Director of Legal & Commercial Affairs in England

AEG is one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the world, with a significant presence in the UK and throughout Europe (trading as AEG Europe). This includes such iconic and large-scale music arenas as The O2 arena, Uber Arena in Berlin and Barclays Arena in Hamburg. AEG Presents, which is part of AEG, is one of the UK’s leading concert promoters, festival producers and, in the UK, also owns/operates smaller-sized venues such as the Eventim Apollo and Indigo at The O2 in London, the University of Wolverhampton at The Halls in Wolverhampton and the Watford Colosseum.

We are seeking a pro‑active, energetic and confident Director of Legal & Commercial Affairs with 10‑12 years post‑qualification experience to join our legal team and help manage the day‑to‑day legal requirements of AEG Europe and AEG Presents’ business activities, providing general legal advice and support in all areas of commercial contracting and operations. Based in the European head office in central London, the successful candidate will report to the SVP & General Counsel and will line manage a Legal Counsel while supporting the wider AEG Europe and AEG Presents legal team. They will have strong technical, drafting and communication skills as well as excellent leadership and mentoring capabilities, together with the ability to thrive in a challenging, fast paced and exciting environment.

ROLE AND DUTIES:

• Drafting, reviewing, negotiating and finalising a range of commercial agreement‑types, including sponsorship agreements (for venues and events), joint venture arrangements, venue hire agreements, agreements relating to hospitality offerings at AEG venues and events, ticketing and hospitality agreements, major artist performance contracts (including multi‑territory / international) and co‑promotion and sell‑off contracts with partners throughout Europe.
• Building constructive working relationships with AEG’s promoter, festival and venue teams and other senior staff to facilitate regular communication of deal terms and to support their legal requirements across the full breadth of the AEG Presents’ business areas.
• Managing a wide range of varied commercial deals across AEG’s music festivals and outdoor concerts (such as securing land rights, event production, artist performance, filming, contractor/service provider engagements and F&B operations); supporting venue operations, including third party hires, filming agreements, premises licence applications/variations, service provider agreements, and real estate and development‑related agreements (including drafting and negotiation of real estate documents such as licences to alter, licences to occupy spaces at AEG’s venues, reviewing tenant leases and other real estate documents in response to queries raised by the business).
• Providing general support and legal advice to the business, including compliance, data protection/GDPR (including working with the Data Protection Officer in respect of data protection related queries), insurance, company secretarial, health and safety, IP/trademarks, litigation, employment, NDAs, CAP code/ASA compliance, consumer rights, ticketing terms and conditions and website terms and policies; and assisting with the compilation, maintenance and updating of Legal department know‑how and assisting with the review and preparation of precedent agreements.

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE:

• A diligent, qualified lawyer with a current practising certificate for England and Wales and 10‑12 years post‑qualification experience.
• A strong track record in commercial negotiations and contracting.
• A demonstrable ability to build good working relationships across diverse business areas and functions.
• Ability, and enthusiasm, to provide support, supervision and developmental guidance to more junior members of the legal team (both for those directly line managed by the Director of Legal & Commercial Affairs and for others within the legal team).

DESIRABLE ATTRIBUTES:

• Previous in‑house experience as part of a commercial legal team.
• Experience within the venues/music/media industry (preferably in live music/events) with a keen interest and knowledge of the industry.
• Experience in corporate matters, including mergers and acquisitions, shareholder agreements, and joint ventures.
• A familiarity with real estate and construction matters such as lease and licence arrangements, and JCT construction contracts, as part of a broader in‑house role.

KEY SKILLS:

• The ability and experience to confidently and proactively lead on high‑level commercial negotiations in often dynamic and challenging environments.
• A practical, commercially‑focused, problem‑solving approach, with the ability to prioritise effectively in order to work at pace and meet demanding deadlines.
• Have a proven ability to work effectively as part of a team, ensure team goals are met and to establish good professional relationships with colleagues. In particular, a desire to embrace and thrive in a close knit, supportive and dynamic legal team which is highly respected across the AEG business.
• Well‑organised, thorough and able to cope with a diverse workload.
• Highly efficient and able to work autonomously, with a high level of independence, whilst also being able to identify key areas on which to seek supervision or a second opinion.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills are essential, with strong interpersonal skills and high emotional intelligence, and the ability to communicate confidently with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.
• A flexible and positive attitude to work.
• A good sense of humour and a love of the live music, sports and entertainment businesses!

This is a standout role for a senior commercial lawyer who wants to work at the heart of the live entertainment industry, leading complex commercial deals across music, sport, festivals and major venues across Europe. If you are interested in hearing more about this opportunity, please submit your CV via the apply button.