Deputy General Manager - Legal Counsel - TCTS

About Role

Tata Communications is seeking a highly motivated and qualified lawyer to join its legal department.  The position is based in Mumbai, India.  The successful candidate will be part of the TCTS Legal Team and will report to VP, International General Counsel.   

The primary focus of the role is to lead all legal aspects, escalations, and supervision points relating to commercial and HR matters for TCTS across all regions including India, APAC, ANZ, NAM and other expansion regions.  Specifically, the successful candidate will strategize and advise on contract drafting and negotiation, lease agreements, vendor compliance, RFPs, complex transactions, as well as commercial disputes/potential disputes in coordination with litigation team.  The successful candidate will coordinate the team’s use of external counsel and legal support of other departments such as HR and the management team; conduct legal research and analysis on selected topics; prepare memoranda, opinions and position papers upon request; support in-life contract matters such as interpretation of terms, preparation and interpretation of amendments; ensure all matters are handled in a swift, efficient and cost-effective manner with minimal supervision.

Other Specific Responsibilities Include:

• Oversee contract management processes; proactively explore new processes to expedite legal support.
• Spearhead improvement projects related to streamlining documentation and contracting processes. Create needed templates. Implement processes, procedures and documentation for new services. Maintain standard template agreements (including service schedules) and related documentation. Work on cross functional team projects.
• Ensure strong coordination across various business units and management teams.
• Proactively manage risk management; document and manage legal risks and communicate same to business clients and management. Advise on implementation of risk registry.
• Regularly review team structure and assess talent requirements; participate in the recruitment and selection process for team reporting to this position; conduct goal setting and performance review for the team; drive team development, engage and reward initiatives; provide/ensure training for counsel and business/sales teams on legal or related issues where required; build relationships with sales and business teams/senior managers.
• Resolve /support on HR contract drafting and negotiation (including but not limited to secondment agreements, appointment letters, fixed term contracts, and compliance with employment laws of specific countries). Main counsel regarding employment policies, hiring and termination matters, sales incentive plans, resource management policies, and any other regional or BU policies requested by the business, health and safety obligations, death and accidents in the field, vendor compliance with employment laws overall.  Conduct investigations under Dignity in the Workplace and POSH complaints. Address pre-litigation employee matters, refer to other internal/external counsel as needed. Approve employee and vendor TCTS messaging from legal view.

Other Specific Responsibilities Include:

• Review drafting and negotiating “standard” and “non-standard” commercial agreements for the provision of services, with minimal supervision; advise business/sales team of relevant issues; supervise team on the same. Manage multiple matters at a time. Ensure timely closure of transactions in accordance with company strategy and policies.
• Apply strategic and innovative thinking to support new business, including for the review and launch of new products and services.
• Develop knowledge/apply skills to interface with and refer matters to other legal department teams as required (including procurement, compliance, regulatory and litigation).
• Other duties as assigned.

Skills, Qualifications and Core Strengths:

• Knowledge or experience of the civil law system.
• Experience of negotiating global or multi-jurisdiction contracts and deals.
• Juris Doctorate/L.L.M/L.L.B with admission to the bar in at least 1 relevant jurisdiction with good standing and approx 10-15 years of post-qualification experience, out of which 5-7 years should be spent handling cross-border and cross cultural teams;  experience in domestic and international corporate, commercial and contract law.

• Experience in transactional matters, especially relating to telecommunications (strongly preferred) or other technology industries. Should have experience in working across management levels and in international business environments. Should have experience in advising HR teams on hiring, policies, investigations, outsourcing and other HR and employment issues. Excellent communication, technical and negotiation skills, with the ability to work autonomously and manage multiple transactions and persons across a range of relevant jurisdictions.

Skills, Qualifications and Core Strengths:

• Excellent technical drafter with a strong understanding of contract law, the judgment to escalate items where appropriate to other legal teams (e.g. compliance/regulatory).
• Experience of managing multiple matters at a time, including complex transactions, and proactively engaging with internal stakeholders to drive a deal to closure;
• The ability to think out of the box and to apply strategic and innovative thinking to support the business;
• Ability to work autonomously (with minimal supervision), and yet work collaboratively with other members of the legal team, with judgment to escalate issues where appropriate;
• Excellent communications skills; ability to work in an unstructured, fast-paced, multi-cultural environment;
• Understanding of different cultures and legal systems and ability to make fast, accurate on the spot decisions on complex legal issues facing companies on a daily basis;
• Ability to work and thrive in a remote-working environment and proactively take steps to integrate with the organisation.