Lead Counsel, E-Commerce - EMEA Ops & Marketing

TikTok; Greater London; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

TikTok is seeking a senior UK/EU-qualified lawyer to lead the Ops & Marketing legal team for EMEA, based in London. You will oversee a multi-market team and provide strategic guidance on compliance, commercial agreements, and regulatory matters across the region. The role requires deep experience advising e‑commerce or tech businesses, strong UK/EU law knowledge, and the ability to translate complex regulation into practical business guidance for senior stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Qualified lawyer with UK/EU admission.
• Extensive experience advising e-commerce businesses in EMEA.
• Knowledge of UK/EU digital platforms, consumer protection, advertising, IP.
• Experience drafting commercial agreements across retail, creative, advertising.
• Ability to lead cross-jurisdictional teams.
• Fluent English; ability to explain complex concepts to business stakeholders.
• Ability to manage multiple projects independently.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Ops & Marketing regional legal team across multiple EMEA markets.
• Draft, negotiate, and manage commercial agreements for digital/e-commerce platforms.
• Localise contract templates and policy frameworks for market launches.
• Build scalable contracting infrastructure and self-service resources.
• Monitor regulatory developments and provide practical guidance on initiatives.

Skills

UK/EU legal qualification

E-commerce regulatory experience

Leadership of legal team

English fluency

Education

Qualified lawyer (UK/EU)

Job description

Responsibilities

The Team We are seeking a senior-level UK or EU-qualified lawyer to lead the Ops & Marketing legal team for EMEA within our Global Ecommerce legal function and support our rapidly expanding e-commerce business. The Global Ecommerce legal team provides strategic and operational legal guidance across TikTok's e-commerce business, supporting multiple markets across EMEA - currently spanning the UK, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Czech Republic, Austria, Greece, Portugal, Hungary, Poland, Netherlands, Belgium. This is a unique opportunity to be part of a dynamic, high-growth environment where legal expertise directly influences the success of a fast-scaling business.

The Role

We are looking for an accomplished legal leader with deep, on-the-ground experience advising e-commerce or technology businesses. In this role, you will oversee the EMEA Ops & Marketing legal team supporting multiple markets across the region, drawing on first-hand experience navigating the regulatory landscape and advising digital commerce platforms on compliance, commercial, and operational matters across EMEA. In this course, you will have an opportunity to work with other team members and cross function key stakeholders on the global level. Your expertise will be instrumental in helping TikTok's e-commerce business grow while ensuring adherence to UK, Europe and broader EMEA legal frameworks. The role will be based in London.

Responsibilities

You will lead a team committed to delivering pragmatic legal solutions that empower the business. Your responsibilities will include:

• Leading the Ops & Marketing regional legal team supporting TikTok's e-commerce operations across multiple EMEA markets -currently the UK, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Czech Republic, Austria, Greece, Portugal, Hungary, Poland, the Netherlands, and Belgium - and overseeing the full range of commercial and operational legal matters, including transactions, advertising, product enablement, vendor engagement, marketing clearance, user operations, third-party disputes, and regulatory inquiries.
• Drafting, negotiating, and managing commercial agreements for digital and e-commerce platforms, including partnerships with merchants, creators, and advertisers, and reviewing consumer- and business-facing disclosures, policies, and terms to ensure regulatory compliance.
• Driving compliant market launches and expansion, including localising core contract templates and policy frameworks, enabling merchant and creator incentive programmes, and negotiating global key account partnerships that support strategic sellers and drive strong annual revenue growth.
• Building scalable legal and contracting infrastructure, including self-service resources for routine contracting, structured triage frameworks that deliver executive-ready risk assessments, and repeatable market-entry playbooks.
• Providing proactive posture to defend business by monitoring e-commerce related regulatory development and translating complex EU and national regulation into practical commercial guidance and advising on major initiatives such as cross-border selling models, IP and data acquisition strategies, pricing and commission structures, creator compliance tools, seasonal campaigns, gamified commerce features, and merchant management programmes.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

• Strong academic background with legal qualifications in a major UK or EU market.
• Extensive legal practice experience, including substantial experience advising e-commerce businesses operating in EMEA.
• In-depth knowledge of UK and EU laws governing digital platforms, retail, and e-commerce, including platform liability, consumer protection, advertising, marketing and intellectual property.
• Significant experience drafting and negotiating commercial agreements across the retail, creative, and advertising industries.
• Demonstrated ability to lead legal teams and manage end-to-end commercial projects across multiple jurisdictions in a high-growth environment.
• Strong documentation, presentation, and communication skills, with professional fluency in English, with the ability to simplify complex legal concepts for business stakeholders.
• Ability to manage multiple projects independently in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.

Preferred Qualifications:

• In-house experience in an international, matrixed organisation.
• Experience engaging with regulatory bodies, industry associations, or broader compliance initiatives relevant to e-commerce in EMEA.
• Understanding of the evolving regulatory landscape for digital commerce and online marketplaces across EMEA.

About TikTok

TikTok is the leading destination for short-form mobile video. At TikTok, our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. TikTok's global headquarters are in Los Angeles and Singapore, and we also have offices in New York City, London, Dublin, Paris, Berlin, Dubai, Jakarta, Seoul, and Tokyo.

Why Join Us

Inspiring creativity is at the core of TikTok's mission. Our innovative product is built to help people authentically express themselves, discover and connect - and our global, diverse teams make that possible. Together, we create value for our communities, inspire creativity and bring joy - a mission we work towards every day. We strive to do great things with great people. We lead with curiosity, humility, and a desire to make impact in a rapidly growing tech company. Every challenge is an opportunity to learn and innovate as one team. We're resilient and embrace challenges as they come. By constantly iterating and fostering an "Always Day 1" mindset, we achieve meaningful breakthroughs for ourselves, our company, and our users. When we create and grow together, the possibilities are limitless. Join us.

Diversity & Inclusion

TikTok is committed to creating an inclusive space where employees are valued for their skills, experiences, and unique perspectives. Our platform connects people from across the globe and so does our workplace. At TikTok, our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. To achieve that goal, we are committed celebrating our diverse voices and to creating an environment that reflects the many communities we reach. We are passionate about this and hope you are too.