Chief Legal Officer, Greater China

About Umicore

Reducing harmful vehicle emissions. Powering the cars of the future. Giving new life to used metals. We are the leading circular materials technology company fulfilling its mission to create materials for a better life. With ambitions like this, imagine what you could do?

About Support Functions

A global organisation. It’s not just those in our industrial sites and technical centres that are vital to Umicore’s growth. Across our support functions we ensure that we continue to grow and evolve – whether it’s by making sure our decisions are commercially viable, enhancing our reputation, building new customer relationships or finding the right people who can build on what we’ve already achieved. The variety of our work means we cannot stand still. We need to find new ways to do things, discover new solutions and develop new ideas. Which is where you come in.

What you will be doing

• Advise the business units and corporate departments on a multitude of issues arising in their day-to-day business, including compliance with applicable legislation, in a pragmatic and business-oriented fashion
• Advise on, draft and negotiate a wide range of agreements and other documents with business partners and governmental authorities, in close cooperation with Umicore’s business units (purchase and supply agreements, license agreements, development agreements, distribution agreements, confidentiality agreements, …)
• Provide legal advice and support both in case of litigation and in view of mitigating the risks thereof, including settlement negotiations
• Review and supervise compliance with corporate law requirements and formalities for the subsidiaries and (majority and minority) joint ventures in the Greater China region
• Supervise and coach a legal counsel and a paralegal for the Greater China region such that the team is a business enabler that provides to the point, constructive and timely legal advice and other support
• Manage a network of external legal counsel in the region
• Participate in special projects, including joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions and construction projects
• Participate in negotiation with joint ventures on commercial or strategic decisions
• Act as member of the board of directors or supervisor of a number of Chinese legal entities of the Umicore group
• Ensure continuous legal training of existing and new commercial, R&D and other Umicore colleagues on relevant legal principles and compliance topics.
• Build a solid relationship with the business units by showing genuine interest in, and developing understanding of, their activities
• Work closely with cross-functional teams to address legal matters
• Maintain and foster close cooperation with all business units, P&T and other corporate departments (e.g., EHS, tax, P&O, Communications, Government Affairs, ESG) and other teams within the legal department (IP, other APAC lawyers and other regional teams,…)

Who we are looking for

Education:

University master degree in law with excellent credentials; a combination of a degree in Chinese law and a law degree in a second jurisdiction (or equivalent professional experience) is a strong plus

Technical skills:

At least eight years of experience as a lawyer, ideally in both a reputable law firm and the legal department of a multinational company

Legal experience is mainly oriented towards commercial and corporate law. Additional experience in intellectual property and transactional work is a plus

Language skills:

Excellent verbal and written communication and influencing skills in English and Mandarin Chinese, both towards lawyers and non-lawyers

Personal skills:

Be curious and have an analytical mind; you are willing to capture the essence of and to understand the business needs and challenges of the different business units

Have excellent interpersonal skills

Multi-tasking and you have strong organizational and prioritizing skills

Have a pro-active approach in combining the business objectives with the legal constraints

Pragmatic and solution-oriented while ensuring legal quality

Have people management skills

Able to build strong relationship with colleagues both within and outside your team and open to different cultures

Able to effectively navigate a dual reporting structure by ensuring seamless communication and collaboration with both the Senior Vice President Greater China (for regional legal matters) and the Head of Regional Legal APAC (for functional oversight and global/regional consistency within Umicore Legal), balancing the strategic and operational needs of and opportunities presented by both reporting lines.

Able to work independently

Be prepared to do travelling in view of business requirements, both domestically and overseas

What we offer

We aim to lead the way. Not just for our customers, but for our employees too. That is why we strive to create a collaborative environment in which we can all succeed, and a culture through which we can all share ideas, develop our expertise and advance our careers. We engage in building an inclusive work culture that offers equal opportunities for all employees irrespective of their diverse backgrounds. As you would expect from a world-leading organisation, we will also reward your contribution with a competitive salary and benefits. With all this and more, imagine what you could do?

 If our pioneering approach can make us a leader in sustainability