Responsible for all Legal related matters of and provide Compliance support to Syngenta India, such responsibilities to include but not limited to the following:

• Initial contact point for Syngenta India’s Business and Functional teams for all Legal and Compliance matters.
• Provide preliminary guidance on contract risk – assess whether the contract needs to be referred to Legal Counsel and respond on basic questions regarding contract form, counterparties, templates to be used and company policy requirements
• Manage selection of and engagement with external counsels in accordance with global Syngenta Policies
• Provide initial assessment of any intellectual property questions and follow up as needed to support any subsequent work by IP Counsel
• Collaborate with the Security Function on counterfeit and other product security issues to ensure rapid action against strategically significant infringements of Syngenta’s intellectual property
• Labor law: Support the Human Resources function on employee disputes and disciplinary action as well as supporting negotiations with the labor union and related issues
• Review marketing materials and communications for compliance with company policies and basic legal risks
• Support legal and policy questions regarding distribution and customer relationships and contracts – maintain contract templates for key business relationships consistent with global guidance
• Train Syngenta India team on company policy requirements where those policies are owned by Legal/Compliance. Manage any questions from the Business team regarding those policies
• LTO Risk mitigation: Maintain close coordination with key stakeholders to support regulatory outreach and advocacy drives to proactively defend Syngenta India’s License to Operate
• Corporate governance: Work with local company secretarial team and external counsel for filing and registration requirements including local corporate law requirements of all Indian subsidiaries
• Manage and monitor litigation cases, manage day-to-day litigation requirements and external counsel. Develop a pro-active strategy to minimize litigation costs and risks.
• Provide input on Legal and Compliance risks associated with the Indian Business to the Country Leadership Team (CLT) and the global Legal Function
• Support internal and external audit requirements around Compliance and Legal matters
• Track the legal environment to alert stakeholders to key changes in laws on matters such as employment, safety and environment, anti-corruption, anti-competition and agribusiness
• Provide initial assessment of emerging third party disputes and provide guidance to the Business on managing the legal risks
• Communicate to the Indian CLT and general employee population new Legal and Compliance policies and changes to existing policies
• Support internal investigations as requested by the Region Compliance Officer from time to time
• Support periodic global reporting requirements on litigation and other topics as required; and
• Participate in regional and global Legal Department activities consistent with other members of the APAC Legal Department
• Provide M&A, due diligence and special project support as may be required

Experience required for the role

• At least 10 to 12 years post qualification experience (PQE) as a lawyer in a reputable international law firm or as in-house counsel in an international MNC, either in or outside India

Critical knowledge and education required for the role

• At least a Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB)
• Fluent in written and spoken English
• Ability to condense complex legal concepts to simple explanations. Strong legal drafting skills in English;
• Experience with data protection and privacy, corporate governance and Compliance an advantage
• Agriculture/agribusiness industry experience an advantage but not a pre-requisite

Experiences to be gained in the job

Broad understanding of the agricultural crop protection and seeds industry. General experience in identifying and assessing legal and compliance situations and skills in responding to those situations. Training and communications experience across a range of stakeholders. Experience in multinational company policies and procedures as well as ways of working. Experience in data privacy compliance in a multinational company, including team skills.

Capabilities

Leadership Capabilities

• Ability to work alone and follow up on actions outstanding from a diverse group of stakeholders

Core Capabilities

• Communications and listening skills (oral and written)
• Time management
• Prioritizing requests from multiple stakeholders
• Business judgement and enterprise-wide perspective
• Ability to pick up new issues quickly
• Understand and articulate and reconcile differences between local ways of working and regional/global expectations
• Getting the best out of a cross-functional team

Functional/Technical Competencies (job function specific)

• Good understanding of contracts, data privacy and business/corporate laws including experience on laws related to M&A, transactions and due diligence
• Good understanding of HR laws, corporate governance and company decision-making formalities
• Basic understanding of IP and trade secrets law, competition law and anti-corruption law

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