Manager launch assistance proposition, providing structuring, consulting and project management for fund launches and coordinating clients, advisers and service providers.
·         Build strategic relationships with selected local and onshore law firms, including agreed service standards, template documentation and preferential pricing.
·         Develop a broader client legal advisory capability, including fractional General Counsel services across the manager and fund lifecycle, delivered through Opera’s legal team, external partnerships, targeted recruitment or acquisition where justified.
·         Establish appropriate delivery and pricing models and work across Opera’s funds, private client and corporate businesses to generate cross-selling opportunities and deepen relationships with founders, entrepreneurs and investment professionals.

Funds, Corporate & Private Client Advisory

  • Provide legal support across fiduciary, private client, funds and corporate service activities. 
  • Advise on complex client structures and cross-border considerations. 
  • Support emerging manager and fund launch opportunities where appropriate. 
  • Act as a trusted internal advisor on complex legal and commercial matters.

    Technology, AI & Innovation

  • Advise on technology, A.I, intellectual property, cybersecurity and data protection matters. 
  • Monitor developments in artificial intelligence and assess their impact on the legal and financial services landscape. 
  • Drive adoption of legal technology solutions to improve efficiency, scalability and risk management. 
  • Support Opera’s broader technology and innovation strategy. 
  • Advise on technology procurement, SaaS arrangements, software development, licensing, data use, intellectual property ownership and technology vendor agreements.
  • Use legal technology, workflow automation, templates and data to enable the legal function to scale more efficiently than a traditional people-only model.

    Leadership

  • Build and develop an effective legal function aligned to the Opera's growth ambitions. 
  • Establish clear frameworks for delegation and external counsel management. 
  • Promote a culture of accountability, collaboration and commercial decision-making. 
  • Mentor and support legal and governance team members as the function evolves.

Measures of Success

Success in the role will include:
  • Clearer, more consistent legal oversight across Opera’s jurisdictions and businesses.
  • More effective use of external counsel and improved control of legal spend.
  • Faster and more efficient client contracting, onboarding and fund launches.
  • Successful development of appropriately governed and profitable client-facing legal services.
  • Increased support for client wins, cross-selling, retention, referrals and strategic partnerships.
  • Stronger integration of acquired businesses, including structures, contracts, policies and governance.
  • A scalable legal operating model supported by effective technology, templates, processes and delegation.

Key Competencies & Skills
Technical Expertise

  • Qualified lawyer with significant post-qualification experience. 
  • Strong experience across corporate, funds, fiduciary and private client matters. 
  • Demonstrable M&A and transactional experience. 
  • Experience supporting Boards and Executive Committees. 
  • Knowledge of company secretarial and corporate governance frameworks. 
 
Commercial Acumen
  • Ability to balance legal risk with commercial opportunity. 
  • Strong business partnering capability. 
  • Experience operating within entrepreneurial, high-growth environments. 
  • Comfortable working across multiple jurisdictions and regulatory frameworks. 
 
Leadership & Influence
  • Executive presence and credibility with Boards and senior stakeholders. 
  • Ability to influence without creating unnecessary bureaucracy. 
  • Strong judgement, resilience and decision-making capability. 
  • Proven ability to build, lead and scale functions. 
 
Future-Focused Mindset
  • Interest in innovation, legal technology and AI. 
  • Ability to anticipate emerging risks and opportunities. 
Strategic thinker capable of shaping long-term organisational outcomes
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