Legal Director, Corporate and Commercial

Huda Beauty; Dubai; On-site; AED 200,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading beauty brand in Dubai is looking for a Director, Corporate and Commercial to manage and establish the legal function across corporate and commercial matters. The successful candidate will be responsible for corporate governance, legal advisory, and driving digital transformation in legal operations. This role requires extensive experience in corporate law, strong leadership, and the ability to engage with stakeholders effectively. The position offers several benefits aimed at promoting a positive workplace culture.

Benefits

Monthly 'SelfLoveDays'

Premium Medical/Dental/Vision coverage

Monthly coaching sessions

Employee discount on all products

Quarterly product gifting

Qualifications

• Experience handling corporate and commercial legal matters.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment with high emotional maturity.
• Strong interpersonal skills for relationship building.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the Group’s legal entity governance.
• Advise on drafting and execution of corporate documents.
• Oversee corporate lifecycle and compliance across jurisdictions.

Skills

Corporate governance

Stakeholder engagement

Legal advisory

Contract negotiation

Leadership

Risk management

Education

Qualified lawyer in a major jurisdiction

10-15 years of post-qualification experience

Tools

Legal tech solutions

Digital transformation tools

Job description

Who We Are

At Huda Beauty, our Vision is to lead in creating a democratised beauty industry where power is given back to people to define, create and enjoy beauty for themselves! Launched by award‑winning beauty powerhouse Huda Kattan in 2013, Huda Beauty is one of the world’s fastest‑growing beauty brands. As a company, we are fueled by purpose and not profit, this allows us to approach things differently so that we can create products, content, and a community like no other. All that has changed since our launch in 2013, but something that will forever remain at the core of Huda Beauty is our focus on business excellence and our unwavering passion for kindness!

Summary

Reporting directly to our General Counsel, Huda Beauty seeks a pragmatic, commercially‑minded Director, Corporate and Commercial to establish and scale the Group’s legal function across corporate and commercial matters. This hands‑on, senior‑level role will lead and manage the Group’s legal entity governance, company secretarial matters, mergers and acquisitions, legal entity restructuring, the digitisation of the Huda Beauty Legal department and lead our commercial contracting and contract compliance, working collaboratively and cross‑functionally. You will be a trusted adviser to the Group’s senior management team. The role requires strong stakeholder engagement skills, the ability to translate legal and regulatory requirements into practical business processes, and experience building a positive governance culture in a fast‑moving consumer goods environment.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Corporate Affairs

• Oversee the full corporate lifecycle of all Group entities across multiple jurisdictions, ensuring structural integrity, governance alignment and compliance with applicable laws and internal policies.
• Lead and advise on the proper drafting and execution of corporate documents, such as articles of association, memoranda of association, board and manager resolutions, powers of attorney, sale and purchase agreements, transitional services agreements, board minutes and similar documents.
• Develop and maintain policies, procedures and control frameworks for governance and risk‑related matters (e.g., product safety‑related operational risks, supply chain, third‑party/vendor risk, data/privacy risk intersections).
• Lead and coordinate entity formation, cross‑border re‑organisations, mergers, de‑mergers and liquidation/strike‑off processes in partnership with external counsel, the Family office as well as Finance and Tax.
• Advise on entity rationalisation and restructuring projects to optimise operational, tax and regulatory outcomes.
• Own, design, implement and maintain the Group’s delegation of authority (DoA) framework; design and maintain internal controls, approval workflows and audit‑ready processes for signature authority, sign‑off and DoA exceptions; lead periodic reviews and ensure consistent application across jurisdictions.
• Support the establishment and running of governance for (e.g., risk committee, working groups), prepare agendas, materials and clear action trackers; drive follow‑through with senior stakeholders.
• Provide practical advice to business leaders for risk‑based decision‑making, escalation and embedding governance into day‑to‑day operations.
• Monitor internal controls and remediation plans; coordinate risk testing and assurance activities with internal auditor or external reviewers where required.

Commercial Legal

• Provide senior commercial legal advice on customer, supplier and partner contracts, distribution, licensing, master services agreements and brand/channel agreements relevant to consumer goods, beauty and luxury sectors.
• Develop standardised contracting templates, playbooks and clause libraries to streamline negotiation and reduce legal spend, working collaboratively with our Director, Compliance, Governance and Risk.
• Lead the negotiation and execution of complex cross‑border commercial transactions; provide pragmatic commercial risk advice.

Digitisation and AI

• Drive digital transformation of our legal operations, namely the corporate matters and commercial contract lifecycle management (CLM) through implementation and continuous improvement including tracking, reporting and document retention.

Cross‑Functional Partnership

• Act as key legal partner to our Director, Compliance, Governance and Risk; Finance and Tax teams on entity‑level matters, intercompany agreements, fund flows and tax‑driven restructurings, as well as fostering a culture of compliance and improvement.
• Support statutory consolidation, financial reporting, audit requests and regulator engagement relating to entity governance and legal documentation.
• Build strong relationships with the Director (Compliance, Governance & Risk), General Counsel, Finance, People + Culture, Operations, Product Safety / Quality, Procurement and local market leaders to create policies and escalations affecting corporate affairs and commercial activities, as well as day‑to‑day activities.

Team Leadership

• Lead, develop and mentor direct reports and other Legal, Regulatory and Compliance team members (corporate, commercial and company secretarial); set priorities and manage performance.
• Oversee selection, engagement and oversight of external counsel and service providers; drive cost‑effective delivery and best practice.
• Champion process improvement, automation and adoption of entity management and CLM systems.

Training & Culture

• Drive the development and delivery of legal training, both a train‑the‑trainer with the Legal, Regulatory & Compliance function and, also, for business leads and functional stakeholders in order to reduce risk in our business operations and embed risk‑aware behaviours.
• Support the General Counsel and Director, Compliance, Governance and Risk in communications and change management to promote a culture of governance and accountability across the group.

Qualifications

• Qualified lawyer in a major jurisdiction with the Huda Beauty Group with a minimum of 10‑15 years post‑qualification experience handling complex corporate and commercial legal matters.
• Being called to a US state bar an advantage.
• Previous in‑house experience in leading and implementing corporate and commercial legal matters is an advantage.
• Leadership in designing and implementing legal tech solutions and experience with legal AI solutions an advantage.
• Strong organisational skills that reflect the ability to perform and prioritise multiple tasks seamlessly.
• High emotional maturity and intelligence with strong interpersonal skills and the ability to collaborate and build relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to achieve high performance goals and meet deadlines in a fast‑paced environment.
• Forward thinker with a Kaizen (continuous improvement) mentality, who actively seeks opportunities to improve and propose solutions.
• Keen interest and/or experience in the cosmetics industry an advantage.
• Excellent judgement, negotiation, and communication skills.
• Highly resourceful team player with the ability to be extremely effective independently.
• Consistently display an approach able nature and flexible working style with flawless written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong presentation skills, with the ability to present to stakeholders at all levels of the organization when required.
• Flexible working style. Occasional early morning or late evening calls may be required to accommodate global business needs. Ad hoc travel may also be required.

Benefits

• Monthly “SelfLoveDays” – at company discretion
• Premium Medical / Dental / Vision coverage for employee plus dependents
• Monthly coaching sessions with our in‑house Success Coach
• Employee discount on all Huda Beauty products
• Quarterly product gifting

Huda Beauty is committed to building diverse and inclusive teams and upholding an equal employment workplace that is free from discrimination. We hire stellar individuals regardless of their race, color, ancestry, religion, gender identity, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, medical conditions, disability, or veteran status. If you need reasonable accommodations at any point in the application or interview process, please let us know.