Legal Counsel

Job Description

Purpose of the role

Act as a strategic business partner, providing high-level legal expertise and guidance to support the company’s objectives and drive its growth. This role is critical in navigating complex legal landscapes, mitigating risks, and ensuring regulatory compliance, all while fostering innovation and enabling sound decision-making. As a key member of the Legal & Compliance team, the Legal Counsel will align legal strategies with business goals, enhance corporate governance, and safeguards the company’s interests, contributing to sustainable success and competitive advantage.

Day-to-day duties & responsibilities

Legal strategy

- Support the Legal & Compliance team and the Senior Legal Counsel in Saudi Arabia in developing, communicating and executing legal, compliance, regulatory and risk management strategies.

Business partnering

- Maintain a focus across all business lines and service lines in the Saudi Arabian market to ensure a comprehensive view of legal & compliance opportunities, best practices and risks.

Disputes resolution, investigations & litigations

- Responsible for managing the various disputes and coordinating litigation of Fugro companies in Saudi Arabia;

- Attend court cases as a representative of Fugro company(ies) in Saudi Arabia;

- Follow-up and monitor of court cases with the local lawyers and update the internal stakeholders accordingly;

- Review pleadings/memorandums;

- Collaborate with the Country Director, Country Manager, Finance Manager and Legal team members in Saudi Arabia to follow-up litigation cases and to efficiently resolve lawsuits;

- Define strategy for specific disputes and investigations;

- Managing disputes and investigations.

Contract Law

- Draft (from templates and/or from scratch), review, amend, revise, negotiate and terminate any and all commercial contracts, agreements and legal documents of any nature;

- Provide business-oriented legal advice on agreements/contracts directly to the relevant business line/service line or function;

- Collaborate with and facilitate cross-team decision-making with the Procurement Team, the relevant business line or function and/or any other appropriate internal stakeholder;

- Drive contract lifecycle from drafting to signature through completion of the entire negotiation process till signature;

- Maintain a deep understanding of local laws and regulations and group legal requirements, legal risk and liability;

- Interpret contracts and advise business lines/service lines/functions on contractual responsibilities and risk mitigation;

- Drive contract and other Legal processes standardization and automation.

Corporate law & commercial law

- Support Fugro entities in Saudi Arabia on all corporate and commercial matters by providing business legal advice;

Compliance

- Continuously monitor compliance with cumulatively Fugro’s purpose, Fugro’s Code of Conduct, Fugro's processes and policies and local laws and regulations and advise management accordingly;

Labor law

- Act as Legal business partner for HR department (legal advice on employment contract, termination, dismissal,  disciplinary sanctions, labor litigation etc.)

Data protection

- Implement data protection policies and procedures that comply with relevant data protection laws (e.g., PDPL,…);

- Ensure these policies are communicated effectively across the organisation;

- Monitor and ensure compliance with data protection regulations at local, national, and international levels;

- Conduct regular audits and assessments to identify compliance gaps and address them promptly;

- Develop and deliver training programs to educate employees on data protection principles, their responsibilities, and the importance of safeguarding data;

- Foster a culture of data protection awareness within the organization.

Interpersonal skills, including but not limited to,

Analytical, problem-solving and research skills required

Business-oriented

Demonstrated success working in a high-performing, business results-driven environment

Demonstrated ability to think and decide quickly and to communicate legal issues and solutions clearly and concisely

Be able to manage multiple priorities and efficiently under pressure and consistently meet tight deadlines

Be able to communicate efficiently and work with business representatives at all levels of seniority

Be able to work independently as well as under the supervision of a manager

High degree of professional ethics and integrity

Organizational skills

Very high discretion with confidential information

Ability to read signals and provide early warnings to relevant stakeholders

Ability to mediate and assist in achieving consensus

You bring (qualifications & experience)

Master Degree in Law (business law/corporate Law/commercial law)

Generalist in-house legal counsel

Hold a license to practice law in Saudi Arabia

Fluent in English and Arabic

Between 4-6 years of experience

Broad expertise across various areas of law, including corporate, commercial, contracts, compliance, corporate governance etc.

Law practice in a law firm or as in-house legal counsel in a multinational company or a combination of both

Experience working in offshore projects/marine/ EPC/ engineering companies is highly preferred.

Key relationships

• With any and all business lines of Fugro in Saudi Arabia, all the functions (HR, Procurement, Finance, etc), the Commercial Team, and the Project Management Team.

• External lawyers, notary public, any relevant authority etc.

Disclaimer for recruitment agencies:

Fugro does not accept any unsolicited applications from recruitment agencies. Acquisition to Fugro Recruitment or any Fugro employee is not appreciated**.**