Legal Counsel

OMNI UNITED (S) PTE. LTD.; Singapore; On-site; SGD 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading tire manufacturer in Singapore is seeking an in-house Legal Counsel to establish and scale the legal function. This role involves drafting various commercial agreements, managing external counsel, and advising on compliance risks. The ideal candidate has 5–10 years of PQE and experience in contract law as well as strong stakeholder management skills. This position offers a dynamic environment for a proactive legal advisor.

Qualifications

• 5–10 years PQE with in-house experience preferred.
• Strong foundation in commercial law and IP.
• Ability to draft business-friendly agreements.

Responsibilities

• Draft, review, and negotiate a wide range of commercial agreements.
• Create and maintain templates and negotiation playbooks.
• Manage external counsel and control legal spend.
• Advise on legal/compliance risks for marketing and products.

Skills

Experience in contract law

Stakeholder management

Negotiation skills

Strong drafting abilities

Problem-solving

Education

Admitted to the Bar (Singapore or common-law jurisdiction)

Job description

The Opportunity

Be the first in-house Legal Counsel, establishing and scaling the legal function from a currently light workload to a mature, business-partnering capability as the company grows. The role suits a pragmatic, hands-on advisor who can operate autonomously and build simple, scalable processes.

Key Responsibilities

• Commercial Contracts: Draft, review, and negotiate a wide range of agreements including supply (buyers/suppliers), distribution/reseller, IT/SaaS, IP & trademarks, advertising/marketing, influencer, promotion, sponsorship, leases, data protection (DPA), NDAs, and MOUs.
• Playbooks & Templates: Create and maintain templates, fallbacks, and negotiation playbooks to speed turnaround while controlling risk.
• Contract Lifecycle: Maintain contract and IP registers, renewal calendars, notice periods, and key obligations; ensure trademark and other IP renewals are actioned on time.
• External Counsel Management: Instruct and manage outside counsel and third parties as needed; build a lean preferred panel and control legal spend.
• Insurance & Risk: Liaise with insurers on coverage queries, endorsements, claims, and policy renewals; track renewals and maintain documentation.
• Marketing & Product Support: Review campaigns, claims, promotions, and content for legal/compliance risks; advise on consumer, advertising, and competition considerations.
• Data Protection & Privacy: Advise on privacy frameworks (e.g., PDPA/GDPR-aligned practices), including DPAs, SCCs, data maps, consent/retention, and coordinate incident response.
• Dispute & Litigation Triage: Coordinate pre-dispute assessments, responses, and cost-effective resolution strategies; manage external counsel for any litigation.
• Trade & Operations: Support logistics, import/export, maritime/shipping, and warehousing matters; review terms with carriers, 3PLs, and freight providers.
• Governance & Policies: Draft practical policies/SOPs (contracting authority matrix, document retention, code of conduct, anti-bribery, gifts/hospitality, conflicts, dawn-raid guidance).
• Training & Enablement: Deliver short trainings to commercial teams (contract basics, marketing compliance, privacy-by-design) and publish quick checklists.
• Stakeholder Collaboration: Partner with cross-functional teams to support deals and projects; provide rapid, pragmatic advice aligned to business goals.
• Reporting: Provide concise monthly updates on contract pipeline, renewals, disputes, and key risks.

First 90–180 Days (Success Outcomes)

• Build a contract and IP inventory with renewal/obligation calendars.
• Roll out core templates (NDA, MSA/Supply, DPA, SoW, Marketing/Influencer, Promotion, Sponsorship).
• Publish playbooks and an approval/authority matrix.
• Implement a simple CLM/tracker (spreadsheet or tool) with KPIs (cycle time, renewal risk, spend).
• Set up a lean external counsel panel and a matter intake process.
• Deliver at least two trainings for commercial/marketing teams.

Qualifications

• 5–10 years PQE (Singapore or common-law jurisdiction); in-house experience strongly preferred.
• Strong grounding in contract, corporate, and commercial law, with experience in IP/trademarks, media/advertising, data protection/privacy, and ideally maritime/logistics.
• Proven ability to draft and negotiate end-to-end commercial agreements in clear, business-friendly language.
• Comfortable coordinating external counsel and supporting activity across multiple regions.
• Coach-able, dependable, trustworthy, hardworking; proactive with a can-do mindset in a fast-moving environment.
• Excellent researching, drafting, and communication skills; strong stakeholder management across sales, marketing, operations, and finance.
• Nice to have: experience in manufacturing/contract manufacturing, distribution/retail, automotive/tires; exposure to product liability/warranty and competition/antitrust basics; familiarity with CLM or legal-ops tooling.