Legal Counsel- ICT

BigData Technology Solutions; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 420,000 - 640,000; Full time

Job summary

BigData Technology Solutions in Abu Dhabi seeks a Legal Counsel to support the legal function across commercial contracting, technology agreements, corporate matters, IP, and disputes. You will help draft and negotiate master service agreements, software licenses, data-protection and AI governance provisions, and handle M&A due diligence and post‑deal work, under supervision with a clear development path.

The role requires LLB, UAE bar admission, 5–8 years post-qualification experience

Qualifications

• LLB from a recognised institution.
• Bar admission to a recognised jurisdiction.
• 5–8 years post-qualification experience, ideally including at least 3–5 years UAE in‑house or law firm exposure.
• Privacy credential (CIPP/E, CIPM, or equivalent) is desirable.
• English: full professional fluency, with strong analytical and drafting discipline.

Responsibilities

• Draft, review, and negotiate master service agreements, teaming agreements, referral agreements, supply contracts, and other standard commercial agreements; support business stakeholders in vendor and customer negotiations by preparing redlines, tracking comments, drafting responses, and attending negotiation meetings; maintain the contract register, manage signature/execution workflows, and ensure version control.
• Support drafting and negotiation of technology-driven agreements — software licensing, cloud and hosting, data-centre, managed-services, systems-integration, and SLAs — embedding information-security, data-protection, business-continuity, and AI-specific provisions; assist on IT procurement, acceptable-use and InfoSec policy alignment, information-security documentation, and post-incident documentation in coordination with IT and Information Security functions.
• Support M&A and corporate transactions across the deal lifecycle, assisting with due diligence, data-room management and document review, drafting and reviewing transaction documents (term sheets, SPAs, shareholder and JV agreements), tracking conditions precedent and closing checklists, and supporting post-merger integration and entity‑rationalisation steps, in coordination with the Head of Legal and external counsel.
• Draft routine shareholder resolutions, coordinate notarisations and attestations, track licence renewals and corporate statutory obligations, and support the corporate function on group entity administration.
• Manage trademark and copyright applications and renewals, maintain the IP register, liaise with patent agents on filings, and support intra-group IP assignments, licensing arrangements, and domain-name management.
• Collect documents and prepare case files, draft initial responses, demand letters and legal notices, manage without-prejudice correspondence, and liaise with external counsel on routine matters.
• Data privacy.
• Regulatory tracking.
• Compliance programme and policy stewardship.
• Training and awareness.
• Internal advisory.
• Legal operations & knowledge management.

Skills

English: full professional fluency

Education

LLB

Bar admission

Privacy credential (CIPP/E, CIPM, or equivalent) desirable

Job description

Legal Counsel

Location: Abu Dhabi

Role Purpose

Support the Legal Function across commercial contracting, technology, corporate and M&A, intellectual property and disputes, and in the operation of data-privacy, AI-governance, cybersecurity and compliance programmes. Operate under direct supervision, taking on increasing ownership of matters as capability builds, with a clear development pathway towards independent portfolio responsibility over 18–24 months.

Key Responsibilities

Commercial & Technology

• Commercial contracting and negotiation. Draft, review, and mark up master service agreements, teaming agreements, referral agreements, supply contracts, and other standard commercial agreements; support business stakeholders in vendor and customer negotiations by preparing redlines, tracking comments, drafting responses, and attending negotiation meetings; maintain the contract register, manage signature/execution workflows, and ensure version control.
• Technology, AI & cybersecurity. Support the drafting and negotiation of technology-driven agreements — software licensing, cloud and hosting, data-centre, managed-services, systems-integration, and SLAs — embedding information-security, data-protection, business-continuity, and AI-specific provisions; assist on IT procurement, acceptable-use and InfoSec policy alignment, information-security documentation, and post-incident documentation in coordination with the IT and Information Security functions.

Corporate, IP & Disputes

• Mergers & Acquisitions. Support M&A and corporate transactions across the deal lifecycle, assisting with due diligence, data-room management and document review, drafting and reviewing transaction documents (term sheets, SPAs, shareholder and JV agreements), tracking conditions precedent and closing checklists, and supporting post-merger integration and entity‑rationalisation steps, in coordination with the Head of Legal and external counsel.
• Corporate and secretarial. Draft routine shareholder resolutions, coordinate notarisations and attestations, track licence renewals and corporate statutory obligations, and support the corporate function on group entity administration.
• Intellectual property administration. Manage trademark and copyright applications and renewals, maintain the IP register, liaise with patent agents on filings, and support intra-group IP assignments, licensing arrangements, and domain-name management.
• Disputes support. Collect documents and prepare case files, draft initial responses, demand letters and legal notices, manage without-prejudice correspondence, and liaise with external counsel on routine matters.

Data Privacy, Regulatory & Compliance

• Data privacy. Maintain records of processing activities, privacy notices, consent forms, and data-subject rights logs; conduct first-pass review of incoming data processing agreements and addenda; support DPIA processes.
• Regulatory tracking. Monitor developments across UAE PDPL, ADGM Data Protection Regulations 2021, KSA PDPL, GDPR cross-border reach, AI governance, and applicable sectoral rules; prepare short briefing notes for the Head of Legal.
• Compliance programme and policy stewardship. Support the KYC and vendor-onboarding compliance workflow, sanctions screening administration, and document collection for audits and investigations; support refresh cycles on AML, ABAC, anti-competition, whistle-blowing, responsible sourcing, leave, privacy, and AI-use policies.
• Training and awareness. Support delivery of internal training on privacy, AML, ABAC, sanctions, and cyber awareness; coordinate training schedules and maintain attendance and training records.

Advisory & Legal Operations

• Internal advisory. Act as first point of contact for day-to-day legal queries from Sales, Procurement, Projects, Finance, HR, Marketing, and IT.
• Legal operations & knowledge management. Maintain and update the template suite and clause library, and contribute to the Legal KPI dashboard and matter-management/tracking systems.

Qualifications and Experience

• LLB from a recognised institution.
• Bar admission to a recognised jurisdiction.
• 5 – 8 years post-qualification experience, ideally including at least 3 – 5 years of UAE in‑house or law firm exposure.
• Privacy credential (CIPP/E, CIPM, or equivalent) is desirable.
• English: full professional fluency, with strong analytical and drafting discipline.