Legal Counsel

Job Summary

The role holder is responsible to identify, manage and mitigate legal, regulatory and corporate governance risks, to enable the business to achieve its strategic and commercial goals in accordance with applicable laws and regulations and to protect and preserve Zurich’s tangible and intangible assets. The role holder provides in-house legal, regulatory and governance advice on Governance, Human Resources, Labor and Employment, Communications, Investor Relations, IT, Data Protection, Group Operations, Mergers & Acquisitions, Finance, and Regulatory Affairs.

Job Accountabilities - Key Accountabilities

Corporate Legal – Regulatory, Governance and Company Secretariat

• Ensure legal advice accurately reflects applicable laws and regulations.
• Promote the practice of the organizational values, ethical and responsible business conduct.
• Provide a full range of legal advice and services on corporate legal issues relevant to objectives set by the Corporate Legal Team Lead/General Counsel which may include concerning Governance, Human Resources, Labor and Employment, Communications, Investor Relation, Regulatory Affairs, Finance and Capital Market transactions, Sourcing, IT, Data Protection.
• Proactively detect and resolve material legal and regulatory issues.
• Report on and escalate material legal and regulatory risks and issues.
• Address potential conflicts between management and legal entity view by either aligning the two views or by actively identifying and managing the divergences.

Business Accountabilities

Corporate Legal – Regulatory, Governance and Company Secretariat

• Support management in developing open and transparent relationships with key these stakeholders which is consistent with the organization values and compliant with the spirit and the letter of the law.
• Support and advise the organization on developing and maintaining an adequate and transparent corporate governance system of principles, policies, procedures, and clearly defined responsibilities and accountabilities to ensure they are in line with applicable laws and regulations and enable effective and timely decision making.
• Actively monitor and report on legal trends and laws allowing for timely anticipation of new requirements and their potential impact on the organization as well as the preparation of appropriate responses. Ensure alignment with Compliance to prevent activity overlaps.

Corporate Legal – Corporate Transactions

• Support the strategy for structuring, negotiating and resolving local legal issues of corporate transactions to enable the transaction whilst protecting Zurich’s assets.
• As a member of the Group’s Corporate Transaction Team provide legal advice to address and manage local legal issues and regulatory requirements in relation to a proposed corporate transaction.

Shared Service Legal

• Develop the relationship, interaction and information flow with the different Shared Service stakeholders ensuring consistency of legal services and standards.
• Support the senior team members in advising the business on laws and regulation related to the full range of non-insurance related commercial activities, from sourcing, data protection to human resources, and facilitate establishing and support executing the related activities. 

Job Qualifications

Required:

• 2 or more years of experience in the Legal area

Preferred:

• Insurance Industry experience
• Strong organizational and analytical skills
• Excellent communication skills