Senior Legal Counsel

BioInnovation Institute (BII); København; On-site; DKK 900,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company pension

Sponsorship for further studies

Job summary

BioInnovation Institute (BII) invites a Senior Legal Counsel to join our Legal & IP team at our Copenhagen headquarters. You will provide day‑to‑day legal support with a business‑oriented focus, serving ventures, funds, and cross‑border collaborations.

You will drive contracts, structuring, and compliance while mentoring junior members. You will report to the Head of Legal & IP, shaping legal frameworks for Upscalator, AI‑Lab, and related initiatives as BII scales its life sciences and deep tech

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Law; Danish bar is a plus.
• Minimum 6 years of work experience as a lawyer.
• Experience from private practice/a law firm, an investment fund and/or an in‑house legal position.
• Extensive experience drafting, negotiating, and managing contracts.
• Experience working with venture funds, investment funds, startups, and M&A.
• Experience with innovation, research projects, science, universities, spin‑outs and startups.
• Experience with CRO or CMO activities.
• Experience leading and organizing small teams or projects.
• Proficiency in English at a professional level, both written and spoken.

Responsibilities

• Provide legal support across the wider BII organization and its activities.
• Act as the primary legal support for BII projects with a commercial and investment‑driven profile, including funds abroad.
• Be responsible for legal support on new initiatives like Upscalator and AI‑Lab.
• Contribute to legal support across BII’s international activities and collaborations.
• Support development and optimization of legal processes and frameworks for BII’s activities.

Skills

Contract drafting

Negotiation

Team leadership

M&A experience

Venture funds

English proficiency

In-house legal

Private practice

Education

Master of Law

Danish bar qualification

Job description

Are you an experienced lawyer who thrives at the intersection of law, investments, and innovation? Do you enjoy combining strong legal expertise with a pragmatic, commercial mindset to help bold ideas move forward?

Then we might have the perfect opportunity at BioInnovation Institute, where we are looking for a Senior Legal Counsel to join our Legal & IP team at our headquarters in Copenhagen.

Your Opportunity to Join BII!

The BioInnovation Institute (BII) is a non‑profit foundation established by the Novo Nordisk Foundation in 2018. Its mission is to accelerate research and startups to bring forward bold solutions that improve human and planetary health. BII supports collaborative, interdisciplinary innovation across Life Sciences and Deep Tech, helping transform cutting‑edge research into viable companies so that new discoveries can deliver real impact for people and society.

As a Senior Legal Counsel, you will become part of a small legal team, all united by the ambition of enabling BII’s mission through sound, pragmatic, and business‑oriented legal support. Reporting to our Head of Legal & IP, you will provide day‑to‑day legal support to the broader BII organization and our rapidly growing activities, while also taking ownership of specific BII initiatives, projects, and stakeholders. In this role, you will have the opportunity to work on a variety of exciting projects, including BII’s new venture funds and initiatives such as the Upscalator and the AI‑Lab, become the Legal teams main point of contact for more commercial and investment related matters, while also contributing to the development and optimization of BII’s legal structures, processes, and frameworks as we continue to scale. If you thrive in a dynamic environment and are eager to make a real difference, this is the perfect opportunity for you!

Your Key Responsibilities Will Include

• Provide legal support across the wider BII organization and its activities
• Act as the primary legal support for BII projects with a commercial and investment‑driven profile, including BII’s new venture funds and alternative investment funds in Denmark and abroad
• Be responsible for legal support on new and exciting BII initiatives and activities, such as – but not limited to - the Upscalator and the AI‑Lab
• Contribute to legal support across BII’s international activities and collaborations
• Support the development and optimization of legal processes and frameworks for BII’s activities

Professional & Personal Qualifications

You are someone who takes full ownership of projects from start to finish - from planning and stakeholder alignment to follow‑up and delivery. Besides this and being a natural team player, you ideally bring the following competencies:

• A Master’s degree in Law – it is a plus if you have passed the Danish bar as a Qualified Attorney
• Minimum 6 years of work experience as a lawyer, demonstrating high subject‑matter expertise and result‑oriented legal support
• Experience from private practice/a law firm, an investment fund and/or an in‑house legal position
• Extensive experience drafting, negotiating, and managing contracts
• Experience working with venture funds, (alternative) investment funds, investments in start‑ups/venture companies, indirect investments in general and/or M&A
• Experience working with innovation, research projects, science, universities, spin‑outs and start‑ups
• Experience working with CRO or CMO activities
• Experience leading and organizing small teams or projects
• Proficiency in English at a professional level, both written and spoken

It will be considered a plus if you have experience with:

• Life science, and/or working for or with foundations
• IT contracts, personal data, company law, and EU law
• Convertible loan notes, grants/donations, grant agreements etc.

Working at BII

At BII we offer a purpose‑driven community where science and innovation create meaningful change and impact in society. BII’s entrepreneurial environment is shaped and nurtured every day by our employees, start‑ups, and everyone who joins us in bringing science to life. This role offers a unique opportunity to join Europe’s largest innovation and incubation initiative within life sciences and deep tech.

BII is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, at Ole Maaløes Vej 3, 2200 Copenhagen N. From Copenhagen, the Secretariat supports strategy, governance, and coordination across BII’s international activities.

Equal Opportunities

At BII, we believe innovation starts with people. As a community of changemakers, we believe the best ideas emerge when people with different backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences come together around a shared purpose.

We are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace built on equal opportunities, where everyone can thrive and where pay is fair, equitable, and based on the principle of equal pay for equal work. We welcome all applications regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion, or socio‑economic background.

Curious for more?

If you are curious to know more about the position, please contact Lasse Juul Jakobsen, Head of Legal, on e‑mail: [e-mail].

The interview process is expected to take place in October. The preferred start date is as soon as possible. However, we are flexible and will consider individual notice periods and availability.