Sr Legal Counsel

Novo Nordisk A/S; England; Remote; GBP 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Novo Nordisk A/S in the United Kingdom is seeking a Senior Legal Counsel to act as a true business partner for the UK obesity portfolio. You will influence strategy, provide risk-based advice, and navigate regulatory complexity across the organisation, including engagement with NHS-related and private healthcare activities.

You will advise on commercial models, pricing and market access, draft and negotiate agreements, and support governance and compliance training across cross-functional teams

Qualifications

• Qualified lawyer in the UK or another relevant jurisdiction, able to advise on UK business activities.
• Significant post-qualification experience, including in-house or advising commercial clients in regulated sectors.
• Strong commercial contracting skills and ability to give pragmatic, risk-based advice on strategic projects.
• Experience working with senior stakeholders and cross-functional teams in a complex matrix organisation.
• Ability to identify core issues, use sound judgement and communicate clearly to non-lawyers.

Responsibilities

• Build trusted relationships with obesity business leaders and provide proactive legal guidance on strategies, launches and partnerships.
• Advise on UK obesity portfolio: commercial models, pricing, routes to market, distribution, patient support and external communications.
• Draft, review and negotiate commercial agreements with a proportionate risk-based approach; instruct external counsel on high-risk matters.
• Assess legal and regulatory risk across UK and European requirements, coordinating with Compliance and Regulatory teams on ABPI, MHRA, and ASA rules.
• Provide practical competition law advice and support product protection, disputes and investigations, escalating major issues as needed.
• Represent Legal on governance panels and training initiatives to embed compliance in everyday work.

Skills

Qualified lawyer

In-house partner

Commercial contracting

Stakeholder engagement

Regulatory awareness

Job description

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As Senior Legal Counsel, you will be a legal partner for Novo’s UK obesity business. From the outset, you will bring your legal expertise and insight to help shape and influence strategy and key decisions, turning complex requirements into clear, practical, risk-based advice. Working with leaders and teams across the organisation, you will help the business pursue its objectives, navigating legal and regulatory complexity, supporting sound decision-making, and protecting patients and the company.

What you’ll bring

• Qualified lawyer in the UK or another relevant jurisdiction, with the ability to advise confidently on UK business activities.
• Substantial post-qualification experience, including as an in-house business partner or advising commercial clients in a regulated sector.
• Strong commercial contracting skills and experience giving pragmatic, risk-based advice on strategic projects.
• Experience working with senior stakeholders and cross-functional teams in a complex matrix organisation.
• The ability to identify the core legal and business issues, use sound judgement and explain advice clearly to non-lawyers.
• A proven ability to manage competing priorities, external counsel and high-impact matters with limited supervision.

Useful, but not essential:

• Experience in pharmaceutical, life sciences, healthcare or consumer health.
• Knowledge of UK medicines regulation, the ABPI Code, competition law, data protection, advertising, and commercial models involving the NHS or private healthcare providers.
• Experience supporting obesity, cardiometabolic or other high-profile therapeutic areas, including launch, market access, pricing or public facing and patient initiatives.
• Experience of governance panels, investigations, litigation, product protection, intellectual property or loss of exclusivity matters.

What you’ll do

You will be a true business partner, helping shape launches, commercial models and customer engagement, providing pragmatic, risk based advice on legal, regulatory and ethical requirements.

• Build trusted relationships with obesity business leaders, take part in relevant leadership and cross-functional forums, and give early, proactive advice on strategies, business plans, launches, partnerships and material projects.
• Advise on the UK obesity portfolio, including private and NHS-facing priorities: commercial models, pricing and discounts, routes to market, supply and distribution, patient support, collaborations, sponsorships, grants and external communications.
• Draft, review and negotiate commercial agreements with a proportionate, risk-based approach, and instruct external counsel on specialist or high-risk matters.
• Assess legal and regulatory risk across UK and European requirements, working with Compliance, Medical and Regulatory colleagues on the ABPI Code, MHRA requirements and ASA rules, to advise on practical mitigations.
• Provide practical competition law advice and support product protection, loss of exclusivity, disputes, investigations and enforcement matters, escalating significant issues promptly and documenting key decisions.
• Represent Legal on governance panels and working groups, deliver relevant training for business colleagues, and develop guidance and tools that build compliance into everyday ways of working.

Who you’ll work with

You will join the UK Legal Ethics & Compliance team within International Operations, reporting to the UK Director, Legal, Ethics & Compliance.

As legal partner for the UK obesity business, you will work closely with colleagues across commercial, market access, medical, customer engagement, corporate affairs, regulatory, pricing and finance. In a matrix organisation you will also collaborate closely with regional and global Legal, Ethics and Compliance colleagues, external counsel and other specialist functions.

At Novo, we believe clear priorities and honest conversations keep things moving. You will speak up early, challenge constructively and help teams decide, own the outcome and follow through.

What you can expect here

You will be trusted to work independently on high-impact matters, with the support of a wide legal network across the UK, region and globally. You will be encouraged to make your voice heard, contribute your expertise and share knowledge across affiliates through cross-affiliate projects.

You will grow through varied, visible work – from launches and commercial models to competition law and product protection – and through relevant learning opportunities and exposure to colleagues across the value chain.

Start now

Your impact begins today. If you are ready to give the UK obesity business legal partnership that helps it move with clarity and confidence, apply for the Senior Legal Counsel role by 15 November 2026. Applications are reviewed on an ongoing basis, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

We commit to an inclusive recruitment process and equality of opportunity for all our job applicants.