Head of Legal India

• Location: Mumbai

• Travel: Occasional - based on business need

• Job type: Permanent

About Sanofi:

We are an innovative global healthcare company with one purpose: to chase the miracles of science to improve people’s lives. We’re also a company where you can flourish and grow your career, with countless opportunities to explore, make connections with people, and stretch the limits of what you thought was possible. Ready to get started?

Our Team:

The legal team at Sanofi is focused on collaborating with our businesses to find effective and efficient solutions to fit their commercial needs. As trusted advisors seeking to foster innovation and advancing company strategy, our lawyers are engaged in supporting on matters ranging from risks, transactions, contracting, general advisory, litigation, public policy initiatives to transformational and transversal projects within and outside of Sanofi.  

As the Legal Director India, you will be expected to play a key role in partnering with the business to enable competitive growth for Sanofi in India, provide prompt and thorough advise on topics ranging from complex, sensitive to routine matters in a timely and thoughtful manner. You will also be expected to lead and collaborate, both within the India legal teams as also with the global Legal teams to maximise on the team’s potential to grow and deliver on the Company’s strategy and goals.

Main responsibilities:

• Lead initiatives to grow the business and manage organisational risk in line with organisational strategies.

• Challenge and shift mindsets in defining clearly, allocation of roles and responsibilities in line with Global Legal department vision to be able to focus on value-added work in a collaborative manner with relevant teams

• Support strategically and operationally on transformation projects for the territories within scope of responsibility.

• Partner with business heads in development and execution of business plans and legal implications of these for our businesses in India.

• Identify, evaluate and address risks thoughtfully on business initiatives and provide quality, practical, expert legal advice and support to the business and functional teams.

• Design and implement strategic legal initiatives and solutions for India while maintaining a right balance with local laws, regulations and company protection.

• Help build and strengthen risk assessment processes for existing business in countries within scope by directing, developing, finalizing control measures, systems and processes on legal issues and procedures towards bettering risk management.

• Prepare, negotiate and manage key contracts and other documentation governing commercial relationships with third parties.

• Evaluate, advise, interpret and disseminate information on any significant changes in law and support with required compliances.

• Identify key legal issues and principles and how they relate to markets, relationship types, products, services.

• Liase and/or represent the company with the regulatory or statutory authorities as and when required.

• Structure and negotiate complex transactions with speed and efficiency.

• Strategise to prevent, mitigate and address potential litigation.

• Manage existing litigation work, external lawyer engagement and court processes in keeping with organisational policies.

• Align with and participate actively in assigned cross-functional projects and initiatives.

• Constantly stay up to date re. and monitor legal/regulatory environment, anticipate changes early and render required training to business stakeholders and support in gap assessment initiatives

• Demonstrate initiative, drive, proactiveness and agility with work.

• Escalate issues on timely basis where needed and seek guidance to ensure parity in management of legal topics.

• Gauge, develop and retain talent in the team. Continually review existing resources and their utilization by delineating work within the team. Ensure awareness of company policies and procedures and support the team with enhancing the same and assuring compliance with these. Implement and strengthen optimal ways of working within the team.

• Act with transparency ensuring the highest ethical standards in a complex and changing environment

About you:

Experience:

• 15+ years of in-house experience and/or law firm experience.

• Previous life sciences experience preferred

• Substantial previous commercial legal experience, including commercial drafting

• Experience in litigation management or advisory

Soft skills:

• Able to work effectively within a team and independently where required

• Driven, motivated, engaged and capable of managing own workload, with flexible approach to changing priorities

• Calm and effective under pressure

• Good influencing skills and have experience in effective relationship building, networking & management

Technical skills:

• Fluent in English with strong communication skills, written and verbal

• Analytical skills with good ability to undertake research on legal and non-legal aspects relevant for resolution of matters

• Exceptional legal drafting skills

• Demonstrate sound legal judgment and business acumen

• Good knowledge of Indian pharma laws

Education/Qualifications:

• Law degree from a recognised university in India

Team spirit:

Pursue progress, discover extraordinary

Beware of Job Scams: Sanofi Fraud Notice:

As you conduct your job search, please beware of the possibility that scammers may post fraudulent job openings or send fraudulent communications (email, SMS, WhatsApp or Messenger messages pretending to be from Sanofi) regarding potential job postings or offers in an attempt to encourage the job seeker to disclose financial or personal information. We do not make any payments to or ask candidates for any fees as part of the application process. In most cases you can expect to hear directly from a member of our recruiting team with a legitimate @sanofi.com email address, but you may receive communications from one of our recruiting partners as well. Consequently, you should always conduct research to ensure a posting and/or offer is legitimate and you should never provide personal or financial information unless you are certain that the request is legitimate. If you are concerned that an offer of employment with Sanofi might be a scam, please verify by searching for the posting on the Careers webpage

Beware of Job Scams: Sanofi Fraud Notice:

As you conduct your job search, please beware of the possibility that scammers may post fraudulent job openings or send fraudulent communications (email, SMS, WhatsApp or Messenger messages pretending to be from Sanofi) regarding potential job postings or offers in an attempt to encourage the job seeker to disclose financial or personal information. We do not make any payments to or ask candidates for any fees as part of the application process. In most cases you can expect to hear directly from a member of our recruiting team with a legitimate @sanofi.com email address, but you may receive communications from one of our recruiting partners as well. Consequently, you should always conduct research to ensure a posting and/or offer is legitimate and you should never provide personal or financial information unless you are certain that the request is legitimate. If you are concerned that an offer of employment with Sanofi might be a scam, please verify by searching for the posting on the Careers webpage