Head of Legal

Summary

Join Benchling as the Head of EMEA, Legal, a critical member of the legal team, advising EMEA teams and supporting revenue growth in Europe. You will provide comprehensive legal guidance, focusing on commercial transactions and regional employment law. This role involves managing the full lifecycle of commercial contracts, improving processes, mitigating risks, and partnering with cross-functional teams. You will also handle European employment law matters, ensuring compliance with regulations like GDPR and NIS2, and coordinating incident responses. The ideal candidate will be based near London or Zurich and possess extensive experience in commercial SaaS transactions and European employment law.

Requirements

• 10+ years of general in-house legal experience, with at least 5 years specifically focused on commercial enterprise SaaS transactions
• Experience navigating employment law across multiple European jurisdictions is essential
• Proven ability to provide entrepreneurial, pragmatic, and business-oriented legal advice, balancing legal risk with business objectives
• Translate complex legal concepts into actionable frameworks for non-legal colleagues
• Comfortable operating autonomously in a fast-paced, high-growth environment
• Team player who can build strong, trusted partnerships with leadership and cross-functional teams
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills
• Advocate for a position without legalese, maintaining a collaborative and open-minded approach
• Highly organized, reliable, and diligent, with the ability to manage multiple issues simultaneously and set appropriate priorities
• Embrace change and practice with kindness, humility, integrity, and humor
• Intellectually curious and proactively seek ways for the legal team to positively impact the business

Responsibilities

• Own and manage the full lifecycle of commercial contracts for our EMEA operations
• This includes structuring, drafting, and negotiating SaaS agreements, professional services and outsourcing agreements, partner agreements, DPAs and security addendums, and other operational agreements for customers
• Work closely with our EMEA sales and revenue operations teams to accelerate deals, provide strategic legal advice on complex issues, and ensure efficient, timely support for customer negotiations and other commercial transactions
• Collaborate with the Head of Commercial, Legal and other global legal team members to develop and implement efficient, scalable, localized contracting policies, practices, and processes
• Evolve and manage training programs for the EMEA sales organization on negotiation best practices and relevant legal issues
• Apply sound judgment to assess risks associated with non-standard legal positions and collaborate with cross-functional teams to implement practical mitigation strategies
• Provide clear, concise guidance to senior stakeholders on legal risks and liabilities within proposed commercial transactions, finding creative solutions to drive successful deal completion while fostering positive internal and external relationships
• Partner with our global HR, legal, and business leaders on a wide range of European employment law matters
• Proactively identify and mitigate employment legal risks and disputes leveraging your experience, and manage relationships with local outside counsel
• Guide the business on hiring, compensation, commission plans, benefits, performance management, leaves of absence, and contingent workers across multiple jurisdictions
• Maintain a working knowledge of relevant laws and regulations, particularly GDPR, NIS2, and other customer data protection and cybersecurity laws, and advise on their implications for Benchling's business in EMEA
• Help coordinate our incident responses in EMEA alongside our U.S. legal and security team and outside counsel
• Provide support and collaborate on other regional matters, including international expansion and general compliance

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting sales and go-to-market activities in biotech, healthcare, or life sciences industries is a plus
• Qualified attorney or solicitor (or EU equivalent) with experience in an English-speaking jurisdiction preferred

Benefits

• Competitive salary and equity
• Fertility healthcare and family-forming benefits
• Four months of fully paid parental leave
• Home office stipend (Remote Only)
• Mental health benefits + wellness stipend
• Learning and development reimbursement
• 25 days vacation days + public holidays
• Company-wide Winter holiday shutdown
• Sabbaticals for 5-year and 10-year anniversaries
• Remote perks including travel to hubs
• In-office perks (Zurich Only - In Office)
• Commuter benefits (Zurich Only - In Office)