Corporate Counsel for UK, Ireland & the Nordics (CC2023) Leatherhead, England
POSITION SUMMARY
The lawyer has responsibility for providing legal support for the local Zoetis organizations in UK, Ireland and the Nordics, including Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark.
You are expected to maximize, enable, guide, and protect Zoetis and to help advance business objectives of Zoetis under close cooperation with the respective commercial and enabling teams in those markets. As part of the legal department, You review, develop and design new business models for the Zoetis Group, especially in the areas of sale and marketing of pharmaceutical products and diagnostics services as well as marketing. This includes the legal conceptualization and validation of business concepts and the drafting and negotiation of contractual documentation with our partners and group companies as part of your duties.
This position will report into the Vice President & Chief Counsel of EuAfME, Canada, ANZ, South & Southeast Asia & Aquatic Health and is based in Leatherhead, Surrey.
POSITION AND RESPONSIBILITIES
• Legal business partner of the commercial operations and other business support teams like Finance, HR, Regulatory, etc. in the markets
• Negotiate and draft an extensive range of agreements, including distribution, supply, service, consulting, employment, marketing and sales agreements, and other commercial contracts.
• Ensure that business objectives are met in a compliant way by reviewing business activities, sales models, promotions and pricing programs, etc. under applicable anti-corruption, data protection and competition laws and internal compliance policies
• Prepare and provide compliance trainings to the business on a variety of compliance topics (anti-bribery and anti-corruption, competition law, privacy, etc.)
• Corporate secretarial work like preparation of board meetings, drafting of board minutes and shareholder meeting minutes
• Governance: Draft and update standard operation procedures and local policies
• Monitor trends and risks within the markets as well as legislative or regulatory changes impacting Zoetis’ business
• Management of litigation cases, especially in the area of product liability and competition law.
• Support of M&A activities of the Zoetis Business Development Team.
EDUCATION, LANGUAGE SKILLS & EXPERIENCE
• Language skills:
English: native speaker or excellent working proficiency
• Education:
Bachelor of Laws, ideally specialized in private law (commercial law, corporate law, contract law)
Demonstrating excellent academic track records
• Experience:
At least 4-5 years of legal experience required, preferably in private practice at a reputable law firm or in the life sciences sector or a multinational company as an in-house counsel or legal manager
TECHNICAL AND EMOTIONAL SKILLS REQUIREMENTS
• Team Player
• Interest to learn about the different cultures in the region
• High integrity
• Experience of working with compliance matters, distribution agreements, data protection and corporate governance
• Ability to exercise independent thinking while communicating a collaborative attitude
• Ability to provide concise, pragmatic, solution oriented and timely advice to the business whilst understanding the commercial and legal aspects
• Assertive, but also open to other approaches to solutions
• Ability to have a hands-on, proactive approach and to take initiatives where necessary
• Ability to duly and timely manage significant workload and priorities and to handle multiple tasks simultaneously
The position will require some travelling within the region of responsibility and occasionally outside the region.