Overview
Join to apply for the Head of Legal - Maternity Cover role at Acamar Films.
Acamar Films is an award-winning independent film & television production company. Founded in 2005, Acamar is the creator of the global hit pre-school series Bing which has been carefully crafted to support the healthy development of young children. Over the last 10 years, Acamar has grown into a specialist independent studio with its own award-winning, dedicated, global distribution and licensing organisation. Since its debut on the BBC in 2014, Bing has won an International Emmy, a Writers Guild Award, and a BAFTA nomination and many other awards. Bing is a highly ranking title on the BBC iPlayer, with significant global reach and audience metrics. This is a fixed term role for a maximum period of 12 months and sits on the Executive Management team, reporting to the CFO.
This is a hugely exciting time to join Acamar, with plans to accelerate its global reach across regions including the USA & Canada, LATAM, Japan, China, India, South East Asia and the Arab world planned over the next 24-36 months.
Purpose of the role: The Head of Legal will act as our legal principal in all deal making across a broad range of matters including UK and international broadcasting agreements, streaming and VOD licences, talent and other production agreements, merchandising and brand licensing, and general procurement and corporate work (including commercial leases and IT licences).
Ideal candidate: An entrepreneurial, commercially and strategically minded UK qualified Lawyer with proven deal-making authority and gravitas in negotiations, meticulous attention to detail, sound judgement, and a strong understanding of current and future legal/regulatory changes relevant to the business. Alignment with Acamar core values (Collaboration, creativity, curiosity, courage, diversity, kindness, leadership and integrity) is essential. In-house legal and business affairs exposure in a UK TV production environment or relevant media experience is preferred. Experience in a rapidly expanding global start-up would be advantageous.
Key Responsibilities
* Responsible for all legal and compliance aspects of Acamar’s business.
* Work with the CEO, CFO, Executive Director of Global Licensing and the Executive Director of Sales & Distribution to formulate the best deal terms for key revenue-generating agreements, including national and international linear broadcasting, streaming and VOD deals.
* Actively participate in business strategy meetings.
* Manage all commercial agreements (draft, review, negotiate and complete) with the support of the business.
* Ensure first-class business processes are adopted for contract generation and Rights Management; ensure Acamar’s legal templates are up to date and fit for purpose, and provide training to internal teams and third party partners as required.
* Provide advice and support to the business on applicable laws (notably intellectual property, data protection, competition law and ethics).
* Ensure trademark protection and counterfeit policies/processes are robust and effective to protect IP in the UK and ahead of international expansion.
* Provide expertise and opinion to the Senior Management Team and Board of Directors on key legal issues as they arise.
* Collaborate across the company to understand creative and commercial drivers and align legal documents with growth strategy.
* Provide solutions-based, practical, commercially focused advice on compliance and legal matters.
* Provide legal support for shared services such as HR, Operations and Corporate Finance.
Person Specification
* Proven Board-level negotiation skills and an effective negotiator with a track record of timely, cost-efficient deal closure.
* Structured thinker and leader with a robust approach to creative decisions.
* Qualified Lawyer with at least 6 years PQE.
* In-house and/or media experience (TV licensing, VOD and digital platforms deals) is advantageous.
* Team player willing to support others while managing multiple matters.
* Versatile, commercially minded lawyer with excellent drafting skills and meticulous attention to detail.
* Experience in IP, media sales, broadcasting, licensing and digital law; broad commercial law understanding; corporate law experience is a plus.
* Experience in international, cross-jurisdictional work; ability to work proactively and independently under tight timeframes in a fast-paced environment.
* Strong communication skills with ability to build internal and external relationships.
* Autonomous, self-motivated, starter-finisher with persistence.
* Aligned with Acamar core values (Collaboration, creativity, honesty, diversity, inclusion and kindness).
Seniority level
* Executive
Employment type
* Contract
Job function
* Legal
Industries
* Law Practice
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