Summary:

The role will be responsible for managing the end-to-end legal, corporate secretarial, labour law, and data privacy framework for the India business, while supporting contracts and transactions across multiple geographies. The incumbent will partner with global stakeholders to enable business growth including CMO/CRO collaborations, in-licensing, and M&A activities, ensuring robust governance and compliance across jurisdictions.

Key Responsibilities:

- Legal & Commercial Contract Management

- Corporate Governance & Secretarial Compliance

- Strategic Transactions (M&A, Licensing & Partnerships)

- Labour Law & Employment Compliance

- Data Privacy & Cyber Compliance

- Litigation & Dispute Resolution

- Regulatory Compliance & Risk Management

- Business Partnering & Legal Advisory

- Governance Framework Strengthening

- Stakeholder & External Counsel Management

Contracting & Commercial Legal:

- Draft, review, negotiate and manage agreements across India and international jurisdictions, including CMO, CRO, technical service, in-licensing, supply, distribution, and confidentiality agreements.

- Ensure contracts are aligned with multi-jurisdictional legal and regulatory requirements.

- Develop and standardize global contract templates with appropriate jurisdictional safeguards.

Strategic Transactions (M&A / In-licensing Cross-border):

- Provide legal support for domestic and cross-border mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and licensing.

- Conduct legal due diligence across jurisdictions and support deal structuring.

Corporate Law & Secretarial Compliance:

- Ensure compliance with Companies Act, 2013 and SEBI regulations.

- Manage Board governance, including agenda, board notes, minutes, and filings.

Labour Laws & People Compliance:

- Ensure compliance with Indian labour laws and provide inputs on cross-border employment and expatriate frameworks.

- Partner with HR on employment contracts and workforce restructuring.

Data Protection, Privacy & Cyber Legal:

- Ensure compliance with Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and GDPR.

- Review cross-border data transfer arrangements and advise on data privacy in a multi-country model.

Litigation & Dispute Management:

- Manage corporate, commercial, labour, and data/privacy disputes in India.

- Coordinate with international legal counsel for overseas matters.

Governance & Risk Management:

- Identify and mitigate legal, regulatory, employment, and cyber risks.

- Ensure consistency in governance practices across geographies.

Must Haves:

- Mandatory background in pharma, life sciences, healthcare, or manufacturing industry.

- Strong hands-on experience in drafting, reviewing, and negotiating commercial and cross-border contracts.

- Strong knowledge of Companies Act, 2013, Board governance, statutory filings, and secretarial compliance.