In-house Commercial Counsel (Procurement)

Inhouse Commercial Counsel (Procurement) ABJ7527

South East up to c100k + Bonus + Exceptional benefits

As an experienced Inhouse Commercial Counsel (in-house lawyer) you will provide specialist commercial legal advice and expertise to the Operations function of a global organisation where you will specialise in Procurement and Finance.

As an Inhouse Commercial Counsel ("English qualified Lawyer") you will work within a global operations function providing proactive and business relevant legal counselling of a high professional standard on all aspects of procurement arrangements, including development, services, manufacturing and supply agreements.

Key Responsibilities

• Acting as commercial counsel to the Operations Function, with a focus on all aspects of third-party procurement, supplier relationships, and providing strategic input to support Operations business initiatives.
• Structuring, negotiating, drafting, and advising on execution of procurement transactions including development agreements, services agreements, manufacturing and supply agreements.
• Identifying and mitigating legal risk in proposed and operational commercial arrangements (including risks relating to intellectual property, data protection, tax, competition and compliance risks), advising on the escalation and resolution of contractual disputes, and about contract termination.
• Providing guidance on application of Group policies, procedures and governance to proposed and operational third party and intra-group arrangements.
• Advising on the presentation of proposed transactional matters for consideration and approval by the appropriate leadership team, board or committee.
• Providing strategic advice and commercial counselling directly to the Operations Function and Procurement senior managers to support the operation of key contractual arrangements in place with suppliers.
• Instructing and managing external legal counsel in relation to complex, high profile and/or strategically important transactions and other advice, reviewing output, and controlling and approving spend.
• Ensuring good information flows between business contacts, Legal Affairs, and other business partners about business initiatives to optimise commercial opportunities and manage risks.
• Supporting other Legal Counsel within Ops & Commercial Legal as and when required.

Qualifications / Experience

• English qualified lawyer with post qualification (Lawyers qualified in similar common law jurisdictions (e.g. Australia) may be considered.
• Several years’ experience gained in a large national or international law firm or as in-house counsel for a major multi-national company.
• Excellent written and spoken English

• Experience and expertise in commercial law and practice, with a proven track record of advising on complex and high-value global frameworks and cross-border transactions and other operations contractual arrangements.

• Excellent legal drafting skills with an ability to identify and advise on compliance risk and cross-border issues
• Strong negotiation and project management skills, and ability to plan, anticipate and manage priorities to optimise output and enhance the effectiveness of commercial solutions throughout the contract lifecycle
• Business acumen in order to advise the business on how to deliver results whilst managing legal risk
• Hands-on and flexible attitude, sound commercial judgement, and ability to work under pressure and to cope with unexpected and varied demands
• Good awareness of legal issues relating to intellectual property, competition, employment, tax and compliance (e.g. sanctions, anti-bribery) to enable potential issues to be identified at an early stage of a transaction or initiative, and an understanding of legal duty of care issues in the context of product liability.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills and a high degree of emotional intelligence.

Hybrid working

Salary dependent on experience up to 100k Base Package - Bonus: 40% | Holiday: 25 days | Pension: 20% Please contact Alison Basson