The Senior Counsel will be a hands-on leader for all legal and data privacy matters at L’Oréal Philippines, part of the L’Oréal Group, the world’s number one beauty company.  You will be our first inhouse lawyer in L’Oreal Philippines, responsible for providing timely, accurate and legally compliant advice and support in line with business objectives and serving as the entity’s Data Privacy officer.  The Senior Counsel will work with all parts of the business, including the commercial, marketing, digital, purchasing, finance, IT, HR, market research, consumer advisory, scientific and technical-regulatory, and corporate affairs and engagement teams.  

The role reports to the General Manager of L’Oréal Philippines, has a dotted line report to the General Counsel for the SAPMENA (South Asia Pacific Middle East North Africa) region and is based in Manila. 

You are expected to manage the following: 

• Negotiate, review and draft all types of contracts, corporate governance and legal documents 

• Advise in all areas of the law, including: commercial, corporate, marketing, competition, information technology, data analytics, data privacy, IP, tax, labor and employment, and real property 

• Serve as the Data Privacy officer for L’Oreal Philippines, responsible for promoting, coordinating, supporting and monitoring Data Privacy compliance throughout the business 

• Monitor and coordinate on IP issues, counterfeiting matters and brand protection 

• Support finance, internal control and ethics to maintain a strong ethical culture and deep compliance knowledge 

• Learn and embed Group norms in all aspects of the business and increase awareness of Group best practices  

• Devise and offer effective training for colleagues on aspects of the law and upcoming laws relevant to their business 

• Assess, strategize and implement legal support systems (including management of the legal budget and external law firms) 

• Develop awareness within the business of the capabilities of the legal team and encourage active legal involvement in operational decision making 

• Liaise with counterparts at the SAPMENA Zone, at Paris-based corporate centre and in countries across the Zone 

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Who are we looking for? 

• Passion for working in a consumer-facing, commercial business in a values-based culture 

• Minimum of 4-5 years of legal experience, including at least 2 years in private practice. 

• Minimum of 2 years of experience in a data privacy-related role strongly preferred 

• Philippines licensed lawyer with a university law degree 

• Tagalog and English fluency required  

• Excellent communication skills (written and spoken), and negotiation and presentation skills 

• Strategic thinker with ability to move effortlessly between strategy, implementation and tactical opportunities 

• Ability to establish, exploit and influence effective networks at all levels of an organization 

• Ability to rapidly digest and distil complex issues and formulate strategy and responses  

• Confident, persuasive individual capable of managing and resolving difficult situations 

• Knowledge of selective distribution networks, free-standing stores and e-commerce strategies is an advantage  

• Experience with consumer goods, retail, consumer services or pharmaceuticals sector is an advantage