Intellectual Property Counsel in Tadworth

Join the team behind iconic brands like Andrex®, Kleenex® and Kimberly-Clark Professional®. At Kimberly‑Clark, it’s all here for you—innovation, growth, and the chance to make a real impact. You’re not the person who will settle for just any role. Neither are we. Because we’re out to create Better Care for a Better World, and that takes a certain kind of person and teams who care about making a difference. Here, you’ll bring your professional expertise, talent, and drive to building and managing our portfolio of iconic, ground‑breaking brands. In this role, you’ll help us deliver better care for billions of people around the world. It starts with YOU.

About You

In one of our professional roles, you’ll focus on winning with consumers and the market, while putting safety, mutual respect, and human dignity at the center. As Intellectual Property (IP) Counsel for our International Family and Professional Care (IFP) business, you will act as a senior subject‑matter specialist for intellectual property matters, with primary responsibility for trademarks and brand protection and advanced involvement in patent‑related and innovation‑driven IP issues. You will partner closely with Marketing, Innovation, Supply Chain and Procurement teams to ensure IFP’s brands, innovations and IP assets are protected, leveraged and used effectively in line with business strategy and company policies. You will report directly to the Corporate General Counsel IFP and will be an individual contributor (no direct reports).

Location

We can offer a hybrid model (on remote / Walton Oaks Office) for candidates already based in the UK.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as the primary IP advisor for IFP trademark matters, owning day‑to‑day trademark strategy, portfolio management, clearance, registration, maintenance and lifecycle decision‑making.
• Provide authoritative guidance to Growth (Marketing and Brand) teams on trademark use, naming, packaging, advertising and brand extensions, balancing legal protection with commercial objectives.
• Lead and coordinate trademark enforcement and brand protection actions, including counterfeiting, infringement, product diversion and grey‑market matters, working with external counsel, platforms and authorities as required.
• Serve as the IFP point of contact for patent‑adjacent and innovation‑related IP matters, supporting invention disclosures, freedom‑to‑operate assessments, product launches and IP risk evaluations.
• Advise on IP provisions in commercial, Research & Development (R&D), licensing, procurement and supply chain agreements, including ownership, licensing, confidentiality and background/foreground IP structures.
• Proactively identify and manage IP‑related risks across the IFP portfolio, providing clear, risk‑based recommendations to senior business stakeholders.
• Contribute to cross‑functional and cross‑border IP projects impacting brand strategy, innovation and product development, ensuring alignment with enterprise IP strategy.
• Act as a go‑to IP specialist within IFP Legal, building trusted partnerships across global and regional Legal, Compliance and business teams.

Required Qualifications

• Qualified solicitor or equivalent, with approximately 6-10 years post‑qualification experience in intellectual property law.
• Substantial experience in trademarks and brand protection, with demonstrable exposure to patent, innovation or technology‑driven IP matters.
• Experience gained within an international organisation and/or reputable law firm; FMCG or regulated consumer‑facing experience preferred.
• Fluency in English.

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong commercial mindset with confidence exercising judgement on complex IP risk trade‑offs.
• Proven ability to operate effectively in a matrixed, global environment with limited supervision.
• Excellent communication, influencing and stakeholder‑management skills across senior business and technical teams.
• Willingness to travel internationally as required.

Benefits

We believe that our employees are our greatest asset, and we're committed to providing them with the resources they need to be successful. If you're looking for a rewarding career with a company that cares about its employees, then Kimberly‑Clark is the place for you. We offer competitive pay and benefits to employees and reward excellence and performance. Our belief in promoting a healthy work‑life balance drives us to support our employees’ total well‑being, offering comprehensive benefits not limited to gym memberships, private medical insurance, dental cover, employee assistance programme, cycle to work scheme, critical illness cover, travel insurance and a market leading defined contribution pension scheme. Certain benefits, such as flexible work schedules and parental leave, can be tailored to meet specific individual needs, giving our employees the flexibility to manage their commitments inside and outside of work. We are proud to be rated as a top 100 workplace for working mothers for two years in a row.

Additional Information

For Kimberly‑Clark to grow and prosper, we must be an inclusive organization that applies the diverse experiences and passions of its team members to brands that make life better for people all around the world, which is why we seek to build a workforce that encompasses the experiences of our consumers. When you bring your original thinking to Kimberly‑Clark, you fuel the continued success of our enterprise. We are a committed equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, pregnancy, genetic information, citizenship status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Employment is subject to verification of local policies. This role is available for local candidates already authorized to work in the role’s country only. Kimberly‑Clark will not provide relocation support for this role.