About the Role
As Animal Health Business Lead Counsel, you will serve as the principal legal partner to the Animal Health business across India, Middle East, Türkiye and Africa (IMETA). Operating at the intersection of strategy, commercial execution, governance, and risk management, you will provide trusted legal advice and business partnering that facilitates responsible business growth across a highly diverse and evolving regional landscape. This senior legal role requires both strategic vision and leadership as well as hands-on execution. You will partner closely with business leaders to shape commercial opportunities, navigate complex legal and regulatory environments, manage legal risk, and drive governance excellence across multiple jurisdictions. As a member of the IMETA Legal & Compliance Leadership Team, you will play a key role in strengthening organizational effectiveness and supporting sustainable business success.
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Role & Responsibilities
- Serve as the principal legal partner and trusted adviser to Animal Health leadership across IMETA.
- Provide practical legal guidance on commercial activities, contracts, transactions, governance, regulatory matters, disputes, and escalations.
- Enable business growth by supporting strategic partnerships, distribution models, market access initiatives, sourcing arrangements, and digital solutions.
- Lead complex negotiations and legal workstreams, engaging specialist teams and external counsel when required.
- Anticipate and manage material legal, regulatory, enforcement, and geopolitical risks across multiple jurisdictions.
- Develop and maintain governance frameworks, policies, templates, playbooks, and scalable legal operating models.
- Coordinate and prioritize legal support across IMETA, ensuring resources are focused on matters with the greatest business impact or legal exposure.
- Lead or oversee relevant claims, investigations, disputes, enforcement matters, and crisis situations.
- Build legal capability across the business through practical guidance, training, self-service tools, and knowledge sharing.
- Contribute to the IMETA Legal & Compliance Leadership Team and lead regional initiatives that strengthen governance, innovation, and business partnership.
Requirements
- Degree in Law; LLM and bar admission (qualified lawyer) required.
- At least 10 years of legal experience, including substantial in-house experience within a multinational organization.
- Experience in life sciences, pharmaceuticals, Animal Health, or another highly regulated sector.
- Regional experience within IMETA is a plus.
- Experience with an international law firm is an advantage.
- Broad expertise in commercial contracting, distribution, governance, regulatory matters, competition law, disputes, investigations, and risk management.
- Proven ability to independently lead complex cross-border legal matters, transactions, and negotiations.
- Strong commercial judgement, with the ability to balance legal risk, business objectives, and operational realities.
- Demonstrated agency and ownership mindset, with a track record of proactively identifying issues and opportunities, driving solutions, and influencing outcomes in complex and ambiguous environments.
- Demonstrated credibility in advising senior leaders and influencing stakeholders across matrixed and multicultural environments.
- Strong capability in portfolio prioritization, legal-resource coordination, external-counsel management, and scalable governance solutions.
- Fluent in English; Arabic and French language skills preferred with strong communication skills and proficiency in data, automation, and AI-enabled legal tools.
