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Head of Legal

The Head of Legal manages and provides leadership to the CGT Catapult legal team who advise on a wide range of contractual and legal matters. The Head of Legal will take the lead on negotiations of contract wording to ensure that the interests of CGT Catapult are protected and that the agreed commercial position is correctly positioned in contracts to ensure that CGT Catapult can meet the contractual obligations it enters into. The Head of Legal will work with the senior Business Development team to ensure that precedent documents and negotiated agreements meet the needs of CGT Catapult.

This is a wide ranging role covering many aspects of legal practice. The Head of Legal will be expected to provide advice in a wide variety of contractual situations for example property leases, collaboration agreements, clinical trial agreements, intellectual property licenses, sales terms and conditions. As such the candidate needs a broad knowledge of contract law along with an interest in expanding their working knowledge in many diverse areas of legal practice such as Subsidy Control, where appropriate.

The Head of Legal will be the "go to" legal expert within CGT Catapult and will manage our interactions with external legal counsel.

As part of the Business Development, Legal, and IP group, the Head of Legal will participate in regular meetings to provide information and recommendations on strategic business decisions.

Key Accountabilities:

  • Heading up and managing the Legal group at CGT Catapult.
  • Managing our relationship with external legal counsel.
  • Advising the company on a broad range of legal matters.
  • Working closely with all business streams, including the business development team, IP, Technology and Process Innovation (TPI) team, the CGT Catapult Manufacturing Innovation Centres (Braintree and Stevenage), Skills, Clinical Adoption, the CGT Catapult Edinburgh facility, and any other CGT Catapult group to deliver legal agreements that enable and protect the business arrangements required.
  • Provision of Company Secretarial services to the CGT Catapult Board (currently outsourced).
  • Accountable for Data Protection policies within the organization performing the role of Data Protection Officer.
  • Interaction with key stakeholders both internally and externally.

Experience:

  • Demonstrable skills in handling a diverse range of legal matters.
  • 5+ years working in house or in private practice with life science/biotechnology/healthcare companies is essential.
  • Broad experience of leading negotiations of contractual terms.
  • Experience of legal and IP issues that can arise when drafting R&D based agreements such as chain of title to IP rights and the enforceability of such contracts.
  • Involvement in corporate issues and legal requirements facing new start-up organisations such and company secretarial and constitutional matters.

Knowledge / Skills / Competencies:

  • Highly motivated, pragmatic and practical to support the mission of the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult to accelerate the development of a commercial cell and gene-based therapy industry in the UK.
  • Desire to establish a high profile career within cell and gene sector and the personal drive to help push the sector to be a commercial success.
  • Excellent interpersonal and oral and written communication skills.
  • Good presentation skills.
  • Skilled negotiator.
  • Ambitious, collaborative, driven.
  • Good IT skills.
  • Ability to quickly interpret and discuss complex legal matters.
  • Ability to work quickly and accurately with limited supervision along with the experience to realise when to seek advice from external counsel.
  • Resilient, with excellent organisational skills and the ability to prioritise work whilst dealing with a high workload, changing priorities and tight deadlines.
  • Excellent attention to detail.
  • Proven ability to engage constructively with colleagues at all levels across the Company to deliver objectives and to respond to a wide range of customer and management needs.
  • Ability to quickly establish credibility, build rapport and trust.
  • Proven diplomacy skills with diverse groups of internal and external stakeholders.
  • Strong influencing and leadership skills. Understands influencing, stakeholder management and negotiation strategies.
  • High degree of motivation, problem solving skills and innovative thinking.
  • A positive attitude towards learning, personal and professional development.
  • Keeps up to date with professional knowledge, expertise and best practice.
  • Good team player.
  • Budget and financial acumen.
  • Willingness to travel.

Education / Qualifications:

  • LLB Degree required.
  • Minimum 5 years PQE.