Office Locations: Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Bolton, Southport, Newcastle, Reading, Birmingham, Northampton
Hybrid working available – with the flexibility to work from home and collaborate in-office when needed. We believe we offer our colleagues the best hybrid and flexible working practices, balancing working from home with time collaborating and socialising with colleagues in our modern offices.
We are seeking an exceptional Head of Costs Litigation to join our Costs Department at a senior leadership level. Reporting directly to the Director of Costs, this is a pivotal role responsible for driving the Costs Litigation strategy, leading high-performing teams, and ensuring first-class client service alongside operational excellence.
This opportunity will suit an experienced Costs Lawyer or Solicitor with a proven track record of departmental leadership, strong commercial awareness, and the ability to inspire and develop teams in a fast-paced, performance-driven environment. The successful candidate will play a key role in shaping strategy, managing risk, improving productivity, and supporting continued growth across the department, while upholding the highest professional and regulatory standards.
In Return Fletchers Offers
35 hours working week
Bonus scheme (subject to targets being met)
35 days holiday a year including bank holidays and Christmas Closure, you also have an option to purchase up to 3 extra days' holiday per year, until you long service award the 3 days after your 5th, 7th, and 9th full year of employment
Pension scheme with tax-efficient salary sacrifice option
Life Assurance Policy
Medicash policy to cover some dental, optical and other medical expenses
Company sick pay
Enhanced Maternity, Paternity and IVF schemes
Flexible, agile working environment with a positive work-life balance
Varied calendar of funded company social events (check out Fletchers Group on LinkedIn)
Monthly voucher awards for winning nominees
A genuinely supportive and friendly culture
Ongoing training and professional development opportunities
Main Responsibilities
Team Financial Performance KPIs & Timescales Accountable for:
The effective delivery of the Costs Litigation Strategy, KPI performance and delivery of individual and team targets,
Accuracy of MI and reporting,
Overall compliance with court deadlines and compliance with professional undertakings.
Case Management & Risk Management Accountable For
Risk management and control. Preparing a monthly risk report by department
Proactive case management across the department, compliance with litigation strategy and department policy and ensuring that audit and checking policies are adhered to, with outcomes being monitored and actions for remedy or redress being taken
Compliance across the designated teams with the code of conduct as set out by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority and The Costs Lawyers Standards Board, reporting any issues to the Director of Costs and/or the Compliance Team.
Ensuring that client complaints about team or individual performance are proactively dealt with and reported to the Director of Costs, if appropriate.
Support the Director of Costs in respect of setting strategy and supporting change, as required.
Manage Supervisors to ensure an even distribution of work to support team teams to hit targets, through a right work in the right hands approach.
People & Performance Management
Ensure effective communication and engagement across the team with visible and inspirational leadership.
Lead, manage and develop the team to deliver results through coaching and mentoring, generate a vibrant, positive team-oriented culture focused on delivering customer excellence.
Accountable for providing direction to team members, including setting policies for the allocation of work, and dealing with priorities, ensuring adherence to those policies and
procedures, and resolving issues concerning team member performance in a fair and consistent manner.
Demonstrate leadership and effective decision making that enables the team to operate competently, efficiently, and compliantly, preventing difficult issues and mistakes.
Accountable for ensuring that all professionally qualified team members meet their annual Continued Professional Development requirement, with assistance from L&D and the Supervisors, with a keen eye to budgetary constraints and effective methods of delivery.
In conjunction with the L&D team, Costs Director, other Heads of Costs, and Supervisors identify the development needs of individual team members, being accountable for the delivery of development plans across teams.
Conduct monthly 121's with Team Leaders
Carry out utilization, resource optimisation and capacity planning, in conjunction with the Director of Costs to ensure the appropriate level of resources/skills are available to deliver our service within the teams.
Promote Wisdom, Kindness & Strength by maintaining our values of Trust, Customer, Innovation, Performance & Development.
Promote a culture of teamwork and encouragement, rewarding good performance, productivity, and success to achieve our collective goals.
Accountable for ensuring all people management policies and procedures are adopted, in conjunction with HR and The Director of Costs, to include recruitment, induction and exit management, sickness/absence, holiday and performance management.
Act as appropriate support to any team within the department to ensure necessary impartiality in investigative and disciplinary matters as may be appropriate.
Accountable for recruitment decisions in respect of the team, subject to strategic and budgetary approval of the role by the Director of Costs.
General
Keep abreast of all legal developments and changes to the law to lead the department with an appropriate level of awareness.
Collaborate as appropriate with all leaders in the Costs Department and/or the wider business to improve and maintain the general organisational effectiveness of the costs department ensuring that policy, systems, and procedures across the costs department are reviewed and aligned as 'always fit for purpose'.
Assist legal stakeholders with costs related support that promotes the customer journey and fair and effective costs recovery.
Contribute by making suggestions or recommendations to make more effective use of case management software for the costs process.
Accountable for the maintenance of the departments Costs Litigation Strategy.
Provide clear support for operational changes and drive change management
Undertake any ad hoc project work as required.
Act as Key Account Manager to clients identified through the Key Account Policy.
Any other reasonable duties required for the delivery of our service or our responsibilities to external stakeholder.
Essential Skills And Experience
Costs Lawyer or Solicitor
Proven experience as a Head of Department or equivalent position
Excellent organisational and leadership abilities
Outstanding communication and people skills
Excellent knowledge of data analysis and performance/operation metrics
Familiarity with MS Office and relevant business software
A good understanding of how to ensure and grow departmental productivity
Ability to build and maintain networks of internal and external stakeholders
Excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to form positive working relationships with a wide variety of colleagues
Strong analytical skills
We reserve the right to close this role before the date specified depending on the calibre and volume of candidates.
About Fletchers Group
Fletchers is a fast-growing, dynamic law firm specialising in personal injury and clinical negligence law, with outstanding rankings in both The Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners. Following several strategic acquisitions, we've evolved into the Fletchers Group, with ambitious plans for continued growth and innovation.
We aspire to be the best place to work in the legal sector.
Our workplace culture is inclusive, informal, and supportive, with a strong focus on colleague wellbeing and happiness. We are proud to offer some of the best hybrid and flexible working arrangements in the industry — because we understand that balance drives performance.
At Fletchers, we also value connection and collaboration. We create exciting opportunities for teams to come together and thrive. Whether you're starting your career or aiming for leadership, you'll find a clear path to progress and development here — from apprenticeships and professional qualifications to senior roles and Partnership.
We seek out a broad range of challenging, high-quality legal work, enabling our people to build meaningful and progressive careers. And we don't just talk about development — we invest in it, with a significant proportion of our colleagues working towards relevant qualifications at any given time.
We reward those who help build our success and live our values. Our benefits package is designed to grow with you, offering real opportunities to share in our long-term strength. Our base pay and bonus structure is built to recognise and reward high performance.
Join us and be part of a law firm that's not only growing, but redefining what it means to work in legal services.
Fletchers Group is an inclusive employer with a diverse workforce: we welcome applications from any and all backgrounds. We're committed to providing a culture and environment where everyone can thrive, understanding and celebrating that no colleague is the same. We're proud of our work on the Disability Confident scheme, signed up to BITC's Race at Work charter, and working towards Henpicked's Menopause and Menstrual Friendly accreditations.