Global Legal Counsel

Job Description Summary

Provide global legal support for People & Organization (P&O) and Trade Sanctions topics by delivering attorney-quality, structured and defensible legal analysis and translating it into clear, actionable business decisions.
The role further encompasses, external counsel governance, represents Global Legal and Compliance in GCC Hyderabad, and contributes to building a strong Legal & Compliance capability in the Hyderabad GCC.

Job Description

Position Purpose:

At Sandoz, Legal & Compliance enables our global teams to act with integrity while delivering access to high-quality medicines worldwide. In this role, you will provide global legal support for People & Organization (P&O) legal topics and support Trade Sanctions Legal, while helping to build a strong Legal & Compliance capability in the Hyderabad GCC.

You will translate complex legal questions into clear, pragmatic and defensible business decisions and contribute to a scalable, audit-ready legal operating model. This is a global role with broad exposure across legal topics and stakeholders, combining legal expertise, business partnering and operational discipline to support a scalable Legal & Compliance model.

Your Key Responsibilities: 

Your responsibilities include, but not limited to: 

Global P&O Legal

• Independently manage assigned global and local P&O-related matters, including matters involving employment and labour law, regulatory requirements, contracts, corporate law, antitrust, investigations, litigation, disputes and other relevant legal areas.

• Develop and execute the legal strategy for workforce and organizational changes, senior or sensitive employee matters, internal investigations, disputes, threatened or actual litigation and other matters with material legal, operational or reputational implications. Provide integrated legal advice across different legal disciplines. Identify when Local Legal, specialist Legal teams or external counsel should be involved and coordinate their contributions into one coherent, pragmatic and decision-ready legal position. Anticipate legal implications of P&O strategies, programs and operating-model decisions and propose proportionate structures, mitigations and implementation measures.

• Support the development of consistent global legal positions while recognizing applicable local-law requirements and the responsibilities of Local Legal teams.

Sanctions Legal

• Independently advise on and resolve assigned Sanctions matters involving business activities, operating models, supply and service arrangements, contractual relationships, transactions and higher-risk jurisdictions. Assess the application and interaction of relevant Sanctions regimes, including EU, US, Swiss and UK measures, and translate the legal analysis into clear business requirements, practical options and proportionate risk mitigations.

• Advise on the legal structuring of business models and cross-border arrangements, ensuring that the resulting setup reflects the genuine operational and commercial model while appropriately managing applicable Sanctions requirements. Assess existing and proposed corporate, contractual, supply and service structures from a Sanctions perspective and develop legally robust solutions that remain operationally workable and commercially sustainable.

• Advise on licensing, regulatory reporting, contractual protections and other Sanctions requirements and manage assigned matters through to resolution.

• Own defined workstreams within the global Sanctions legal framework, including the development and implementation of legal guidance, decision frameworks, governance tools, licensing and reporting approaches and training. Work closely with Trade Compliance, Local Legal, business functions and external counsel to establish the relevant facts, develop the Sandoz legal position and drive agreed actions through to implementation.

• Identify emerging legal and regulatory developments and assess their impact on Sandoz activities, structures, operating models and business relationships.

Legal advice and matter ownership

• Independently manage assigned matters and workstreams from initial instruction through fact-finding, legal analysis, stakeholder alignment, recommendation and implementation.

• Form clear and defensible legal positions, including on unfamiliar or complex matters, and translate material risks, uncertainties and options into concise business advice with a recommended course of action.

• Exercise sound judgment as to when a matter requires strategic alignment, specialist input or senior escalation. Escalations should be supported by a developed assessment, viable options and a recommendation.

• Manage parallel priorities, proactively close information gaps and maintain momentum through to completion.

• Engage effectively with senior stakeholders and communicate complex or sensitive legal issues with clarity, judgment and appropriate confidence.

External counsel and cross-functional collaboration

• Manage external counsel for assigned matters, including defining scope, issuing clear instructions, controlling quality and cost, challenging the advice received and converting external input into a Sandoz legal position and executable next steps. Build effective working relationships with Legal & Compliance colleagues in India and globally and collaborate across functions, jurisdictions and time zones.

• Maintain clear ownership boundaries while ensuring that matters are addressed by the appropriate global, local or specialist Legal owner.

• Connect the relevant global, local and specialist stakeholders and integrate their perspectives into consistent, practical outcomes.

Standards, guidance and implementation

• Convert recurring legal issues and agreed positions into scalable guidance, decision frameworks, playbooks, templates, contractual approaches and training.

• Drive the implementation of agreed legal measures and monitor completion of material actions.

• Maintain disciplined matter management, documentation, follow-through and version control.

• Identify opportunities to improve the quality, consistency and efficiency of legal service delivery across the role’s areas of responsibility.

What you’ll bring to the role: 

Essential Requirements: 

• Qualified lawyer in at least one jurisdiction, with the right to practise or equivalent recognized professional standing.

• A minimum of six years of relevant post-qualification experience gained in a multinational in-house legal function, a reputable law firm or a combination of both, including substantial experience advising on international or cross-border matters.

• Demonstrated ability to work effectively across jurisdictions, legal systems and cultures and to integrate local and specialist legal input into clear, practical advice for international stakeholders.
• Broad legal perspective and the ability to identify the interaction between different legal disciplines rather than approaching matters through a single area of specialization.

• Ability to translate complex legal analysis into practical, proportionate and decision-ready business advice.

• Sound judgment concerning legal risk, business impact, ownership and escalation.

• Demonstrated ability to engage Local Legal, specialist lawyers and external counsel effectively while retaining ownership of the overall matter and recommendation.

• Strong ownership, organization and execution discipline, including the ability to manage parallel priorities and drive matters through to completion.

Desirable Requirements:

• Experience advising a global corporate function or working across multiple business and legal areas.

• Experience in one or more of the following areas: employment and labour law, regulatory matters, corporate or commercial law, antitrust, internal investigations, litigation, disputExperience with Sanctions, export controls, financial crime, international trade or another complex regulatory field.es or pre-litigation strategy.

Why Sandoz? 

Sandoz is the global leader in Biosimilar and Generic medicines, a segment of the healthcare industry that delivers 80% of the world’s medicines at 30% of the cost, touching the lives of more than 1 billion people across 100+ countries! While we are proud of our achievements, we have an ambition to do more so that everyone can achieve the basic human right of good health. 

With investments in new development capabilities, production sites, new acquisitions, and partnerships, we have the opportunity to shape the future of Sandoz and help even more people gain access to low-cost, high-quality medicines, sustainably.  

Our momentum is powered by an open, collaborative culture driven by our talented and ambitious colleagues, who, in return for applying their skills, experience an agile and collegiate environment with impactful careers, where diversity of thought is welcomed and where personal growth is supported!  

Join us, help us make healthcare fairer and faster.  

Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion:  

We are committed to building an outstanding, inclusive work environment and diverse teams representative of the patients and communities we serve.

Skills Desired

Business Development, Business Partners, Career Development, Computer Cluster, Data Privacy, Finance, Internet, Law (Legal System), Legal Advice, Litigation Law, Negotiation Skills, Private Equity, Tax