Head of Legal Affairs

BIST People Working Group; Castelldefels; Hybrid; EUR 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work

Flexible hours

Competitive compensation

Job summary

ICFO is seeking a Head of Legal Affairs to build and lead its internal Legal function and become the institution’s senior legal reference. Reporting directly to the Executive Direction, the successful candidate will be responsible for identifying, assessing, and managing legal matters and risks across the organization.

This senior leadership role combines strategic oversight with hands-on legal work, including legal analysis, drafting, negotiation, and problem-solving.

Qualifications

• Law degree and professional legal qualification required.
• Minimum 8 years of relevant legal experience.
• Strong knowledge of Spanish and Catalan public-sector law; IP, tech transfer, and research agreements valued.
• Excellent command of Catalan, Spanish, and English.

Responsibilities

• Act as ICFO’s senior legal advisor to Executive Direction.
• Lead development of the Legal function and internal team.
• Advise on public-sector regulation, IP, tech transfer, and data protection.
• Monitor regulatory developments and implement policies.
• Coordinate external counsel when needed.

Skills

Legal leadership

Legal advisory

Negotiation

Risk management

Team management

Languages: Catalan/Spanish/English

Education

Law degree

Professional legal qualification

Tools

Legal research tools

External counsel coordination

Job description

DESCRIPTION

ICFO is seeking a Head of Legal Affairs to build and lead its internal Legal function and become the institution’s senior legal reference. Reporting directly to the Executive Direction, the successful candidate will be responsible for identifying, assessing, and managing legal matters and risks across the organization.

This senior leadership role combines strategic oversight with hands-on legal work, including legal analysis, drafting, negotiation, and problem-solving. The position offers the opportunity to shape ICFO’s Legal function from the ground up, defining processes, tools, policies, and team development.

Key responsibilities:

• Act as ICFO’s senior legal advisor to Executive Direction and institutional decision-makers.
• Lead the development and management of the Legal function and internal Legal team.
• Advise on public-sector regulation, governance, intellectual property, technology transfer, research agreements, licensing, spin-offs, data protection, and AI-related legal matters.
• Monitor regulatory developments and ensure appropriate implementation across the institution.
• Develop legal policies, procedures, templates, and knowledge-management frameworks.
• Coordinate specialized external legal counsel when required.

Requirements

• University degree in Law and professional legal qualification.
• Minimum 8 years of relevant legal experience.
• Strong knowledge of the Spanish and/or Catalan public-sector legal framework.
• -Experience in intellectual property, research agreements, and/or technology transfer.
• Proven experience advising senior management and handling complex legal matters and negotiations.
• Excellent command of Catalan, Spanish, and English.

ICFO offers a highly stimulating and international environment, close interaction with institutional leadership and world-leading scientists, significant scope for creativity and institutional impact, competitive salary and benefits, and attractive working conditions including hybrid work and flexible hours.

Application deadline: 12 November 2026

For the complete job description, detailed requirements, conditions, and selection process, please visit: https://jobs.icfo.eu/?detail=1155