General Counsel, United Kingdom & Ireland (UK&I)

Job Description

We have an excellent leadership opportunity for an experienced business lawyer to make the difference at Kraft Heinz.

The position is based at the company’s UK&I office in The Shard, London.

You’ll be working in and leading a high performing team, alongside peers always trying to reach the next level. You will be a member of the Europe and Pacific Developed Markets Legal Leadership Team, reporting into Annie Jelavic, General Counsel – Europe & Pacific Developed Markets (EPDM). You will also be part of the United Kingdom and Ireland (UK&I) Leadership Team led by Managing Director, Marta Pilczuk who – together with other senior members of the UK&I Leadership Team – will be your main business partner.

In this role, you will help translate wider EPDM legal priorities into pragmatic market execution for UK&I, while advising the business on local legal, regulatory, commercial and reputational risks.

Some travel within the UK & Ireland and, where relevant, to other Kraft Heinz sites in Europe may be required.

Main Responsibilities

• Be a key business partner to the UK&I Managing Director, Marta Pilczuk, and UK&I Leadership Team peers, providing excellent counsel and practical problem-solving on highly strategic and sensitive business topics;
• Work closely with peers in the EPDM Legal Leadership Team and the EPDM General Counsel on wider European issues, ensuring EPDM priorities are appropriately reflected in UK&I market execution;
• Lead the UK&I legal team, currently comprising three lawyers and one legal trainee based in London and covering the United Kingdom and Ireland;
• Support and guide team members on elevated issues which, due to their complexity, risk or value, require the involvement of a General Counsel;
• Build the capability of the team through improved ways of working and tools to increase the agility and impact of the UK&I legal function;
• Support and drive team development and contribute to the strategic agenda in UK&I in partnership with business leadership peers across HR, Finance, Supply & Operations, Procurement, Category, Sales and Marketing;
• Guide the business on UK&I legal and regulatory developments, including food law, marketing and claims, consumer protection, packaging and other growth-related matters, in close collaboration with the Legal Growth, European Regulatory and Packaging teams;
• Help strengthen UK&I public policy, trade association and external stakeholder engagement in partnership with the Government Affairs team and business leadership;
• Support strategic negotiations and business discussions across the Kraft Heinz supply chain, from suppliers to customers across channels (retail and AFH), balancing risk and reward;
• Act as a point of escalation within the UK&I business on sensitive, high-risk commercial, regulatory, reputational and compliance matters;
• Play a key role in managing and coordinating crises in UK&I;
• Protect the business and brand’s reputation through strong partnership with marketing and external communications teams;
• Protect the company, our people and our intellectual property assets through excellence in litigation, brand protection and compliance.

Qualifications

• Qualified lawyer with a minimum of 8+ years’ experience ideally within law firms and leading consumer goods companies;
• Excellent legal training in a leading law firm and/ or in-house;
• Strong competition, consumer and marketing law knowledge and experience;
• Excellent judgment with the capacity to make decisions and give advice that reflects an understanding of overall business objectives and the risks/rewards of each situation;
• Experience advising senior business leaders across functions, with strong UK commercial and customer-facing legal experience;
• Strong leadership experience;
• Learning agility and strong organizational skills;
• Self-starter with the ability to work independently; and
• Ability to build relationships and influence across all levels within the organization.

In terms of the performance and personal competencies required for the position, we would highlight the following:

Business Acumen:

• Grasp key drivers of the business and industry and quickly become immersed in the most important business and legal issues facing Kraft Heinz;
• Understand Kraft Heinz’s business, policies, people, goals and risks;
• Speak fluently in lay terms to a range of audiences about Kraft Heinz’s business and legal priorities and challenges;
• Set strategy and serve as an outstanding legal strategist in planning and executing the plan;
• Anticipate future business and legal opportunities and challenges and develop strategies to address them;
• Proactively identify risks to Kraft Heinz and propose risk mitigation strategies.

Executing for Results

• Creatively solve problems and offer solutions;
• Demonstrate a strong work ethic with ability to handle a fast-paced vigorous schedule;
• Manage to a budget;
• Drive positive change within the Legal department and Kraft Heinz as a whole;
• Take initiative and operate with a sense of urgency, decisiveness and responsiveness;
• Make nuanced recommendations and business decisions based on facts and Kraft Heinz’s culture;
• Marshal the appropriate level and mix of legal resources as required by the circumstances;
• Work through ambiguity, both internally and externally, using strong communication and problem-solving skills;
• Effectively negotiate and work collaboratively with Kraft Heinz stakeholders internally and externally.

Leading Teams

• Continually raise the quality of both content and delivery of legal services in order to protect and promote the business;
• Lead through example and strive for excellence in all we do;
• Lead the recruitment, development, and retention of legal talent to support the needs of the organization;
• Drive the appropriate level of external benchmarking of best practices through the legal function.

Building Relationships and Using Influence

• Demonstrate a positive, professional, and collaborative demeanor and strong business acumen in order to gain the confidence, trust and reliance of colleagues around the world;

• Maintain established relationships with external legal resources that would be characterized by credibility, respect, trust;

• Develop and maintain a strong network of relationships inside and outside the organization to support the objectives of the Legal department and the business;

• Communicate in an articulate, appropriately-accessible, and persuasive manner, both in oral and written form;

• Demonstrate excellent written, verbal and listening skills.

Professional Attributes

• Ability to Simplify

• • We like to keep it simple. And to execute fast. Your ability to simplify will be highly appreciated, when you provide simple solutions when dealing with complex challenges.

• Analytical

• • We’re a very data driven Kraft Heinz. You know how to translate complex data into a simple solution with your analytical mindset.

• Project management skills

• • You’re organized, structured and always have an overview of all the deliverables. You know how to bring multiple projects to a successful ending within the given timeframe.

• Networking skills

• • You’re able to be interesting and interested in business conversations, motivating people to want to be in your network. The stronger the network you have, the more easily you can get things done. You are constantly expanding your network.

• Team player

• • Achieving results is nice, but achieving results with the team is simply the best. You’re a team player, which means you’re sometimes a leader, sometimes a follower but always working towards the same common goal together with your teammates.

What we offer you

• An ambitious, performance-driven environment with strong development opportunities;
• A competitive salary and excellent bonus structure (above market);

Location(s)

London - The Shard

Kraft Heinz is an Equal Opportunity Employer – Underrepresented Ethnic Minority Groups/Women/Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity and other protected classes.