Corporate Counsel - French Speaking

As we continue to build our team in support of our vision to be the world’s best and most trusted mobility company, the Corporate Legal Group is excited to announce the opening for a Corporate Counsel (Backfill). This is an exciting opportunity for a 7+ year qualified lawyer with experience developing and managing lawyers in the department who will support our global business operations, commercial sales efforts and procurement activities and be an integral part of our global collaborative legal team. This position is office-based, headquartered in Egham, Surrey, near London. The successful candidate will be a member of our worldwide Legal Group.

We deliver our legal services through a highly matrixed, cross-departmental functional teams focused on particular specialisms, including Commercial Sales, Procurement, Real Estate, Marketing, Intellectual Property, Technology/SaaS/PaaS agreements, Data Protection (connected vehicles), M&A, Litigation, ESG, Electrification and new technology. This role will also have a strong focus on negotiating commercial contracts (both sales and procurement) as well as concession agreements with our airport partners, collaborating in each area with business stakeholders and colleagues in the Legal Group, in their areas of expertise, in Europe, with a principal focus on our business needs in France.

Experience negotiating retail concessions or property licensing would be advantageous, along with significant experience in structuring, drafting and reviewing a wide array of procurement agreements, including master service agreements, goods sale/purchase agreements, solicitations and other complex legal documents. This is a fantastic role for a candidate looking to join a driven and dynamic team and develop their career in an industry-leading in-house legal function.

With the convergence of mobility solutions, the advent of internet-connected vehicles and roll-out of alternative fuelled and electric vehicles, the next 5 years promises to re-write the landscape in traditional vehicle mobility. As the industry evolves, we’ll be embracing new types of business that will require lawyers who are comfortable learning and advising on new areas and coming up with creative solutions to the issues of the day. We’re looking for a lawyer that can think through problems, navigate the legal and regulatory environment, and find ways to facilitate all this change.

Responsibilities:

• Effectively maintain and cultivate relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including colleagues in the EU and US team to learn, support and create consistency in our legal advice;
• Assess our business needs/requirements, research issues, and provide legal advice and direction to minimize business risks and support our business teams and leadership;
• Assume the lead role in negotiating and drafting a broad range of commercial contracts for customers and suppliers;
• Provide guidance and support to other lawyers and develop materials and processes to support and improve our business and the Legal Group;
• Rely on experience-based knowledge and leadership to plan and accomplish goals and bring a wide degree of creativity and sound business judgment and know when to escalate issues to senior management;
• Monitor, track and report on industry-related topics and changes in the law;
• Manage and be responsible for your own workload, take the initiative to prioritise work with stakeholders, manage tight and moving deadlines and remain calm under pressure and have the agility and judgment to effectively balance multiple requests and competing priorities;
• Be driven, have excellent attention to detail and ability to self-correct, be diligent in your responsibilities and the confidential nature of the role;
• Be comfortable working independently and for the benefit of the team as a whole and coming up with initiatives to improve the team.

Competency Based Qualifications:

• Qualification as a lawyer in one or more European jurisdictions with a civil law system required (qualification in France a plus) with significant experience of commercial law and the drafting, review and negotiation of complex, lengthy commercial contracts on 3rd party paper with reasonably minimal supervision.
• Fluent in French and English; additional language skills (Spanish or German) are a plus;
• Intermediate level proficiency in Microsoft Office products (i.e., Teams, Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook).
• Training or experience working in France or on French contracts or projects (experience in additional jurisdictions is a plus).
• High level of professionalism and integrity; strong ethical standards, and work ethic.
• An understanding and sensitivity to maintaining confidential information.
• Strong time management and organizational skills.
• Comfortable working independently or in a team and agility and judgment to balance multiple requests and competing priorities.
• Outstanding interpersonal skills, including verbal communication skills and writing & drafting skills.
• High level of attention to detail and process.
• Proven leadership skills, including demonstrated experience developing others.

Additional Information:

Please let us know about any accommodations you may need to participate in the recruitment process.

Location: Egham, Surrey, TW20 9FB (Plenty of free on site parking and approx. 10 minutes walk from Egham station)

Hybrid, 3 days in the office, 2 days working from home.

Salary: Competitive

Hours: 45 hours per week