Legal Counsel

We are Reckitt

Home to the world's best loved and trusted hygiene, health, and nutrition brands. Our purpose defines why we exist: to protect, heal and nurture in the relentless pursuit of a cleaner, healthier world. We are a global team united by this purpose.

Join us in our fight to make access to the highest quality hygiene, wellness, and nourishment a right and not a privilege.

​Legal​

Step into the world of our Legal and Compliance Function and prepare to be challenged and stretched with a combination of impact, innovation, and excellence. Our Legal team is at the forefront of shaping the corporate landscape and redefining the boundaries of what is possible.

We go beyond the traditional realms of a legal and compliance function. Transforming ourselves into strategic partners who help drive business growth, mitigating risks, and championing ethical and sustainable practices. Every day, our team deliver on groundbreaking transactions and navigate complex regulatory landscapes that help our organisation make a positive societal impact.

The UKI Legal team is made up of a Legal Director, a Senior Legal Counsel and two Legal Counsels (including this role). The UKI team also works closely with the wider global Legal function. This is a hybrid role requiring 3 days a week working in our office in Slough.

About the role

We have an exciting opportunity for a creative, agile and pragmatic 3-5 PQE lawyer to join our UK and Ireland business, as Legal Counsel. Reporting into the Senior Legal Counsel, working collaboratively with the UKI Legal Team and the wider Legal function, the Legal Counsel will be a key team player in implementation of all legal and compliance matters related to the UKI Health & Hygiene commercial operations and supporting the UK factories. They will work proactively and in a hands-on way to develop strong relationships with the commercial, factory and legal teams and will deliver commercially relevant advice in the context of a dynamic, innovative and growing business.

The right candidate will be proactive and self-aware, with the ability to balance technical and legal risk against commercial advantages. You will also be a commercially minded business partner with an awareness of wider business goals, who articulates clearly and pragmatically legal considerations and potential risks to their stakeholders. This position has a direct impact on key business activities, so excellent and robust legal abilities, strategic thinking, commercial awareness, influencing skills and willingness to work collaboratively with colleagues within and outside of Legal are key.

Your responsibilities

Advertising & Marketing:  

Working closely with the marketing teams including digital and ecommerce teams to provide strategic advice and approval on all legal aspects of product marketing and advertising:  reviewing and approving artworks, product claims, TV copies and story boards; business development initiatives, advising in relation to communications from the UK Advertising Standards Agency or similar regulatory bodies, consumers and competitors.

Commercial Contracts:  

Drafting and managing legal implications under a range of commercial agreements, particularly procurement agreements for the UK factories as well as general marketing services agreements.

Legal Compliance:

Ensure compliance in all business, advising on privacy issues, and advising on various other compliance matters.

Factory support:

Supporting the Legal Director in resolving non-contractual issues with the Factories, including health & safety, privacy and employment issues. 

Sales:

Advising on ad hoc queries from the Sales teams regarding new and existing relationships, with particular focus on competition law risks. 

Crisis and Issues Management:

From time to time, assisting the Legal Director as required on any crisis or major issues impacting the UK and/or Ireland business including on product recalls, PR related matters, consumer relation matters, unforeseen matters such as cyber attacks, pandemics; and

Advising on a range of other general legal matters arising in a commercial, consumer driven enterprise. 

The experience we're looking for

•    Experience in-house ideally gained through an in-house role.

•    Sound knowledge of contract, advertising and marketing, competition, and consumer protection law.

•    Excellent skills in drafting and negotiating commercial contracts. 

•    A creative and pragmatic approach and an ability to convey legal principles in a succinct manner. 

•    A can-do attitude, willing to provide support wherever the business needs it and the ability to work in a fast-paced environment managing competing demands from across the business.

•    Excellent communication and influencing skills.

•    Flexible thinking, energetic, tenacious and results-oriented.

•    UK qualified lawyer (3-5 PQE), with excellent all-round legal skills, and fluency in English.

•    Appetite for learning and mastering new legal issues quickly and manage a diverse, changing workload. 

•    A team player, with high integrity, a strong work ethic and a commitment towards creating a collaborative team culture and helping the business to drive its focus on its goals in a compliant, responsible and entrepreneurial way.
 

The skills for success

Integrity, Corporate Governance, Compliance Management, Solutions Focused, Excellent Communication Skills, Risk management, Intellectual property, Patents, Commercial contracts, Marketing, Teamwork, Fact-based Decision Making, Ability to manage and prioritize workload, Continuous Improvement Mindset, Legal Services, Process Optimisation, Qualified Lawyer.

What we offer

With inclusion at the heart of everything we do, working alongside our four global Employee Resource Groups, we support our people at every step of their career journey, helping them to succeed in their own individual way.

We invest in the wellbeing of our people through parental benefits, an Employee Assistance Program to promote mental health, and life insurance for all employees globally. We have a range of other benefits in line with the local market. Through our global share plans we offer the opportunity to save and share in Reckitt's potential future successes. For eligible roles, we also offer short-term incentives to recognise, appreciate and reward your work for delivering outstanding results. You will be rewarded in line with Reckitt's pay for performance philosophy.

Equality

We recognise that in real life, great people don't always 'tick all the boxes'. That's why we hire for potential as well as experience. Even if you don't meet every point on the job description, if this role and our company feels like a good fit for you, we still want to hear from you.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, disability or medical condition; colour, ethnicity, race, citizenship, and national origin; religion, faith; pregnancy, family status and caring responsibilities; sexual orientation; sex, gender identity, gender expression, and transgender identity; protected veteran status; size or any other basis protected by appropriate law.