Enterprise Operations Experienced Counsel for Red Hat EMEA (English qualified) Professional Lon[...] in London

The Red Hat Commercial Legal team is part of the IBM Legal function and is looking for an experienced counsel to join our EMEA commercial legal team in the UK, Ireland or in Munich/Germany. You will be responsible for supporting the EMEA Red Hat business. In this role, you will work on a globally dispersed team within the legal department to support Red Hat's sales and procurement activities in structuring, negotiating, and closing contracts. You'll also collaborate with our finance and product management teams. We’ll need you to have excellent communication skills to interact with internal and external business clients while addressing complex issues in an accurate and clear, yet thorough manner.

As an ideal candidate, you will have the personality and presence to thrive in a fast-paced environment, characterised by rapid business growth and a changing technology and business landscape. This position requires significant interaction with the highest levels of EMEA management and sophisticated business clients.

Your role and responsibilities

• Provide legal support for the quickly growing business of Red Hat in Europe, Middle East and Africa, the United Kingdom and Ireland belong to Red Hat's major markets in EMEA and will be one of the focus countries/regions (including the public sector business).
• Be responsible for the negotiation of Open Source software related contracts, including software licensing and software maintenance agreements; consulting agreements; reseller, distributor, cloud, hosting, OEM and other partner agreements.
• Be responsible for the negotiation of supply agreements for the growing demand of our procurement team.
• Educate customers about open source licensing and Red Hat's subscription business model.
• Design the deals with view to revenue recognition principles, support and coach sales‐teams on deal structure and contract negotiations.
• Be the central point of contact for the roll‐out of any new and updated agreements (including liaising with external counsel and translators).
• Act as interface between Sales, Operations and Finance.
• Coordinate with management, as appropriate, to ensure any and all contractual matters are handled in a timely, efficient, and cost‐effective manner and to ensure that processes and procedures will be developed and applied consistently.
• Serve as a point of contact for legal, intellectual property and policy issues for Red Hat EMEA executives.
• Serve as a trusted advisor and business partner by providing counsel and guidance for the accomplishment of overall business objectives of Red Hat, such as fostering a culture of innovation, while ensuring full compliance with applicable laws and regulations and avoiding unacceptable risks.
• Develop a thorough understanding of and familiarity with Red Hat's business, its people, products, technology, markets, facilities, customers and competitors to identify trends and formulate strategies accordingly.
• Collaborate with other members of the IBM legal function.
• Participate in region‐specific Legal initiatives and cross‐regional projects.

Required education

• Master's Degree.

Preferred education

• Master's Degree.

Required technical and professional expertise

• Master degree in law, preferably with an English legal qualification.
• The ideal candidate is admitted to the national bar or holds an equivalent qualification.
• 5+ years of professional experience as an attorney/in‐house lawyer, including substantial commercial transactional experience.
• Willingness to relocate to one of the above Red Hat offices, willingness to travel from time to time.
• Ability to speak, write and negotiate fluently in English and preferably another European language.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills; acute attention to detail; excellent analytical abilities.
• Ability to work independently, prioritise and execute flawlessly on multiple concurrent and often competing deliverables, whilst managing expectations of the business and meeting deadlines.
• Outstanding interpersonal skills, including diplomacy and flexibility, and the ability to interface effectively and engender trust and confidence with personnel at many different levels.
• Ability to work as a team member of the legal department in a scalable and accountable manner.
• Demonstrating flexibility and autonomy.
• Enthusiasm and self‐starter qualities enabling him or her to manage responsibilities with an appropriate sense of urgency; desire to make things happen.

Preferred technical and professional experience

• We believe in the strategic importance and the legal implications of Red Hat's business model. The ideal candidate would possess a blend of relevant contract transaction experience, software technology background, and a passion for our open source mission.
• Exposure to a US based company and understanding of the cultural nuances.
• Knowledge of the UK public sector business.

About IBM

IBM is proud to be an equal‐opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, pregnancy, disability, neurodivergence, age, or other characteristics protected by the applicable law. IBM is also committed to compliance with all fair employment practices regarding citizenship and immigration status.

Other relevant job details

For additional information about location requirements, please discuss with the recruiter following submission of your application.