General Counsel, United Kingdom & Ireland (UK&I)

Job description

Be a key business partner to the UK&I Managing Director, Marta Pilczuk, and UK&I Leadership Team peers, providing excellent counsel and practical problem-solving on highly strategic and sensitive business topics; Work closely with peers in the EPDM Legal Leadership Team and the EPDM General Counsel on wider European issues, ensuring EPDM priorities are appropriately reflected in UK&I market execution; Lead the UK&I legal team, currently comprising three lawyers and one legal trainee based in

London and covering the United Kingdom and Ireland; Support and guide team members on elevated issues which, due to their complexity, risk or value, require the involvement of a General Counsel; Build the capability of the team through improved ways of working and tools to increase the agility and impact of the UK&I legal function; Support and drive team development and contribute to the strategic agenda in UK&I in partnership with business leadership peers across HR, Finance, Supply & Operations, Procurement, Category, Sales and

Marketing; Guide the business on UK&I legal and regulatory developments, including food law, marketing and claims, consumer protection, packaging and other growth-related matters, in close collaboration with the Legal Growth, European Regulatory and Packaging teams; Help strengthen UK&I public policy, trade association and external stakeholder engagement in partnership with the

Government Affairs team and business leadership; Support strategic negotiations and business discussions across the Kraft Heinz supply chain, from suppliers to customers across channels (retail and AFH), balancing risk and reward; Act as a point of escalation within the UK&I business on sensitive, high-risk commercial, regulatory, reputational and compliance matters; Play a key role in managing and coordinating crises in UK&I; Protect the business and brand's reputation through strong partnership with marketing and external communications teams; Protect the company, our people and our intellectual property assets through excellence in litigation, brand protection and compliance.

Manage to a budget; Work through ambiguity, both internally and externally, using strong communication and problem-solving skills; Building Relationships and Using Influence Develop and maintain a strong network of relationships inside and outside the organization to support the objectives of the Legal department and the business; Qualified lawyer with a minimum of 8+ years' experience ideally within law firms and leading consumer goods companies; Excellent legal training in a leading law firm and/ or in-house; Strong competition, consumer and marketing law knowledge and experience; Excellent judgment with the capacity to make decisions and give advice that reflects an understanding of overall business objectives and the risks/rewards of each situation; Experience advising senior business leaders across functions, with strong UK commercial and customer-facing legal experience; Strong leadership experience; Learning agility and strong organizational skills; Self-starter with the ability to work independently; and Ability to build relationships and influence across all levels within the organization.