The Senior Counsel, N. America is responsible for effectively managing the
legal aspects of indirect procurement transactions managed by Mars Global
Services (MGS) —primarily supporting Commercial and Digital Technologies.
Covered transactions include technology & data and non-technology (general
services, consulting, logistics, capital equipment purchase, leases, media,
etc.) procurement across the globe. This is a strategic role and business
partner for the service lines across MGS and is accountable to provide legal
support for decisions to grow business, manage legal risks and protect the
brands and reputation while ensuring compliance with company policies and
laws. This role will need to quickly establish strong working relationships
with MGS senior leaders and their teams and be able to navigate the complex
legal issues created by working in a fast-paced environment. The Senior
Counsel will be skilled at creating collaborative relationships across MGS
service lines, and with other key stakeholders within Mars’ Legal Department
(e.g., Segments, Compliance, Intellectual Property, Marketing Properties,
Corporate, Food Law and Privacy.)
This role can be based in Newark, NJ or Chicago, IL.
**What are we looking for?**
* J.D. from an accredited law school with 8+ years of general corporate legal experience required, ideally with experience in either a well-respected law firm or within the legal department of an international company.
* Broad-based legal experience supporting a consumer business, including drafting and negotiating a variety of commercial agreements.
* Expert at legal issue spotting, contract negotiation and drafting. Expert in negotiating technology transactions (IT & Data) with a solid understanding of data privacy & security and intellectual property issues. Capable of analyzing and resolving complex legal issues from a commercial perspective.
* Solid business acumen. Knowledgeable in current and possible future trends, policies, practices, technology, data, and information affecting the business.
* Have strong ethics and values. One who is pragmatic but willing to draw “a line in the sand” when legal compliance or the 5 Principles requires her/him to do so.
* Must be client focused, a self-starter, learns on the fly, enthusiastic, highly motivated with a bias for action and able to function independently in a “hands-on” environment. Ability to work independently or within a team as required, including as part of cross-functional/segment and cross-regional teams.
* Excellent organization, execution, and project management skills. Ability to multi-task, prioritize, collaborate, handle unanticipated situations effectively and work well under pressure with tight deadlines to ensure timely and appropriate response to issues raised. Knowledgeable about how organizations work and how to get things done both through formal channels and the informal network.
* Excellent written and oral communication skills. Strong interpersonal, relationship and influencing skills.
* Agile, great collaborator, seeks input, and works well to meet both personal, team and organization goals.
* Good common sense and sound judgment which considers short-term needs and long-term consequences.
**What will be your key responsibilities?**
* Serves as single point of contact for Commercial and Digital Technologies in N. America for procurement transactions requiring legal support.
* Structure, draft, review, support the negotiation of agreements for indirect procurement, including complex technology transactions (IT outsourcing, software development & licensing, Software as a Service, Platform as a Service, application development, data analytics, e-commerce & digital marketing, AI and predictive analytics, etc.) and non-IT related transactions.
* Have a strong understanding and working knowledge of intellectual property rights and help protect Mars IP assets by negotiating standard Mars IP guidelines and policies.
* Be well networked in the data privacy industry and able to bring leading thinking, external best practices and innovations for information security, data analytics, data usage and digital marketing for B2B & D2C opportunities.
* Understand and apply Mars data privacy & information security policies and guidelines consistent with regulatory and internal requirements.
* Work effectively with other members of the Mars legal team, including closely with the Chief Data Privacy Officer and the Data Privacy Office, and be the first point of contact using Mars Privacy Policies to negotiate privacy related matters with suppliers
* Engage and provide legal support and advice to Mars Associates for various projects and transactional support from the pre-contracting stage through contract negotiations by directly negotiating contracts with legal counsel for suppliers.
* Revise and update existing contract templates for procurement related transactions.
* Train Commercial and Digital Technologies buyers on various aspects of the law relating to their category of spend.
* Advise and make timely recommendations to Commercial and Digital Technologies on contract terms, terminations, dispute resolution and management of litigation through external counsel.
* Collaborate with relevant members of the Legal Department on dispute resolution and litigation relating to procurement contracts.
* Collaborate with legal and non-legal Associates on process improvement (end to end) initiatives and be the point of contact for legal.
* In the context of procurement transactions, use practical and effective risk assessment and opportunities to evaluate and mitigate risks, and influence business decisions considering such assessments.
* Where relevant, supervise the work of external legal counsel to ensure that transactions and litigation matters are supported with quality and efficiency in a cost-effective manner.
* Assist in management of relevant legal budgets in consultation with the MGS Associate General Counsel.
* Collaborate and partner with the regional business stakeholders and relevant members of the Legal Department across the globe.
**What can you expect from Mars?**
* Work with over 130,000 like-minded and talented Associates, all guided by The Five Principles.
* Join a purpose driven company, where we’re striving to build the world we want tomorrow, today.
* Best-in-class learning and development support from day one, including access to our in-house Mars University.
* An industry competitive salary and benefits package, including company bonus.
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Posted
Updated
Closed
Practice Areas
Corporate, Intellectual Property, Data Privacy
Specialties
Compliance/Regulatory, Cross-Border, Data Privacy, IT, Technology Transactions