Corporate Counsel (EMEA)

QAD; Greater London; On-site; GBP 100,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

QAD Inc. in London seeks a Corporate Counsel (EMEA) to lead complex commercial transactions and AI-enabled legal operations across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. You will partner with Sales, Finance, Privacy, and InfoSec to enable deals while protecting the company from risk.

You will draft and negotiate SaaS master agreements, DPAs, and professional services terms, and monitor GDPR and EU AI Act developments, shaping QAD's global contracting posture.

Qualifications

• Law degree or equivalent legal qualification.
• Admitted to practice in at least one relevant EMEA jurisdiction.
• Minimum 7 years supporting sales in-house at a software/SaaS company.

Responsibilities

• Draft, review, and negotiate SaaS master agreements and DPAs.
• Partner with Sales, Deal Desk, Finance, InfoSec, Privacy, and Professional Services.
• Lead AI and regulatory initiatives, monitor GDPR and EU AI Act developments.
• Support global cross-functional legal operations and regulatory matters.

Skills

In-house legal

SaaS contract negotiation

AI/Legal tech operations

GDPR/data privacy knowledge

Regulatory knowledge: EU AI Act

Fluent English

Education

Law degree or equivalent

Tools

AI platforms for contracts

Contract lifecycle tools

Job description

QAD Inc., owned by leading private equity firm Thoma Bravo, is a premier provider of cloud-based manufacturing and enterprise software solutions. Together with Redzone—the #1 Connected Worker Platform in manufacturing—we empower shop-floor teams and drive operational excellence worldwide.

Within this high-growth, PE-backed environment, the QAD Legal Department operates as a strategic catalyst for business execution—driving rapid revenue enablement, managing global commercial risk, and pioneering AI-first operational frameworks. As QAD continues to scale its global footprint and product offerings, the Legal team plays a direct, hands-on role in accelerating deal velocity, safeguarding intellectual property and compliance, and building scalable legal operations to support our strategic pillars.

Job Description

The Corporate Counsel (EMEA) will serve as a key member and proactive legal leader within QAD's Legal team, driving commercial transactions across the EMEA region and globally with a solutions-minded, collaborative approach. This role will engage cross-functional stakeholders as the Legal frontline for complex customer-facing transactions and assist in establishing and expanding AI-powered workflow efficiencies.

What You’ll Do:

Drive Commercial Transactions: Draft, review, and negotiate SaaS master agreements, professional services terms, Data Processing Agreements (DPAs), and customer-facing commercial documents. Deliver pragmatic, business-oriented legal guidance and sound judgment to fast-moving sales teams.

Solutions-Oriented Stakeholder Alignment: Act as a collaborative, business-enabling partner to Sales, Deal Desk, Finance, InfoSec, Privacy, and Professional Services. Solve complex legal and business problems pragmatically, balancing commercial objectives with legal risk.

Build Legal Operations & AI Frameworks: Partner in establishing QAD’s global Legal Operations Center. Identify opportunities to build, modernize, and refine legal templates, playbooks, fallback positions, and internal workflows using AI and legal technology platforms (e.g., GC AI).

Lead AI & Regulatory Initiatives: Monitor current and emerging AI and data privacy regulations (including the EU AI Act and GDPR). Adapt QAD's commercial positions and customer-facing terms as regulatory environments and product offerings evolve.

Global & Cross-Functional Support: Support a high-volume commercial contracting workload with proactive ownership. Provide coverage for EMEA matters and time-sensitive U.S.-based legal matters during EMEA business hours.

Qualifications

Who You Are:

Education & Qualification: Law degree or equivalent legal qualification from a recognized jurisdiction; admitted to practice in at least one relevant EMEA jurisdiction.

Experience: Minimum of 7 years supporting sales in-house at a high-growth U.S. multinational software/SaaS company.

Deal Execution: Proven experience supporting fast-moving software sales teams and negotiating complex SaaS, cloud services, and technology transactions under tight deadlines.

Legal Operations & AI Tech: Hands-on experience using legal AI platforms and legal technology to optimize contract review cycles, playbook development, and Legal Department operational efficiency.

Regulatory Knowledge: Strong working experience with data protection laws (GDPR) and demonstrated working knowledge of emerging AI frameworks (e.g., EU AI Act).

Mindset: Startup mentality with a solutions-oriented approach—able to build and establish policies and processes from scratch within a global organization.

Languages: Fluent written and spoken English required. Additional EMEA language capability preferred (German, French, or Spanish).

Additional Information

How We Work

Pace and Clarity: We're a team of single-threaded owners who make quick, reversible decisions and escrow transparently.

Outcomes Over Activity: We celebrate shipped value, not just presentations.

One Team: We partner deeply with our colleagues, making trade-offs explicit and working together to achieve a shared goal.

About QAD:

QAD | Redzone is redefining manufacturing and supply chains through its intelligent, adaptive platform that connects people, processes, and data into a single System of Action. With three core pillars — Redzone (frontline empowerment), Adaptive Applications (the intelligent backbone), and Champion AI (Agentic AI for manufacturing) — QAD | Redzone helps manufacturers operate with Champion Pace , achieving measurable productivity, resilience, and growth in just 90 days.

QAD is committed to ensuring that every employee feels they work in an environment that values their contributions, respects their unique perspectives and provides opportunities for growth regardless of background. QAD’s DEI program is driving higher levels of diversity, equity and inclusion so that employees can bring their whole self to work.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran, and basis of disability or any other federal, state or local protected class.