Job Description

The Opportunity

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Be the first in-house Legal Counsel, establishing and scaling the legal function from a currently light workload to a mature, business-partnering capability as the company grows. The role suits a pragmatic, hands-on advisor who can operate autonomously and build simple, scalable processes.

Key Responsibilities

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Commercial Contracts: Draft, review, and negotiate a wide range of agreements including supply (buyers/suppliers), distribution/reseller, IT/SaaS, IP & trademarks, advertising/marketing, influencer, promotion, sponsorship, leases, data protection (DPA), NDAs, and MOUs. Playbooks & Templates: Create and maintain templates, fallbacks, and negotiation playbooks to speed turnaround while controlling risk. Contract Lifecycle: Maintain contract and IP registers, renewal calendars, notice periods, and key obligations; ensure trademark and other IP renewals are actioned on time. External Counsel Management: Instruct and manage outside counsel and third parties as needed; build a lean preferred panel and control legal spend. Insurance & Risk: Liaise with insurers on coverage queries, endorsements, claims, and policy renewals; track renewals and maintain documentation. Marketing & Product Support: Review campaigns, claims, promotions, and content for legal/compliance risks; advise on consumer, advertising, and competition considerations. Data Protection & Privacy: Advise on privacy frameworks (e.g., PDPA/GDPR-aligned practices), including DPAs, SCCs, data maps, consent/retention, and coordinate incident response. Dispute & Litigation Triage: Coordinate pre-dispute assessments, responses, and cost-effective resolution strategies; manage external counsel for any litigation. Trade & Operations: Support logistics, import/export, maritime/shipping, and warehousing matters; review terms with carriers, 3PLs, and freight providers. Governance & Policies: Draft practical policies/SOPs (contracting authority matrix, document retention, code of conduct, anti-bribery, gifts/hospitality, conflicts, dawn-raid guidance). Training & Enablement: Deliver short trainings to commercial teams (contract basics, marketing compliance, privacy-by-design) and publish quick checklists. Stakeholder Collaboration: Partner with cross-functional teams to support deals and projects; provide rapid, pragmatic advice aligned to business goals. Reporting: Provide concise monthly updates on contract pipeline, renewals, disputes, and key risks.

First 90-180 Days (Success Outcomes)

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Build a contract and IP inventory with renewal/obligation calendars. Roll out core templates (NDA, MSA/Supply, DPA, SoW, Marketing/Influencer, Promotion, Sponsorship). Publish playbooks and an approval/authority matrix. Implement a simple CLM/tracker (spreadsheet or tool) with KPIs (cycle time, renewal risk, spend). Set up a lean external counsel panel and a matter intake process. Deliver at least two trainings for commercial/marketing teams.

Qualifications

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5-10 years PQE (Singapore or common-law jurisdiction); in-house experience strongly preferred. Strong grounding in contract, corporate, and commercial law, with experience in IP/trademarks, media/advertising, data protection/privacy, and ideally maritime/logistics. Proven ability to draft and negotiate end-to-end commercial agreements in clear, business-friendly language. Comfortable coordinating external counsel and supporting activity across multiple regions. Coach-able, dependable, trustworthy, hardworking; proactive with a can-do mindset in a fast-moving environment. Excellent researching, drafting, and communication skills; strong stakeholder management across sales, marketing, operations, and finance. * Nice to have: experience in manufacturing/contract manufacturing, distribution/retail, automotive/tires; exposure to product liability/warranty and competition/antitrust basics; familiarity with CLM or legal-ops tooling.