Sr Commercial Counsel

Why work for us?

A career at Janus Henderson is more than a job, it’s about investing in a brighter future together. 

Our Mission at Janus Henderson is to help clients define and achieve superior financial outcomes through differentiated insights, disciplined investments, and world-class service. We will do this by protecting and growing our core business, amplifying our strengths and diversifying where we have the right.

Our Values are key to driving our success, and are at the heart of everything we do:

Clients Come First - Always | Execution Supersedes Intention | Together We Win | Diversity Improves Results | Truth Builds Trust

If our mission, values, and purpose align with your own, we would love to hear from you!

Your opportunity

The Senior Commercial Counsel (Technology) will provide senior legal support for Janus Henderson’s commercial contracting activity, with a particular focus on technology, software, SaaS, cloud, data, outsourcing, AI-enabled solutions and other emerging technology arrangements. The role will partner closely with Strategic Sourcing, Technology, Information Security, Data Privacy, Compliance, Business Continuity, Finance and business stakeholders to deliver pragmatic, risk-based legal advice and support efficient, consistent and commercially effective contracting outcomes.

The successful candidate will be an experienced commercial contracts lawyer who can lead complex negotiations, advise on legal and regulatory risk, develop playbooks and templates, support contracting standards, and provide day-to-day supervision and guidance to Contract Managers and other contracting support resources. The role requires strong judgment, excellent drafting skills, comfort operating in a regulated financial services environment, and the ability to translate complex legal, regulatory and technology issues into clear, practical advice for business stakeholders.

• Draft, review and negotiate a broad range of commercial agreements, including software, SaaS, cloud, AI-enabled technology, market data, professional services, consulting, outsourcing, managed services, fund services, data processing, confidentiality, statements of work, order forms, amendments and renewal documentation.
• Lead negotiations on complex and higher-risk supplier arrangements, including outsourcing and fund services agreements and those involving access to Janus Henderson systems, confidential information, personal data, ICT services, critical business processes, AI/ML functionality or regulated outsourcing considerations.
• Provide practical legal advice on key contractual issues, including liability, indemnities, warranties, intellectual property, data protection, confidentiality, information security, audit rights, service levels, exit assistance, subcontracting, assignment, regulatory access, resilience and termination rights.
• Advise on emerging technology contracting risks, including AI governance, responsible use, model/output risk, vendor use of customer data, training data restrictions, explainability, human oversight, IP ownership, confidentiality, cybersecurity, bias, operational resilience and vendor accountability.
• Manage Janus Henderson’s trademark portfolio, including oversight of trademark registrations, renewals, clearances, brand protection matters, enforcement support and coordination with external counsel where required.
• Support alignment of supplier contracts with applicable data privacy and protection requirements, including GDPR, UK GDPR, CCPA/CPRA and other relevant privacy and data protection regulations, as well as Janus Henderson data privacy standards and privacy-by-design expectations.
• Support DORA-related contracting and governance requirements for ICT third-party service providers, including review of contractual provisions relating to access, audit, information security, subcontracting, incident notification, service continuity, exit, termination and regulatory cooperation.
• Develop, maintain and improve legal playbooks, fallback positions, clause libraries, templates, guidance notes, risk matrices and training materials to support consistent contracting positions and scalable legal review.
• Provide day-to-day supervision, coaching and escalation support to Contract Managers and other contracting support resources, including guidance on issue spotting, drafting quality, negotiation strategy and appropriate escalation thresholds.
• Partner with Strategic Sourcing to support sourcing strategy, negotiation planning, supplier due diligence, renewal management and commercially effective outcomes for material vendor relationships.
• Collaborate with Information Security, Data Privacy, Compliance, Business Continuity, Records Management, Architecture and Technology teams to ensure supplier arrangements are reviewed and managed in accordance with applicable governance requirements.
• Help triage contracting requests, prioritize legal support based on risk and business impact, and improve workflow discipline across intake, review, negotiation, approval, execution and repository processes.
• Identify recurring negotiation issues, process gaps, bottlenecks and opportunities for standardization, automation or improved stakeholder experience.
• Support internal training for Legal, Strategic Sourcing, Contract Managers and business stakeholders on contracting standards, privacy, DORA, AI contracting considerations and third-party risk issues.
• Carry out other duties as assigned.

What to expect when you join our firm

• Hybrid working and reasonable accommodations
• Generous Holiday policies
• Excellent Health and Wellbeing benefits including corporate membership to Wellhub
• Paid volunteer time to step away from your desk and into the community
• Support to grow through professional development courses, tuition/qualification reimbursement and more
• Maternal/paternal leave benefits and family services
• All employee events including networking opportunities and social activities
• Lunch allowance for use within our subsidized onsite canteen

Must-have skills

• Qualified lawyer in good standing in an appropriate jurisdiction, with strong post-qualification experience in commercial contracts, technology contracting, outsourcing, financial services, privacy, procurement legal support or a related practice area.
• Significant experience drafting and negotiating complex commercial agreements, including technology, software, SaaS, cloud, professional services, outsourcing, fund services, data processing and confidentiality arrangements.
• Strong understanding of commercial contracting principles, including limitation of liability, indemnities, warranties, IP ownership and licensing, confidentiality, data protection, service levels, audit rights, termination, exit assistance and dispute resolution.
• Strong knowledge of data privacy and protection regulations and contracting requirements, including GDPR, UK GDPR and other relevant privacy regimes.
• Working knowledge of DORA and related operational resilience, ICT third-party risk, outsourcing and regulatory access requirements relevant to financial services firms.
• Demonstrated ability to advise on legal and contractual risks associated with AI, machine learning, automation, cloud, data analytics and other emerging technologies.
• Experience developing legal playbooks, templates, clause libraries, fallback positions, training materials or process guidance for legal, procurement or contracting teams.
• Experience supervising, coaching or providing quality review for paralegals, Contract Managers, junior lawyers or contracting support teams.
• Excellent drafting, negotiation, analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to provide clear, practical and risk-based advice.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, including the ability to engage senior business partners, influence outcomes and communicate complex legal issues in plain English.
• Highly organized and able to manage multiple matters, deadlines and stakeholder priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Sound judgment, integrity and professionalism when handling confidential legal, commercial, supplier, client, employee and business information.

Nice-to-have skills

• Experience in asset management, investment management, banking, insurance, fintech or another regulated financial services environment.
• Experience supporting global contracting activity across the US, UK, EMEA and APAC.
• Familiarity with procurement, contract lifecycle management, vendor risk, e-signature, workflow or reporting platforms such as Agiloft, DocuSign, Coupa, SAP Ariba, Ironclad, OneTrust, Power BI or similar tools.
• Experience supporting third-party risk management, vendor onboarding, information security reviews, privacy reviews, business continuity reviews or audit-readiness activities.
• Experience advising on AI governance, AI procurement, AI vendor diligence, model risk, data governance, cybersecurity, information security, outsourcing or operational resilience.
• Experience advising on intellectual property matters, including copyright, patents, trademarks, IP ownership, licensing and protection of technology-related deliverables.
• Interest in helping build a scalable commercial contracts function that combines legal expertise, contracting operations, procurement discipline and technology-enabled workflows.

Supervisory responsibilities

• The role is expected to provide day-to-day supervision, coaching, quality review and escalation support to paralegals, Contract Managers and other contracting support resources. Formal line management responsibilities may apply depending on team structure and business need.

Potential for growth

• Mentoring
• Leadership development programs
• Regular training
• Career development services
• Continuing education courses

You will be expected to understand the regulatory obligations of the firm and abide by the regulated entity requirements and JHI policies applicable for your role. 

At Janus Henderson Investors we’re committed to an inclusive and supportive environment. We believe diversity improves results and we welcome applications from candidates from all backgrounds. Don’t worry if you don’t think you tick every box, we still want to hear from you! We understand everyone has different commitments and while we can’t accommodate every flexible working request we’re happy to be asked about work flexibility and our hybrid working environment. If you need any reasonable accommodations during our recruitment process, please get in touch and let us know at recruiter@janushenderson.com.

#LI-MM1 #LI-Hybrid

Annual Bonus Opportunity: Position may be eligible to receive an annual discretionary bonus award from the profit pool. The profit pool is funded based on Company profits. Individual bonuses are determined based on Company, department, team and individual performance. 

Benefits: Janus Henderson is committed to offering a comprehensive total rewards package to eligible employees that includes; competitive compensation, pension/retirement plans, and various health, wellbeing and lifestyle benefits. To learn more about our offerings please visit the Why Join Us section on the career page here.

Janus Henderson Investors is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status. All applications are subject to background checks.

Janus Henderson (including its subsidiaries) will not maintain existing or sponsor new industry registrations or licenses where not supported by an employee’s job functions (as determined by Janus Henderson at its sole discretion).

You should be willing to adhere to the provisions of our Investment Advisory Code of Ethics related to personal securities activities and other disclosure and certification requirements, including past political contributions and political activities. Applicants’ past political contributions or activity may impact applicants’ eligibility for this position.

You will be expected to understand the regulatory obligations of the firm, and abide by the regulated entity requirements and JHI policies applicable for your role.