Legal Counsel

Yara; Singapore; On-site; SGD 80,000 - 100,000; Part time

Job summary

A leading international agricultural firm is seeking an experienced Legal Counsel for a 7-month contract based in Singapore. The role involves acting as a legal advisor for all business activities in Africa and Asia, requiring 8 years of post-qualification experience across various legal practice areas, especially in commercial law. Strong communication and negotiation skills are essential, along with a law degree and admission to practice in at least one common law jurisdiction. This position offers a unique opportunity to contribute to sustainable agriculture while working in a diverse, inclusive environment.

Qualifications

• 8 years PQE with experience in private practice and in-house legal.
• Admission to practice in at least one common law jurisdiction.
• Ability to operate autonomously and manage multiple priorities.

Responsibilities

• Act as legal advisor for Yara's business in Africa and Asia.
• Handle legal practice areas including finance, competition law, and employment.
• Provide proactive guidance on local regulatory developments.

Skills

Legal advisory

Commercial awareness

Communication skills

Negotiation skills

Education

Law degree from an accredited university

Job description

Date posted: Jan 14, 2026
Location: Singapore, SG
Area of Expertise: Legal
Job Type: Temporary
Work mode (place): On site
Job Requisition ID: 23980

Legal Counsel (7 Months Contract)

We at Yara are part of a global network, collaborating to profitably and responsibly solve some of the world's key challenges - resource scarcity, food insecurity and environmental change.

About the Unit

Founded in 1905 and headquartered in Oslo, Yara International is a Norwegian multinational company (MNC) and the leading sustainable agricultural, digital farming solutions, and farmer livelihood‑enhancement company. Our dedicated team of 18,000 professionals in 160 countries are committed to helping the world achieve a nature‑positive food future through regenerative farming, climate neutrality, and farmer prosperity.

With its headquarters in Singapore, Yara Africa & Asia (YAA) is one of Yara’s three regional geographic operating units. YAA and its team of 2,000 employees support an extensive and diverse region of 22 market economies. YAA works closely with in‑country, regional, and global stakeholders – including policymakers, commercial and smallholder farmers, retailers and channel partners, and NGOs to identify how the company can best support priorities around food security, farmer livelihoods, sustainability and circular economy across the food value chain. With global production capacity and product innovation, digital technology across five digital farming hubs – three of which are in Africa and Asia (Singapore, Shanghai, and Bangalore) – Yara Africa & Asia is supporting millions of farmers to grow our food sustainably.

Responsibilities

Business Unit & Regional Support

• Act as legal advisor for all of Yara’s business activities in Africa and Asia (ex-India and -Australia).
• Provide legal support across all user levels, from regional management to plant / sales level teams in an efficient, cost‑effective and commercial‑minded manner.
• Handle the full spectrum of legal practice areas, including but not limited to general corporate matters, finance, technology, intellectual property, real property, competition law, international trade, mergers & acquisitions, and employment law.
• Ideally also experienced in (i) technology‑ and (ii) innovation‑related workstreams, with experience negotiating collaboration agreements with business and research partners.
• Monitor local regulatory developments and provide proactive guidance to business stakeholders.
• Ability to provide legal advice in most cases without need to involve external legal counsel, in order to optimize external spend and turnaround times. That said, where it makes sense to consult external legal counsel on specific issues / projects, there is usually no issue budget‑wise in doing so.
• Ability to speak, read and draft in Chinese or Mandarin will be a significant advantage.

Global Functions Support – able to provide effective legal advice in following areas:

• Data Privacy
• Trademarks
• Sanctions

Profile

Experienced Legal Counsel supporting all of Yara’s legal needs in Africa and Asia (ex-India and -Australia) across all business functions and legal practice areas.

The position holder will be able to offer expertise based on experience and technical knowledge, and be the point of contact for certain internal user teams. The legal function for Africa and Asia is lean (6 lawyers, 1 corporate secretarial executive), so the position holder must be able to operate autonomously, efficiently, with client focus and be highly commercially minded.

Additional Information

• Law degree from an accredited university; admission to practice in at least one common law jurisdiction (e.g. UK, Hong Kong, Singapore).
• 8 years PQE with work experience in both (i) private practice and (ii) within an in‑house legal department in a MNC.

• Strong business acumen with the ability to balance legal risk and commercial objectives.
• Excellent communication, drafting, and negotiation skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast‑paced, matrixed environment.

Knowledge grows through differences
Yara is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We believe that creating a diverse and inclusive work environment is not only the right thing, but also the smart thing to do. To deliver on this, Yara has firmly anchored Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) in our business strategy and has more than 400 employees worldwide involved in D&I ambassadors networks.

As part of our recruitment process, where permitted by local law, we may conduct reference and background checks. These checks will only be performed when deemed necessary for the nature of the job. Candidates will be informed by HR before any background checks are initiated.

Job Segment: M&A, Sustainable Agriculture, Equity, Agricultural, Management, Agriculture, Finance, Research