Commercial Director

The Law Society

About the Organisation

Law Society represents solicitors in England and Wales. From negotiating with and lobbying the profession's regulators, government, and others, to offering training and advice, we're here to help, protect, and promote solicitors across England and Wales. An exciting opportunity has arisen to recruit for a role at the heart of the Law Society's campaigning and political influencing activity.

The Law Society is the independent professional body for over 200,000 solicitors in England and Wales. A year into the new government, there is a significant opportunity to influence the political debate, driving important issues such as access to justice, the rule of law, and supporting a thriving legal business sector up the agenda and influencing policy on behalf of our members.

About the role

The Law Society is seeking an experienced Commercial Director to provide strategic and operational leadership across its commercial and partnerships portfolio. This senior role is central to ensuring that commercial strategy, income-generating activity and the wider commercial offer align with organisational priorities and deliver sustainable value for members. 

You’ll lead commercial innovation, integrate membership and commercial propositions, and guide a high-performing function to achieve ambitious income targets that support the Law Society’s overall corporate strategy. Reporting to the Executive Director of Membership & External Affairs, and working closely with the Leadership Team, you’ll play a key role in how we drive forward our corporate Strategy and oversee the design, delivery and continual improvement of income-generating products and services. 

A critical part of your role will be driving corporate income generation, diversifying revenue streams and establishing sustainable partnership models. You’ll implement innovative pricing strategies and develop compelling, high-value propositions that enhance member experience while delivering strong commercial returns.  Alongside this, you’ll lead operational planning and performance management across all commercial workstreams, ensuring seamless integration with membership services and organisational operations. 

Responsibilities

Director Accountabilities:

• Works as part of an integrated senior management team leading the transformation of the business across service, skills and behaviours
• Drives internal effectiveness, continually striving to simplify structures and processes 
• Develops innovative approaches to maximise value for money for our membership fee
• Supports the strengthening of the Law Society’s positive brand impact and reputation in everything we do
• Takes an integrated 3-5 year forward-looking view of the business to influence Law Society strategy through the Executive Leadership Team, Board and Council
• Takes responsibility for the operational leadership, managing clarity, understanding and execution of strategy
• Leads teams to deliver operational and digital transformation plans and helps to create a culture of continual quality improvement and learning across the Law Society
• Delivers or exceeds the delivery of the agreed corporate plan and performance measures
• Acts as the senior-level expert in their relevant professional or technical field, informing the strategic shaping of policy
• Models and develops strong leadership and management practices with a strong emphasis on talent management, development and encouragement of colleagues to create ‘one brilliant team’ and ‘one effective way of working’ across the whole business
• Builds highly effective teams, ensuring that line managers can manage their budgets effectively and perform their people management responsibilities with confidence and skill.

Functional Responsibilities:

• Shape and lead the Law Society’s commercial strategy, ensuring alignment between member value, income generation, and wider organisational priorities
• Provide senior leadership to the Commercial and Partnerships function, setting a clear forward-looking view to support strategic planning and corporate decision making (1-2 years plus)
• Partner effectively with the Leadership Team to influence commercial planning and embed commercial thinking across the Law Society
• Provide effective and impactful engagement as part of an integrated cross-organisational leadership team, taking responsibility for the operational leadership of the Law Society, managing clarity, understanding and execution of strategy.
• Oversee the design, delivery and continual improvement of commercial propositions across all income-generating product and service lines
• Ensure propositions deliver clear member value and commercial return, supported by robust business cases for new ventures and services
• Drive corporate business income generation, diversifying revenue streams and building long-term partnership models that support organisational goals
• Implement and oversee innovative commercial pricing strategies that support year on year profitability and strategic growth targets
• Provide a reflective, considered and constructive leadership approach ensuring clarity of purpose, talent development and an emphasis on collaborative culture, aligned with Law Society values
• Support colleagues through periods of organisational change, ensuring sensitive, transparent and supportive communication
• Oversee operational planning, delivery and performance across all commercial workstreams, ensuring integration with membership experience and organisational services
• Ensure the Commercial and Partnerships function has fit-for-purpose systems, processes and structures following the recent redesign
• Monitor key performance indicators, ensuring delivery of commercial targets, income growth and member satisfaction
• Drive continuous improvement, simplifying processes and maximising value for money for members
• Act as a senior ambassador for commercial priorities, influencing internally across business units and externally with partners and stakeholders
• Provide business intelligence and insight to support planning, competitive positioning, and member audience understanding
• Ensure effective engagement with Technology & Change, Membership Experience and other directorates to integrate digital, service and commercial strategies
• Proactively support a culture of respect, welcome, inclusion and diversity.

Skills, Competencies, Experience & Attributes

Skills & Attributes:

• Proven senior-level commercial leadership experience in a complex organisation, ideally with membership, professional services or mixed income models.
• Strong ability to translate strategy into operational delivery, with a track record of income growth and commercial innovation
• Deep understanding of commercial pricing strategies, proposition development, sales operations and partnership management
• Ability to influence and engage effectively with a broad range of stakeholders, including excellent communication skills with both commercial and non-commercial audiences
• A proactive and constructive approach to all aspects of work
• Strong analytical capability and ability to use evidence to shape commercial strategy
• Experience in balancing long-term commercial strategy with short-term delivery priorities
• Outstanding leadership skills with proven ability to build, inspire and engage commercial teams, particularly through periods of change and ambiguity
• High level of competence in core M365 applications (Teams, Outlook, SharePoint, Word, PowerPoint)
• High level of initiative, with a considered and balanced approach to problem-solving and decision-making
• Able to demonstrate the ability to work flexibly and motivate others to do so
• Able to plan, organise and prioritise work during busy periods whilst maintaining a positive can-do approach
• Able to manage own wellbeing during busy and demanding periods at work, with support from the Law Society as appropriate
• A proactive approach to supporting a respectful and welcoming environment at the Law Society

Compensation & Benefits

• 3% flex fund after 3 months, plus comprehensive benefits
• Generous flexible benefits package
• A friendly working environment and the opportunity to develop your career within a professional organisation.

Working locations

• Hybrid model, working in the London office and remotely

How to apply

• Apply to our website
• Please note: if you are an internal applicant, the Pay Policy will apply.

Policies

This is an excellent opportunity to work with contemporary thinkers in a progressive membership organisation. The successful candidate will join a strong brand with a reputation for excellence and legal expertise, committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion, and a culture of excellence, trust, clarity and respect.

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