About the Company
Always open. Our code, our culture, our opportunities. Leading open innovation without limits. We are SUSE.
SUSE is a global leader in innovative, reliable and secure enterprise open source solutions, including SUSE Linux Enterprise (SLE), Rancher and NeuVector. More than 60% of the Fortune 500 rely on SUSE to power their mission-critical workloads, enabling them to innovate everywhere – from the data center to the cloud, to the edge and beyond. SUSE puts the “open” back in open source, collaborating with partners and communities to give customers the agility to tackle innovation challenges today and the freedom to evolve their strategy and solutions tomorrow.
We are open in our roots and open in our approach, striving to be the most trusted open innovator in the world. Openness extends beyond our technology. Our vibrant community thrives on diversity and connectivity without borders.
About the Role
SUSE Legal is seeking to engage a Legal Counsel Corporate & Commercial to join our growing team. SUSE Legal has a best-in-class legal team, partnering effectively with the business and further positioning for growth as SUSE continues its journey as a mature and successful key player in the infrastructure management space. In this role, you will work as part of a team of lawyers and contract negotiators around the globe to provide efficient and high-quality legal support to the SUSE business, including sales, product, engineering, finance, tax, treasury and corporate development teams. In this dynamic role, you will work directly with our GC Strategy on strategic initiatives, providing critical legal insights that shape the future direction of SUSE. Concurrently, you will collaborate closely with the Deputy GC, gaining hands-on experience across a broad spectrum of business, commercial, and corporate legal matters. This unique position is designed to foster deep expertise in areas you are passionate about, allowing for an in-depth focus on specific legal topics that align with your interests. You will benefit from unparalleled exposure to diverse legal domains across the entire business and regularly engage with senior leadership, equipping you with the comprehensive skills and strategic acumen needed to develop into a senior in-house legal leader/General Counsel.
The role reports to the Divisional General Counsel, Global Strategy & Innovation (GC Strategy) with a dotted line to the Deputy General Counsel/Head of Global M&A (Deputy GC).
Responsibilities
* Legal Strategy and Negotiation
* Working with the GC Strategy to provide strategic legal advice on high-value and complex strategic partner contracts including co-development projects, bespoke support services agreements, software licensing agreements, distribution agreements and strategic alliances (“Strategic Contracts”).
* Leading or supporting on negotiations on new Strategic Contracts.
* Working with the business and key stakeholders to manage the overall requirements development, negotiation and post-contract process.
* Drafting, reviewing, and finalizing key documents.
* Engage with and support other attorneys on questions related to the development and commercialization of SUSE products and services.
* Work with GC Strategy to design and implement new legal contracts, frameworks, guidance and training for new (or amended) go to market strategies and SUSE products.
* Working with the Deputy General Counsel on a number of strategic projects, including M&A opportunities, financing, joint ventures and corporate governance.
* Leading Legal due diligence on M&A transactions and managing external counsel.
Qualifications
* Qualified as a Solicitor in England & Wales.
* Minimum of 3 years’ post-qualification experience with a focus on global and complex technology contracts including outsourcing agreements, development agreements, systems integrations agreements, ecosystem cooperation agreements/SLAs.
* Understanding of corporate law matters, including M&A transactions, financing and corporate governance.
* Experience in ongoing contract management including change control and dispute resolution.
* Strong knowledge of contract, intellectual property, data and cyber laws, as they customarily relate to technology contracts.
* Excellent negotiation, drafting and legal analysis skills.
* Proven ability to manage complex legal projects and collaborate with cross-functional teams.
* Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills.
* Strong influencing skills.
* A demonstrated passion for problem-solving and thinking outside-the-box to get the best business outcomes.
* Strong understanding of go-to-market strategies and the legal considerations involved.
* Strong business acumen and the ability to provide practical, business-oriented legal advice