Director Legal Counsel

Provides and leads all legal advisory services in Japan, driving legal excellence and compliance to ensure legal compliance, increased risk awareness and transparency. It provides strategic and commercial legal guidance to business teams in Japan, coordinating and executing independently throughout all phases of assigned activities while ensuring appropriate quality, documentation and communication. The position sits within the Legal & Regulatory team and works closely with Japan senior management, Global Legal, Japan Legal teams, the Global Privacy and Compliance Department, Information Security, NTP, external counsel and/or consultants, and suppliers.

• Provide, oversee and facilitate legal services to adidas Japan, including counselling, contract review, drafting and negotiation, advising on legal issues and risks, structuring transactions, legal risk assessment, and dispute avoidance to protect adidas's interests.
• Provide legal support and advice on various issues in and outside daily business and operations, including general commercial advice, privacy and data protection, promotions, HR, and consumer complaints.
• Identify and lead legal projects and initiatives, and coordinate cross-functional and/or cross-border efforts.
• Develop, maintain and facilitate legal review and updates of guidelines, internal policies and procedures, and work with the business to identify best-practice legal solutions and draft templates.
• Work with the business and the Global Privacy Team on privacy and data protection matters to identify, minimise and address risks, support global privacy initiatives, and provide, oversee and facilitate the rollout of global initiatives in Japan.
• Manage the Japan Legal team and external counsel, providing effective supervision and management of the delivery of legal services, and oversee and facilitate corporate secretarial functions.
• Develop and conduct educational programs and materials in relevant legal and compliance areas for commercial teams in Japan, and monitor legal and regulatory developments in Japan to provide guidance to adidas Japan management.
• Act as Local Compliance Officer for Japan, ensuring compliance-related matters are appropriately handled, including communication, education and facilitation of the FairPlay framework with assigned business partners
• And collaborate closely with Regional Compliance Managers and Group Compliance Management to ensure effective implementation and continuous improvement of the compliance management system.
• Drive compliance prevention, detection and response, including a culture of compliance and integrity, risk assessments, compliance communications, policy implementation, trainings, compliance controls, detection processes, incident management, investigations and consequences.
• Convert the adidas Leadership Framework, focusing on cross-functional collaboration across all business areas and on creativity and flexibility when providing advice.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills including communication on executive level, in order to liaise with internal and external parties in confidential matters.
• Strong background in contract law, drafting and negotiation and business counselling.
• Fluent in Japanese and English (both written and spoken).
• Excellent client relations management skills.
• Strong commercial sense and ability to make practical evaluations of risks.
• High degree of stakeholder orientation and appropriate prioritisation.
• Ability to work independently and manage and prioritise a substantial and diverse workload in a challenging legal environment.
• Excellent skills to analyse complex issues and to improve processes and techniques.
• Strong team player.
• 7+ years' experience in an international law firm or in-house.
• Confidence in communicating with senior and executive management level.
• Working experience in complex multinational environments.
• Solid experience in general corporate work, commercial contracts and employment law in Japan.

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