Legal Counsel

Our client, a prominent player in the FMCG industry, is currently seeking a Legal Counsel Operations professional to join their team on a contract basis. This role is focused on providing dedicated legal support on a specific programme.

Key Responsibilities:

Legal Coordination (Global & Markets)

Engage with regional and local legal teams to assess legal and regulatory implications of proposed supplier changes
Support consistent interpretation of legal constraints raised by markets
Drive alignment across jurisdictions while allowing for local requirements

Contracting & Commercial Support

Support re-opening and amendment of existing supplier contracts, including payment term changes
Provide legal input into contractual mechanisms (amendments, variations, side letters)
Review and support development of standardised contractual approaches and templates

Programme Tracking & Governance

Maintain oversight of contract changes, legal sign-offs and key issues
Track progress against programme timelines and escalate delays or risks
Support reporting into programme governance forums

Risk & Compliance

Identify and manage key legal risks, including local law/payment term restrictions, contract enforceability, and supplier engagement risks
Ensure compliance with governance frameworks such as UKCAP and SoDA

Stakeholder Engagement

Partner with Procurement, Finance and programme leadership
Support development of supplier communication strategies and negotiation positions
Act as a pragmatic legal advisor within a fast-paced programme environment

Job Requirements:

Essential Skills & Experience

Qualified lawyer (or equivalent professional experience)
Strong commercial contracts experience, ideally within procurement or supply chain
Experience managing multi-jurisdictional legal matters
Ability to operate independently with minimal supervision
Strong stakeholder engagement and communication skills

Desirable Skills & Experience

Experience supporting global transformation or cost optimisation programmes
Familiarity with indirect procurement and supplier contracting models

Personal Attributes:

Highly organised with strong tracking and delivery discipline
Pragmatic, solutions-oriented and commercially focused
Comfortable operating in a high-profile, fast-paced global project
Collaborative and able to work across functional and geographic boundaries

Additional Information:

Contract role to end-2027
Dedicated to a Project (primary focus), with limited flexibility to support wider Ops Legal team if required
If you are a qualified legal professional seeking a dynamic role within a global organisation, we would love to hear from you
Only candidates based in UK and eligible to work in UK are allowed