Senior Legal Counsel

Ascendis Pharma; Hellerup; On-site; DKK 900,000 - 1,300,000; Full time

Job summary

Ascendis Pharma is seeking a Senior Legal Counsel to support R&D from early development through product supply. You will draft, review, and negotiate a broad range of contracts, support global clinical trials, and advise on IP and regulatory matters.

The role is based in Hellerup, Denmark, reporting to the Head of R&D Legal. You will collaborate with product supply, quality, CROs, CMOs, and cross‑functional teams across Denmark, the US, and Germany, ensuring compliant and practical legal

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Law and 7–8+ years as in-house counsel or pharma/life sciences law.
• Proven drafting, reviewing, and negotiating complex pharma contracts.
• Experience supporting Product Supply, Quality, and clinical trials is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Serve as legal partner to Product Supply and Quality on supply and manufacturing contracts.
• Support global clinical trials: negotiate site agreements, review informed consent forms, manage CRO/vendor contracts.
• Draft, review, and negotiate confidentiality, service, research, license, and material transfer agreements.
• Provide legal support to R&D departments (Research, Medical Affairs, Regulatory).
• Collaborate with Denmark/US/Germany teams; improve processes and contract templates.
• Contribute to a collaborative R&D Legal team culture.

Skills

Contract drafting

Contract negotiation

Pharma industry expertise

In‑house counsel

Clinical trial agreements

Intellectual property

CMC/CMOs awareness

Education

Master’s degree in Law

Job description

Are you passionate about life science and want your legal expertise to support innovation from early development through clinical trials to commercial product supply? Do you have experience within drafting, reviewing, and negotiating contracts that directly support innovation and scientific advancement?

If so, now is your chance to join Ascendis Pharma as our new Senior Legal Counsel (R&D).

Ascendis Pharma is a global biopharmaceutical company committed to making a meaningful difference in patients’ lives. Guided by our core values of Patients, Science, and Passion, we are applying our innovative TransCon® technology platform to fulfill our mission of developing new therapies that demonstrate best‑in‑class potential to address unmet medical needs.

At our headquarters in Hellerup, Denmark, research facilities in Heidelberg, Germany, and additional offices across Europe and the United States, we are advancing programs in our Endocrinology Rare Disease portfolio. We also collaborate with partners on the development of TransCon-based products in other therapeutic areas and markets.

We are seeking a passionate Senior Legal Counsel to join our growing team. As a key member of the Ascendis Pharma team, you will play a crucial role in supporting Ascendis Pharma’s activities across the full product lifecycle – from early discovery through pre‑clinical research, development, and clinical testing of Ascendis Pharma’s prodrug therapies, and on through commercial manufacturing and product supply. Ascendis Pharma contracts with a broad variety of service providers, vendors, and commercial partners such as laboratories, manufacturers (CMOs), clinical research organizations (CROs), hospitals, universities, health care professionals, and commercial supply chain partners, requiring many different types of contracts with a wide range of legal considerations, but all with the same overall purpose of developing and delivering new and potentially best‑in‑class therapies to address unmet medical needs. The R&D Legal team’s scope also extends beyond classic R&D activities into other areas of the business such as IT, connected health, and digital health solutions giving you broad exposure across Ascendis Pharma. This is an exciting opportunity to work in a fast‑paced environment, collaborate with cross‑functional, global teams working together to achieve extraordinary results.

You will be joining the R&D Legal team currently consisting of 5 colleagues, and report directly to Sara Weiss, Head of R&D Legal, who is based in Hellerup, Copenhagen. You will also be based in Hellerup, Copenhagen.

Your key responsibilities will be:

• Act as a key legal partner to Product Supply and Quality, supporting agreements such as commercial supply and manufacturing‐related contracts, and advising on legal matters arising in day‐to‐day supply chain operations.
• Support global clinical trials and studies, including negotiating trial site agreements, reviewing informed consent forms, and managing vendor contracts (e.g., CROs).
• Draft, review, and negotiate a broad range of other contracts, including confidentiality, service, consultancy, research, license, collaboration, and material transfer agreements.
• Provide legal and contract support to other departments within the R&D organization, including Research, Medical Affairs, and Regulatory Affairs – based on your experience and interests.
• Collaborate with stakeholders across Denmark, the US, and Germany, and help improve legal processes and contract templates.
• Actively contribute to a collaborative team culture within the R&D Legal team.

Qualifications and Skills:

You hold a Master’s degree in Law and bring at least 7–8 years of experience as an in‑house legal counsel or as an attorney in a law firm, preferably within the pharmaceutical or life sciences sector.

Furthermore, you have:

• Proven expertise in drafting, reviewing, and negotiating a wide range of complex contracts in the pharma industry.
• Solid experience supporting Product Supply and Quality, including drafting and negotiating commercial supply and manufacturing agreements.
• Experience supporting Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC), including agreements with CMOs/CDMOs for CMC development and manufacturing activities, is an advantage.
• Experience with clinical trial agreements, including negotiating trial site agreements, vendor contracts (e.g., with CROs), and reviewing informed consent forms is an advantage.
• Strong understanding of intellectual property law, including the handling of IP rights in contractual contexts.

Key competencies:

You are a strong team player, analytical, and have a can‑do attitude.

You possess an entrepreneurial mindset and can thrive in an informal, open environment where innovation and change are key.

To succeed in this role, we also expect you to have:

• Business-oriented legal mindset – You are able to translate complex legal concepts into practical guidance that supports scientific and operational decision‑making in a fast‑paced R&D environment.
• Stakeholder collaboration – You work proactively and effectively with cross‑functional teams, including scientists, project managers, and external partners, to align legal strategy with research goals.
• Risk assessment and mitigation – You can identify potential legal risks early in the development process and propose balanced solutions that enable innovation while ensuring compliance.

Travel:

2-5 days per year.

Office:

Ascendis Pharma A/S (Headquarter), Tuborg Boulevard 12, Hellerup, Denmark

For more details about the position or the company, please contact Sara Weiss, Head of R&D Legal, [phone] / [e-mail]

You can learn more about Ascendis by visiting our website

www.ascendispharma.com

Applications must be submitted in English and will be treated confidentially.

A note to recruiters:

We do not allow external search party solicitation. Presentation of candidates without written permission from the Ascendis Pharma HR team (specifically from: Talent Acquisition Partner or Human Resources Director) is not allowed. If this occurs, your ownership of these candidates will not be acknowledged.