Senior Legal Affairs & Contracts Specialist

Zayed University; Dubai; On-site; AED 180,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Tax-free salary

Housing

Annual vacation

Airline tickets for employee and immed

Educational subsidies

Healthcare for employee and family

Job summary

Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates is seeking a Senior Legal Affairs and Contracts Specialist to lead contract drafting, review, negotiation and risk assessments to ensure regulatory compliance and protect institutional interests.

You will advise internal stakeholders, manage the contract review process, coordinate with external parties, and contribute to policy development while supporting informed decision-making in line with university policies.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with substantial experience requested.
• Master's degree with significant supervisory experience preferred.
• Certification in a related legal field is advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Draft, review, negotiate, finalize a wide range of university contracts and MoUs.
• Review agreements submitted by academic, administrative, research, procurement and other departments.
• Interpret contractual provisions and advise stakeholders on legal implications.
• Identify high-risk provisions and recommend favorable terms.
• Manage the contract review process from request to execution, including amendments and renewals.
• Provide legal opinions and risk-based recommendations for approval and negotiation.
• Coordinate with external counterparties and their legal representatives.

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

Certification in a relevant field

Job description

THE OPPORTUNITY

The Office of Legal Affairs is seeking Senior Legal Affairs and Contracts Specialist who will be responsible for implementing Legal Affairs and Contracts related activities including institutional agreements drafting facilitation of dispute resolution activities and execution of legal risk assessments to ensure regulatory compliance protect institutional interest and support informed decision-making in line with legal and regulatory frameworks.

THE RESPONSIBILITIES

• Draft review negotiate finalize a wide range of university contracts agreements and Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) ensuring compliance with applicable laws regulations policies procedures and institutional requirements.
• Review Agreements submitted by academic administrative research procurement IT HR and other university departments.
• Review and negotiateacademic and institutional partnership agreements including MOUs and collaboration agreements.
• Interpret contractual provisions and advise stakeholders on their legal implications.
• Identify unfavorable ambiguous or high-risk contractual provisions and recommend favorable provisions.
• Ensure contracts adequately protect the universitys legal and commercial interests.
• Ensure contractual processes follow applicable university policies and approval procedures.
• Advise internal stakeholders on contractual rights obligations risks and potential liabilities.
• Negotiate contractual provisions with external parties including vendors consultants service providers institutions and other organizations.
• Coordinate with external counterparties and their legal representatives during negotiations.
• Facilitate constructive negotiations with external parties while safeguarding the universitys legal commercial and reputational interests.
• Develop risk-based recommendations for contract approval and negotiation.
• Conduct legal research and provide written or verbal legal opinions where requiredwith thorough legal analysis and well-founded recommendations in accordance with applicable laws regulations and university policies and procedures.
• Communicate legal and contractual matters clearly to non-legal stakeholders and provide practical recommendations to support informed decision-making.
• Prepare amendments addendums renewals warning letters termination notices and other legal documents.
• Contribute to the development and review of university-wide policies from a legal perspective ensuring alignment with applicable laws regulations and university requirements.
• Manage the contract review process from initial request through execution.
• Monitor turnaround times and prioritize contracts according to urgency and risk.
• Represent the Legal function professionally in interactions with internal and external stakeholders and contribute to positive and effective working relationships.
• Interpret and implement general legislation to ensure compliance with legal and regulatory frameworks.
• Provide legal advice (as required) and implement risk mitigation strategies to support crisis and incident response activities.
• Protect the intellectual property rights through the implementation of registration enforcement and awareness initiatives.
• Stay up-to-date and compile legislative and regulatory updates to highlight changes that may impact the universitys activities or compliance obligations.
• Conduct legal risk assessments related to proposed institutional initiatives partnerships and operational decisions in an accurate and timely manner.
• Maintain and manage accurate legal records and supporting legal documentation to ensure accessibility proper record retention data integrity confidentiality and audit-readiness.
• Perform Ad-hoc activities related to the job duties as requested by the Direct Supervisor.

THE REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelors Degree with a minimum of 8 years of experience and at least 4years of supervisory position.
• Masters degree with a minimum of 6 years of experience and at least 2 years in a supervisory position.
• Certification in a relevant field is preferred.

THE BENEFITS

The Universitys benefits package is highly attractive with competitive salaries free of tax in the U.A.E. cash housing annual vacation airline tickets for the employee and immediate family educational subsidies for children and healthcare is provided to the employee and sponsored family members.

Required Experience: Senior IC