Director - Legal

Job description / Role

Inspire | Exhilarate | Delight

For over seven decades, Chalhoub Group has been a partner and creator of luxury experiences in the Middle East. In its pursuit to excel as a hybrid luxury retailer, the Group has curated a portfolio of over 10 owned brands and strengthened its distribution and marketing expertise for over 400 international names across luxury fashion, beauty, jewellery, watches, eyewear, and art de vivre categories.

Every step at Chalhoub Group is taken to build a future where luxury dreams become reality - bridging cultures and crafting memorable experiences for our consumers. Be it by constantly reinventing itself, committing to innovation, or embracing new technologies, the Group is shaping the future of luxury retail. It delivers seamless omnichannel experiences across more than 950 stores, online platforms, and mobile apps. Driving this innovation journey is The Greenhouse - the Group's innovation hub, incubator, and accelerator for startups and emerging businesses, regionally and globally.

Chalhoub Group fosters a people-at-heart culture rooted in diversity, equity, and inclusion, and a workplace catalysed by forward thinking and future-proofing. Today, it brings together over 16,000 talented professionals across eight countries in the Middle East, with a presence in LATAM. Their collective efforts have earned the Group the Great Place to Work® certification in several markets.

Sustainability is at the core of the Group's strategy, guided by a clear commitment to people, partners, and the planet. Chalhoub Group is proud to be a member of the United Nations Global Compact, a signatory of the Women's Empowerment Principles, and to have pledged to reach Net Zero by 2040.

What you'll be doing

Lead the legal function for our Joint Venture (JV) Management vertical, overseeing a portfolio of over 25 JVs with focus on corporate and commercial legal matters in the UAE and GCC region. As a key advisor to the CLO, the Director will drive strategic legal initiatives, ensure compliance, and support the company's growth.

Legal oversight and strategy

• Provide oversight on legal services to Group JVs and JV management, including commercial, corporate, governance, regulatory, litigation, and operational matters.
• Develop and implement legal strategies and policies in alignment with business goals and vision.
• Ensure the company complies with relevant laws and regulations.
• Lead entity formation, restructuring, and governance for holding companies and subsidiaries in the UAE and broader GCC region.
• Demonstrate sound professional judgment and a solution-oriented mindset in balancing legal risk and business goals.

Stakeholder and external relations

• Liaise, negotiate, and manage relationships with external parties such as suppliers, regulators, external counsel, and public authorities, representing and protecting the company's interests.
• Successfully build and support partner relationships with brand regional teams and brand GCs/CLOs, serving as a thought partner and risk manager.
• Establish and maintain effective relationships with management, partners, and other stakeholders.

Project and process management

• Drive timely delivery of legal workstreams, ensuring clear communication and follow-through on complex and multi-party projects.
• Co-lead the onboarding of new brands by supporting negotiations of operational agreements, onboarding into shared services, and store openings (in partnership with Finance, Operations, and Real Estate teams).
• Champion process optimization, knowledge management, and continuous improvement within the team.

Team leadership

• Lead and manage a team of 6-8 legal professionals in the UAE and KSA, fostering a high-performance, collaborative, and motivated environment.
• Manage the operations of the JV legal team, providing expertise, encouraging teamwork, and facilitating professional development to achieve high performance standards.

Department management

• Act as a trusted and strategic advisor to the CLO and senior stakeholders.
• Prepare and deliver executive-level reports and presentations for internal governance and external stakeholders.
• Represent the Legal Department in cross-functional initiatives and business leadership forums.
• Work with the CLO on the Legal Department's budget, ensuring efficient resource planning and spend management.

What you'll need to succeed

Relevant experience

• Qualified lawyer with 12+ years of post-qualification experience, ideally in both law firm and in-house environments, with at least 5 years in a managerial or leadership role.
• Regional experience in the GCC in corporate law, including corporate structuring, JV partnerships, and commercial contracts.
• Experience working in the retail industry or with retail clients is an advantage.

Business acumen

• Strong financial and business acumen, including experience contributing to departmental budgets and strategy.
• Ability to adapt to changing business needs, legal developments, and industry trends.

Communication and interpersonal skills

• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to convey complex legal matters for non-legal stakeholders.
• Discretion and sound professional judgment.
• Creative in problem-solving and solution-oriented in approach.
• Arabic and/or French language skills are an advantage.

Managerial and leadership skills

• Demonstrated success in leading legal teams and managing cross-functional legal projects.
• Highly organized and skilled in project management.
• Proactive and capable of managing competing priorities under pressure.
• Excellent leadership and interpersonal skills to influence, build relationships, and partner with executive leadership.
• A motivational leader with a collaborative mindset, able to uphold standards and maintain strong team morale.

Technical skills

• Proficiency in MS Office.
• Experience with EMS and CLM software or other tools that facilitate legal work.

What we can offer you

With us, you will turn your aspirations into reality. We will help shape your journey through enriching experiences, learning and development opportunities and exposure to different assignments within your role or through internal mobility. Our Group offers diverse career paths for those who are extraordinary, every day.

We recognise the value that you bring, and we strive to provide a competitive benefits package which includes health care, child education contribution, remote and flexible working policies as well as exclusive employee discounts.

We invite all applicants to apply

It takes diversity of thought, culture, background, differing abilities and perspectives to truly inspire, exhilarate and delight our customers. At Chalhoub Group, we are committed to inclusion and diversity.

We welcome all applicants to apply and be part of our exciting future. We ensure equal opportunity for all our applicants without regard to gender, age, race, religion, national origin or disability status.

About the Company

The Chalhoub Group is the leading partner for luxury across the Middle East since 1955. As an expert in retail, distribution and marketing services based in Dubai, the group has become a major player in the fashion, beauty and gift sectors regionally.

By blending its Middle East expertise and intimate knowledge of luxury, Chalhoub Group is building brands in the region, by offering service excellence to all its partners and a unique experience to its customers through its passionate teams.

With a growing workforce of more than 9,000 people, implemented in 14 countries, as well as the operating of over 470 retail outlets, the group's success is attributed to its most valued asset of highly skilled and dedicated teams. Professionalism and passion are what fuel the Chalhoub Group's competitive edge in today's market.

By being committed to implementing sustainable practices into their business, the Chalhoub Group has been awarded in 2013 the CSR Label from the Dubai Chamber of Commerce.