Europe Legal Counsel

About the GAC

GAC MOTOR Europe was registered in March 2024 in Amsterdam and is part of the Guangzhou Automobile Group. Our business covers all aspects of passenger car sales, marketing and aftersales services. We are dedicated to delivering quality work and exceptional customer service in all aspects of our business.

Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. (abbreviated as GAC group, 6601238.SH，02238.HK), headquartered in Guangzhou City, is a large joint-stock automobile enterprise listed in both Hongkong and Shanghai Stock exchanges. At present, it has about 100,000 employees. Fortunate Global 500 ranked No.181. The main business covers seven major sectors: research and development, vehicle, parts, energy and ecology, internationalization, commerce and transportation, investment and finance. Sticking to independent innovation and joint venture cooperation, GAC group is now transforming itself with all its strength to a technology-based enterprise. Adhering to the enterprise concept of 'Humanity', Credibility, Creativity', GAC is committed to building a world-class company which wins customers’ trust, ensures staff's well-being, and meets social expectations.

We are currently looking for Europe Legal Counsel, the details Job responsibilities as below:

About the Role

We are seeking a Europe Legal Counsel to join our Europe Legal Team at the European Regional Centre. This role will act as a practical and business-oriented legal partner for our European regional distributor business and the Netherlands-Belgium-Luxembourg NSC business, while also supporting project legal work, subsidiary legal needs, dispute resolution, contract template development, and regional regulatory monitoring.

Our legal structure consists of three layers: the HQ Legal Department, legal and compliance counsels at the European Regional Centre, and Subsidiary Counsel of each European subsidiary. The legal and compliance counsels at the European Regional Centre and the Subsidiary Counsel together form the Europe Legal Team.

The successful candidate will work closely with the HQ Legal Department, members of Europe Legal Team, business teams and external counsel. This is a hands-on in-house legal role for a lawyer who is strong in commercial contracts and negotiations, comfortable working with business stakeholders, and able to provide clear, practical and solution-oriented legal support in a fast-growing automotive business in Europe.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Business Partnering of Regional Distributor Business and Benelux NSC Business

• Act as a legal business partner for the European regional distributor business, providing practical legal support on distribution, sales, aftersales, warranty, spare parts, commercial policies and day-to-day business operations.

• Support the legal needs of the Netherlands-Belgium-Luxembourg NSC business, including local sales operations, fleet/key account business, procurement, marketing, customer-facing arrangements and other commercial activities.

• Work closely with business teams to understand commercial objectives, identify legal risks and provide clear, practical and solution-oriented recommendations.

• Prepare legal risk assessments, negotiation positions, decision materials and escalation notes for business stakeholders and management where required.

1. Commercial Contracts and Negotiations

• Draft, review and negotiate a broad range of commercial contracts and legal documents, including distribution agreements, dealer-related documents, service agreements, procurement contracts, fleet and leasing-related documents, aftersales agreements, marketing agreements, NDAs, addenda, policies, notices and settlement documents.

• Lead or support contract negotiations with distributors, dealers, service providers, suppliers, business partners and other counterparties.

• Ensure that contract terms are legally sound, commercially workable, aligned with internal policies and appropriate for the relevant market and transaction structure.

• Develop, update and optimise contract templates, clause libraries, negotiation playbooks, approval guidance and business-facing legal guidance for the European region.

1. Project Legal Support

• Support short-term legal projects and business-initiated standalone projects in the European region according to the work allocation and priorities set by the Legal Supervisor.

• Provide legal input on project structure, legal risks, contract arrangements, approval documents, external communications and implementation steps.

• Work with business teams to identify key legal issues at an early stage and provide practical recommendations to support timely project delivery.

• Coordinate with relevant Europe Compliance Counsel, Subsidiary Counsel and external counsel where the project involves specialist compliance topics, local law issues or multi-jurisdictional considerations.

• Prepare legal assessments, risk summaries, negotiation positions, project notes and management reporting materials where required.

• Maintain flexibility to take on additional project legal work according to changing business needs and the Legal Supervisor’s assignment.

1. Subsidiary Legal Support

• Provide legal support to European subsidiaries where the relevant Subsidiary Counsel is absent, not yet in place, temporarily unavailable or lacking sufficient capacity.

• Support day-to-day legal requests from subsidiaries in such circumstances, including contract review, legal consultation, business communication, document preparation and coordination with external counsel.

• Provide regional-level support on urgent, complex, cross-border or escalated subsidiary matters where involvement of the European Regional Centre is required.

• Work with Subsidiary Counsel to align legal positions, share regional templates and guidance, and ensure consistency across the Europe Legal Team.

• Escalate material risks, major disputes, regulatory issues or sensitive matters to the Legal Supervisor and, where necessary, the HQ Legal Department.

• Ensure that subsidiary legal support is provided in a practical and collaborative manner, while respecting the role of Subsidiary Counsel where such function is in place.

1. Dispute Resolution and Risk Management

• Support dispute resolution matters involving distributors, dealers, customers, suppliers, service providers, business partners and other external parties.

• Assist with pre-litigation disputes, claim letters, settlement discussions, termination issues, liability allocation, evidence collection and coordination with external counsel.

• Prepare legal analysis, correspondence, settlement proposals and internal reporting materials in relation to disputes.

• Support the Legal Supervisor in handling major disputes, regulatory investigations and crisis events where legal input, document preparation, factual analysis or business coordination is required.

• Help business teams identify potential disputes at an early stage and implement practical measures to reduce escalation risks.

1. Regulatory Monitoring Planning, Guidance and Supervision

• Plan and improve the European regulatory monitoring mechanism covering business, legal and compliance-related areas relevant to the European region.

• Guide and supervise the Junior Legal Counsel in carrying out day-to-day regulatory monitoring work, including information collection, preliminary screening, tracking, filing and regular reporting.

• Review regulatory monitoring outputs prepared by the Junior Legal Counsel, identify material developments requiring further assessment, and escalate important matters to the Legal Supervisor, relevant Europe Compliance Counsel, Subsidiary Counsel or HQ Legal Department where appropriate.

• Coordinate with the relevant Europe Compliance Counsel on specialist compliance topics, including data privacy, Data Act, information security, AI, competition, product liability, product safety, advertising, employment, IP, ESG, trade compliance, corporate governance, risk control and internal control.

• Translate key regulatory developments into practical legal alerts, business impact assessments, implementation suggestions or follow-up action plans where required.

• Support the Legal Supervisor in maintaining a structured, consistent and region-wide approach to regulatory monitoring and regulatory response.

1. Contract System and Legal Process Improvement

• Conduct the development and optimisation of contract templates, standard clauses, negotiation positions, legal review checklists and practical guidance materials.

• Contribute to improving legal review processes, approval flows and risk control standards for recurring business scenarios.

• Share practical legal knowledge and contract experience with other members of the Europe Legal Team.

• Support the Legal Supervisor in improving the efficiency, consistency and business value of the European legal function.

What You Bring:

• Legal education in Dutch law or Belgian law, at least at bachelor level, is required. A Master’s degree in Dutch law, Belgian law, EU law, commercial law, corporate law or another relevant legal field is strongly preferred.

• Fluency in English and Dutch is mandatory; French language capability is strongly preferred, particularly for Benelux and wider European business support; Chinese or another European language is a plus.

• Minimum 3 years of relevant legal experience is required; 4–7 years of relevant experience is preferred.

• Experience in an international in-house legal department or international law firm environment is preferred.

• Strong experience in commercial contract drafting, review, negotiation and risk assessment.

• Experience supporting business teams in cross-border or multi-jurisdictional matters.

• Experience in automotive, manufacturing, mobility, distribution, retail, consumer goods, technology or international trade sectors is advantageous.

• Familiarity with automotive distribution, dealer network matters, aftersales, warranty, consumer protection, product liability, product safety, competition, marketing and general commercial regulatory issues is preferred.

• Contract Capability: Strong ability to draft, review, negotiate and improve commercial contracts; able to identify key legal and commercial risks and propose workable drafting solutions.

• Negotiation Skills: Confident in negotiations with external counterparties; able to protect the company’s legal position while maintaining constructive commercial relationships.

• Business Acumen: Practical, solution-oriented approach; ability to translate complex legal and compliance requirements into actionable business guidance; do not simply say “I don’t care”.

• Legal Judgement: Sound ability to distinguish material risks from low-impact issues, prioritise legal input accordingly, and escalate matters where appropriate.

• Project and Process Management: Ability to plan legal workstreams, guide junior team members, supervise recurring legal processes such as regulatory monitoring, and drive matters to completion.

• Analytical & Organizational Skills: Strong analytical thinking combined with excellent organizational capabilities and attention to detail.

• Communication: Excellent written and verbal communication skills; able to explain legal issues clearly to non-legal stakeholders.

• Stakeholder Management: Comfortable working with the multiple layers, internal and external stakeholders across different jurisdictions and cultures.

• Adaptability: Comfortable working in a dynamic, fast-paced international business environment with evolving priorities.

• Integrity: Strong ethical compass and commitment to integrity.

• Innovation: Open to innovative approaches and willing to experiment with AI tools for legal work.

• Team Spirit: Willing to contribute to the growth of a new Europe Legal Team, support colleagues, share knowledge and build practical legal systems together.

About What We Are Doing

We are a new Europe Legal Team building up a brilliant in-house legal and compliance system from the ground up. It will not be an easy journey. But it will be a great one.

Join us and BE PART OF IT.

✨ What We Offer:

• An ambitious employer; we only want the best for you.

• A fast career track like only few other companies can match.

• A competitive salary and excellent bonus structure (above market); at GAC we strongly believe and live by ownership and meritocracy.

• Additional benefits such as Commuting Allowance, Lunch Allowance & communication allowance reimbursements.

• 30 days annual leaves+ Good Friday+ Public holidays.

GAC Europe is based in Amsterdam, and we offer a highly competitive compensation and benefits package, along with an attractive welfare policy. Let me know if you'd like to learn more.

If you have any questions, you may always reach out via [email protected].

Company website INTERNATIONAL | Where Craft Meets Technology

We are committed to creating a work environment of trust and respect for our employee, which we believe will motivate them to achieve their dreams together. Our employees and partners have always been relentless in their pursuit of excellence in the face of challenges. We are very proud of what we have achieved, and we are proud of our leadership. We hope you will give full play to your talents and help make GAC a world-class company.