Legal Director - AME at Sage

Job Description

• In this role, you will lead our AME Legal Team, overseeing the management of regional legal risk, ensuring compliance with relevant laws, and offering practical business-focused solutions to legal challenges.
• You will be responsible for managing and advising on a range of legal matters affecting our business operations within the AME region.
• This includes providing legal support for local strategic projects, drafting and negotiating contracts with customers, channels, and suppliers, establishing internal policies and governance frameworks, validating commercial strategies, handling third-party disputes, and providing guidance on data privacy and other compliance issues.

What’s in it for you?

• In this role, you'll closely support the Sage AME leadership, ensuring comprehensive legal support for all AME Operations and Business Units, including Sales, Sales Operations, Services, Channel, Distribution, Product, and Marketing, as well as other functional teams.
• Additionally, you'll collaborate on broader Legal initiatives beyond the AME region, contributing to the global delivery of legal services.
• This position offers an opportunity to play a pivotal role in guiding legal strategy and ensuring compliance while supporting the growth and success of Sage in the AME region and beyond.
• The successful candidate will also be required to work from the office 3 times a week.

Key Responsibilities 

• In this role, your day-to-day activities involve effectively leading the AME Legal Team, including providing line management and fostering professional development for direct reports. As a member of Sage AME's Extended Leadership Community, you contribute to leadership decisions and strategic priorities.
• You provide comprehensive legal advice across commercial, regulatory, and compliance areas, collaborating with the Data Privacy Office on data privacy matters.
• This includes advising and negotiating contracts to ensure maximum value delivery while meeting commercial objectives and deadlines.
• You proactively manage legal disputes and external advisor costs, seeking opportunities to simplify legal delivery processes and documentation.
• Additionally, you support the application of Sage's internal governance framework, ensuring legal compliance and managing legal risk within defined tolerances.
• Your role also involves supporting high-value and complex legal negotiations, capturing know-how to build scalable legal assets and processes, and fostering strong relationships with key business stakeholders. Furthermore, you oversee regular legal training and provide support on cross-functional initiatives.

Minimum qualifications:

• Demonstrated track record of effective leadership, coaching, and communication skills.
• Candidates should possess substantial legal expertise, particularly in providing pragmatic advice in commercial, technology, SaaS, and privacy law.
• They should have a proven ability to deliver sound legal guidance to business leaders as a trusted partner, leveraging excellent analytical skills to consistently achieve high-quality outcomes.
• Experience in leading and executing large legal initiatives, along with comprehensive analytical abilities and a strategic mindset, are essential.
• Additionally, candidates should have a strong understanding of legal compliance and policy implementation in a business context, along with a proven ability to drive change and innovation in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience in managing specialist legal teams and collaborating with stakeholders across various business functions is also required.
• Preferred qualifications include a detailed understanding of contract law in a technology context and extensive experience in resolving complex commercial challenges effectively.

Technical / professional qualifications:

• Candidates for this role should hold a degree from a reputable institution and be admitted as an Attorney or Advocate with a minimum of 8 years of post-qualification experience within a multinational organisation.