Senior Legal Counsel
Nutricia
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Benefits offered by this job
Job summary
Danone in Melbourne seeks an experienced Senior Legal Counsel to partner with Dairy & MADE across Australia and New Zealand. You will provide strategic legal support, influence product lifecycle decisions, and manage complex commercial and regulatory matters.
The role reports to the Head of Legal & Compliance ANZ and spans marketing claims, procurement, IP, and corporate governance while maintaining licences to operate.
Qualifications
- Admitted legal practitioner in Australia or New Zealand.
- 6-8 years post-qualification experience.
- Experience advising FMCG or highly regulated businesses.
Responsibilities
- Lead legal reviews and negotiations of sponsorships, partnerships and strategic collaborations across ANZ.
- Provide pragmatic legal advice on product innovations, marketing claims and commercial contracts.
- Advise cross-functional teams on legal risks and compliance in FMCG and regulatory contexts.
- Support governance, investigations and remediation activities as required.
Skills
Education
Job description
At Danone, we do not just create products, we deliver health through food to as many people as possible. With a strong purpose (One Planet. One Health), we operate in a fast-paced, highly regulated environment where legal expertise plays a critical role in enabling sustainable growth.
We are looking for an experienced and commercially minded Senior Legal Counsel to join our ANZ team in Melbourne.
This is a high-impact role where you will act as a trusted legal advisor to the business, influencing decisions across the full product lifecycle.
Reporting to the Head of Legal & Compliance ANZ, the Senior Legal Counsel is a trusted business partner responsible for supporting Danone's dairy product portfolio and the MADE Group's full product portfolio (and associated operations) across Australia and New Zealand (Dairy & MADE).
The role provides strategic and day-to-day legal support across innovation, marketing claims, commercial contracts, procurement, manufacturing and supply point operations, intellectual property and company secretarial matters.
The successful candidate will partner with Marketing, Sales, Operations, Procurement, Quality, Regulatory, Sustainability, Corporate Affairs and global Legal teams across Dairy & MADE to create value while ensuring they maintain their licences to operate.
- Serve as lead legal counsel for the Dairy & MADE across Australia and New Zealand.
- Provide pragmatic legal advice on product innovations, renovations, packaging changes, brand activations and commercial initiatives.
- Advise cross-functional teams on legal and compliance risks associated with business strategies and growth opportunities.
- Support delivery of business objectives through commercially focused, solution-oriented legal advice.
- Review and advise on advertising, packaging, digital content, social media campaigns, influencer arrangements, sponsorships, competitions and promotional activities.
- Support cross-functional claims review and approval processes.
- Advise on consumer protection, advertising and intellectual property risks.
- Assist in managing consumer complaints and regulatory enquiries where required.
- Draft, review and negotiate a broad range of commercial agreements, including supplier, procurement, manufacturing, logistics, warehousing, services, technology and sustainability-related contracts.
- Provide legal support to Cycles & Procurement teams across indirect procurement and operational contracting activities.
- Develop practical contracting solutions that appropriately balance business objectives and risk management.
- Act as primary legal partner to factory and operations stakeholders.
- Advise on manufacturing, production, quality, logistics, supply chain and operational risk matters.
- Support investigations, incidents, remediation activities and operational governance initiatives.
- Partner with Quality, Regulatory and Operations teams on product-related and manufacturing matters.
- Lead legal review and negotiation of sponsorship, partnership and strategic collaboration arrangements.
- Support corporate projects, business restructures, intercompany arrangements and selected disputes.
- Contribute to strategic initiatives across ANZ, Zone and Global functions.
- Provide support for board and committee governance activities.
- Assist with preparation and review of board papers, resolutions and meeting materials.
- Support maintenance of corporate records and governance documentation.
- Coordinate external company secretarial service providers and internal stakeholders as required.
- Support trademark and intellectual property portfolio management.
- Advise on brand protection, infringements, licences and intellectual property risks.
- Collaborate with global and external intellectual property specialists where required.
- Advise on sustainability initiatives, claims, reporting obligations and related legal risks.
- Support business teams in implementing emerging regulatory requirements and Danone and/or MADE standards.
- Monitor legal and regulatory developments relevant to the FMCG industry.
- Identify and proactively manage legal and compliance risks.
- Support implementation of Danone and/or MADE policies, training programmes and governance frameworks.
- Lead or support investigations and remediation activities where required.
- Champion ethical business practices.
- Build trusted relationships with stakeholders across all levels of the organisation.
- Demonstrate strong business acumen and commercial judgement.
- Communicate complex legal issues clearly and influence decision‑making.
- Operate effectively in ambiguity and drive pragmatic outcomes.
- Mentor colleagues and contribute positively to team development.
- Balance operational delivery with strategic impact and long‑term value creation.
You are a commercially astute and pragmatic legal professional who thrives in a fast-paced, regulated environment and enjoys working closely with the business to enable growth while managing risk effectively.
- Admitted legal practitioner in Australia or New Zealand.
- Minimum 6-8 years post-qualification experience in a leading law firm and/or in-house legal team.
- Experience advising FMCG or other consumer goods, food, dairy, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing or other highly regulated businesses.
- Strong experience drafting and negotiating commercial contracts.
- Experience supporting cross-functional commercial and operational stakeholders.
- Excellent communication, negotiation and stakeholder management skills.
- Previous in‑house FMCG or food manufacturing experience.
- Company secretarial or governance experience.
- Experience in advising on manufacturing matters and/or infrastructure projects.
- Experience advising on marketing, consumer law and claims substantiation.
At Danone, purpose and performance go hand in hand, we are committed to creating a positive, inclusive, and rewarding experience for our people.
- A high-performing, collaborative culture where you can make a real impact
- Flexibility that supports balance, including 3 PM finishes every Friday
- A diverse and inclusive environment where everyone can thrive
- Personalised learning and development to support your growth
- Health, life, and salary continuance insurance promotions
- 26 weeks gender-neutral paid parental leave
- Optional Employee Share Subscription Plan
- Performance-related incentives
We are committed to building an inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and empowered. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and experiences.
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