Corporate Counsel (maternity cover)

unybrands; Hemel Hempstead; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

unybrands seeks a Corporate Counsel (M&A) to support its aggressive acquisition program as it scales digital-first consumer brands. You will lead the drafting and negotiation of acquisition contracts, advise on corporate finance matters, and handle a range of commercial agreements.

The role offers cross-functional exposure, collaboration with the General Counsel, and opportunities to shape policy templates and training. Occasional travel to the Hemel Hempstead office may be required.

Qualifications

• Qualified solicitor with 2+ years of experience managing M&A processes and drafting/negotiating M&A documents.
• Experience drafting a range of commercial contracts.
• Ability to manage external counsel and cross-functional collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Lead negotiating and drafting of acquisition contracts for ecommerce brands folded into the unybrands portfolio.
• Assist the General Counsel on corporate finance matters (equity and debt).
• Lead negotiating and drafting contracts typical for a fast-growing ecommerce startup (commercial focus).
• Draft, review, revise and negotiate complex corporate and commercial agreements (warehousing, marketing, IT, licensing, services, data, etc).
• Provide legal support across the organization and advise on legal risk aligned with business objectives.
• Collaborate with outside counsel on IP and data privacy matters and implement action plans.
• Develop and maintain contract templates and train business partners on policy.

Skills

M&A experience

Contract drafting

Contract negotiation

In-house counsel

Solicitor England & Wales

Tools

Contract management system

Job description

Founded in 2020, unybrands is the next-generation brand accelerator platform built to acquire, integrate, and scale digital-first consumer brands. Headquartered in Miami, with offices in New York, London, Berlin, and Shenzhen, our 240+ team brings deep expertise across e-commerce, brand management, consumer retail, operational scaling, and M&A.

Since inception, we have acquired 30+ brands across Pet Care, Personal Care, Home Care, Supplements, Baby & Juvenile, Garden & Outdoor, Sports & Fitness, and Home & Lifestyle — completing 20+ acquisitions and delivering 16 consecutive quarters of like-for-like organic growth post-integration.

Our competitive advantage lies in a fully integrated operating system purpose-built to transform digital brands into omni-channel category leaders. Powered by a proprietary technology stack built on NetSuite ERP with 200+ data integrations, our platform enables brands to thrive across marketplaces, direct-to-consumer channels, and brick-and-mortar retail.

We focus on acquiring digital-first brands within carefully selected verticals, then applying tailored value creation playbooks that drive growth through innovation, expansion, and automation. We believe the next generation of consumer brands will be built differently — and we’re building the AI-enabled retail tech platform to help them consolidate and win.

The Corporate Counsel (M&A) will be responsible for providing general advice across all functions, with a focus on executing on unybrands’ acquisitions. The primary responsibilities will be enhancing leading on legal workstreams of our acquisition process from letter of intent, through to diligence, transaction document preparation, negotiation and execution. Moreover, the role will involve general in-house matters (commercial contracts, employment matters, intellectual property, data privacy, etc). The candidate would also be expected to be able to assist the General Counsel in equity and debt matters (including in respect of the negotiation of any future equity or debt finance rounds for unybrands).

You will have the opportunity to work cross functionally across the company and contribute to important strategic initiatives as well as operational matters.

*this job might require you to travel to Hemel Hempstead office occasionally.

Responsibilities include - but not limited to:

• Lead the negotiating and drafting of acquisition contracts for ecommerce brands being folded into the unybrands portfolio.
• Assist the General Counsel on corporate finance matters (equity and debt).
• Lead the negotiating and drafting of contracts customary to a fast-growing ecommerce startup with a primary focus on commercial contracts.
• Draft, review, revise and negotiate a range of complex corporate and commercial agreements, including warehousing, marketing, IT, licensing, services, consulting, supply, confidentiality, collaboration, research, and data-related agreements.
• Provide legal support across the organization, including quickly and effectively identifying complex legal and compliance issues and providing advice in a manner that integrates legal risk management with the company’s business objectives.
• Collaborate with outside counsel on intellectual property and data privacy matters and ensure execution of action plans and recommendations.
• Enhance existing policies, processes, and templates, as well as training employees with respect thereto and implementing the processes and templates on our technology platforms.
• Collaborate both within the legal team and with business clients to develop or enhance a variety of contract templates.
• Manage outside counsel as needed.
• Develop and maintain strong business relationships across the company and contribute to cross-functional or departmental projects and teams.
• Assist the legal and compliance teams with a variety of legal matters, including general corporate, compliance, regulatory and other legal matters.
• Support efforts to effectively manage the delivery of legal services including budgeting, recruiting, performance management, process improvements, operations, training and team building.

A successful team member will have:

• Qualified solicitor (England & Wales or any other common law jurisdiction) and 2+ years of experience as a legal counsel with experience managing M&A processes, drafting and negotiating M&A documents, drafting a variety of commercial contracts.
• A combination of law firm and in-house experience would be ideal. Excellent interpersonal and client relations skills.
• Experience with employment law is a plus.
• Prior experience working for, or in, a high growth (start-up / venture capital) environment would be preferred, albeit not essential.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment leveraging internal and external resources to meet simultaneous deadlines/demands.
• Experience with implementing a contract management system; creating and managing contract templates; training business partners on contract policy.
• Excellent research, writing, counseling and communication skills and a positive client service orientation.
• Ability to work independently, as a team member, and across the organization.
• Accountability, sound judgment, and the ability to take ownership of an issue and provide concise and timely advice.
• German language skills would be a value-add.

unybrands is an equal opportunity employer and considers all applicants for employment without any regard to race, skin color, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, and age. Nor are applicants discriminated against based on disability or protected classes.