Location: London (Oval)
Type: Full-time or Part-time
Salary: £80,000 - 100,000
Our Mission:
We are creating a world where teachers and schools are no longer wasting time with expensive agencies because Zen allows them to reliably connect and get back to what really matters … our children!
UK schools spend well over £2bn per year on covering short-term absences with supply teachers. The current model exclusively relies on agencies that charge a massive commission and are terribly inefficient (everything is paper and phone-call-based). We are consolidating this analogue, fragmented, and inefficient marketplace onto a digital platform. Think Uber for supply teachers. In the process, we're pulling hundreds of millions of waste out of the education system and making a huge positive impact on teachers and schools.
We are well-funded by high-profile investors and are led by start-up veterans behind two of London's most prominent tech companies.
Looking to make a difference?
We are seeking a highly experienced and strategic Legal Counsel to oversee all legal matters within the organisation. The ideal candidate will have extensive expertise in commercial and employment law in the UK. Backgrounds in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are desirable but not essential.
You’ll be joining Zen in a key position, navigating us through complex legal matters while providing strategic guidance to senior management.
This role is a crucial part of enabling Zen’s growth and scalability. It is a great opportunity for someone looking to apply themselves for a great cause and with great responsibility and autonomy to futureproof us for years to come.
Key responsibilities:
- Lead on commercial law including drafting and review of a range of commercial contracts and agreements
- Lead employment law and provide counsel on UK employment law, including employee relations, contracts, policies, and compliance. Oversee employment litigation and dispute resolution.
- Support Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) transactions, including due diligence, negotiation, and integration. Coordinate with external legal advisors and consultants during M&A activities.
- Advise the executive team and Board of Directors on complex legal matters, ensuring compliance with all applicable laws, industry regulations, data protection laws, and corporate governance standards.
What we're looking for:
- 4+ years of relevant experience in either commercial or employment law
- M&A experience is highly desirable but not required
- Experience working with executives to navigate legal matters
- Strong communication skills, comfortable presenting to the team and senior executives
- Growth mindset – dedicated to improving your skills as a professional
- Top performer that wants to be part of a high-performing, motivated team
- Strong bias to action
- Excellent people skills for working with both our customers and teams at Zen
What's in it for you?
- Work that you want to talk about
- Competitive salary
- Ownership in the company
- 25+ days of holiday (increases with tenure)
- Life Insurance
- Health Insurance
- Electric Car Scheme
- Cycle to Work Scheme
- Central London office with perks like fresh fruit, yoga classes, bike parking, showers and an on-site gym and café
- Fun-loving, tight-knit team solving a problem that makes a difference
Diversity and Inclusion
At Zen, we strive to build a culture of equity and inclusion, where everyone is respected, valued, and appreciated for their unique traits, experiences and perspectives. We are committed to creating a safe, inclusive, and equitable environment where our team can thrive, regardless of age, ethnicity, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, disability, religion or beliefs. We value our differences and believe that practices of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion help us create a fairer, more compassionate environment for all.
We welcome applicants with diverse backgrounds and different experiences and perspectives — just like the staff who teach through Zen and the children at the schools we work with. We believe in hiring the best people from the widest pool and creating an inclusive culture where people’s voices are heard and all our team can look forward to coming to work.
We are committed to building a team that reflects the diversity of our community and promoting an equitable and inclusive environment for all. We seek out diverse opinions, beliefs, and experiences because they collectively make us stronger; we’ve had former teachers, pilots, fundraisers, engineers, lawyers, marketers, social media experts and more join our team.
How to apply
You can apply for this role via our careers page (https://jobs.lever.co/zeneducate).
We look forward to hearing from you!
What We Do
At Zen our mission is to change the world of education recruitment. Schools spend over £2bn a year on agency staff, with over £600m per year of that spent on fees that go straight to recruitment agencies. So far, we've saved UK schools over £14m in supply teaching recruitment costs, and that number grows every day, allowing schools to invest further into children’s wellbeing and attainment.
We're not just redefining recruitment; we’re upskilling our supply staff to provide the highest quality teachers and TAs to schools. Each supply staff member is Level 2 Safeguarding trained, guaranteeing the safety and wellbeing of children in your school.
Using our online platform, schools can access hundreds of fully vetted high-quality teacher & TA profiles, who they can book instantly at the click of a button. We don't stop at just providing a platform – we have a dedicated school success team here to support you every step of the way. When you succeed, we succeed!
