Senior Legal Counsel

Job description / Role

Work Area: Legal
Expected Travel: 0 - 10%
Career Status: Professional
Employment Type: Regular Full Time

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

SAP started in 1972 as a team of five colleagues with a desire to do something new. Together, they changed enterprise software and reinvented how business was done. Today, as a market leader in enterprise application software, we remain true to our roots. That's why we engineer solutions to fuel innovation, foster equality and spread opportunity for our employees and customers across borders and cultures.

SAP values the entrepreneurial spirit, fostering creativity and building lasting relationships with our employees. We know that a diverse and inclusive workforce keeps us competitive and provides opportunities for all. We believe that together we can transform industries, grow economics, lift up societies and sustain our environment. Because it's the best-run businesses that make the world run better and improve people's lives.

SAP is looking for an experienced lawyer with Field Legal expertise, who will be the Head of Legal for Saudi Arabia based in the SAP offices in Riyadh and can fulfil the following role:

THE ROLE

The successful candidate will provide legal advice to all of SAP's businesses in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain with key emphasis on drafting, negotiating and advising on cloud, software licensing and consulting agreements. The successful candidate will:

- Be part of the SAP Global Legal organisation, reporting to the Vice-President, General Counsel for EMEA South and work closely with SAP's other lawyers based in MENA.
- Act as primary negotiator for complex commercial contracts with SAP's customers and partners in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain and provide trusted legal advice to SAP's local management.
- Take responsibility for ensuring that SAP's business strategies are applied with the local management's full understanding of all legal implications and risks and that all contracts comply with SAP's legal, contractual and business processes and policies.
- Deal with disputes and manage the legal aspects of customer escalations and engage outside counsel as necessary.
- Contribute to the overall success of SAP's Saudi Arabian and Bahraini businesses and be a recognised business partner through understanding business objectives and giving appropriate legal advice.
- Build strong relationships and partner with account executives and sales managers.
- Work closely with legal compliance specialists in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain and ensure an appropriate level of internal governance is in place in relation to transactions and compliance.
- Participate in other projects as the local legal subject matter expert, as well as international projects within SAP Global Legal.
- Understand and work according to the commercial pressures of a sales business in a high-pressure environment.
- Advise the sales team on how to structure deals and collate advice from different areas of the business to facilitate the drafting and negotiation of appropriate contracts.
- Participate in local management teams as required.

Requirements

QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

- A Qualified lawyer - with experience of working in and providing legal advice relating to Saudi Arabia
- Excellent working knowledge of contract, IT and data protection law with a minimum of 8 years' experience.
- Qualification as an English lawyer or deep working knowledge of English law an advantage.
- Fluent in English (oral and written) and fluent in speaking Arabic.
- Experience of negotiating software licenses, cloud agreements and IT software development or implementation projects
- Knowledge of Saudi Arabian public procurement laws
- Knowledge of cybersecurity and data protection laws in Saudi Arabia
- Experience of dealing with Saudi Arabian company secretarial issues.
- Experience of working in a Field Legal organisation of a customer-centric, multinational company or a law firm is an advantage
- Experience of negotiating complex commercial contracts with large customers, including public sector customers
- Articulate and thrives in a dynamic environment and copes well with pressure (including quarter end pressures).
- Works independently and in a compliant manner (whilst keeping all key stakeholders informed), collaborates well with different parts of the global organisation and responds quickly and effectively to SAP's sales executives and management.
- Transparent attitude to legal management
- Knowledge of software revenue recognition principles is an advantage.

WHAT YOU GET FROM US

Success is what you make it. At SAP, we help you make it your own. A career at SAP can open many doors for you. If you're searching for a company that's dedicated to your ideas and individual growth, recognizes you for your unique contributions, fills you with a strong sense of purpose, and provides a fun, flexible and inclusive work environment - apply now .

SAP'S DIVERSITY COMMITMENT
To harness the power of innovation, SAP invests in the development of its diverse employees. We aspire to leverage the qualities and appreciate the unique competencies that each person brings to the company.

SAP is committed to the principles of Equal Employment Opportunity and to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with physical and/or mental disabilities.

About the Company

Headquartered in Walldorf, Germany, SAP is the world's largest business software company with more than 51,500 employees at sales and development locations in more than 50 countries worldwide.

Our global development approach focuses on distributing development across the world in strategically important markets. A global network of SAP Labs spanning Bulgaria, Canada, China, Germany, Hungary, India, Israel, and the United States, enables SAP to operate locally, yet organize globally.

As the global technology research unit of SAP, SAP Research significantly contributes to SAP's product portfolio and extends SAP's leading position by identifying and shaping emerging IT trends through applied research and corporate venturing. SAP Research has highly skilled teams in 11 research centers worldwide.