Commercial Counsel

Summary

The Legal & Compliance (L&C) function at KAYALI enables global growth through commercially pragmatic advice and scalable legal operations. As we expand internationally, L&C supports go to market execution with fast, consistent contracting, proactive risk management, and fit for purpose templates, processes, and controls that help teams move quickly and responsibly. We are seeking an experienced Commercial Lawyer with Legal Operations & Employment experience to partner with cross functional teams and manage the end to end contracting lifecycle, build scalable legal operations, and serve as a trusted advisor.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities Commercial (Global Operations)

1. Draft, review, and negotiate core commercial agreements for global operations (distribution, retail/wholesale, marketplace, agency/representation, logistics, warehousing, 3PL, and other supply chain agreements).
2. Support regional go to market by advising on commercial models, pricing/discounting, and risk allocation (liability, indemnities, limitation of liability, termination, and remedies).
3. Advise on e commerce and digital operations (website terms, consumer law, promotions, payments/chargebacks as applicable) and partner with stakeholders on privacy and data handling.
4. Provide day to day legal support on operational matters (vendor onboarding, SOWs/change orders, service credits, delivery/quality disputes, and contract interpretation).
5. Partner with Marketing/Brand to review campaigns, influencer and agency agreements, content usage, claims/substantiation, and brand partnerships, aligned with law and platform/partner requirements.
6. Support IP related commercial matters (trademark use in contracts, licensing/consents) and coordinate filings/enforcement with specialists as needed.
7. Manage commercial disputes and escalations (distributors, vendors, logistics partners) through early assessment, documentation, and external counsel coordination where required.

Legal Operations (Processes, Tools & Governance)

1. Own and improve the intake to signature workflow (triage, SLAs/turnaround targets, approvals, signature routing, and storage/retention).
2. Build and maintain templates, clause libraries, and playbooks to enable faster, consistent contracting across regions.
3. Implement practical governance controls (delegations/approval matrix, exceptions process, and risk thresholds) aligned to KAYALI's risk appetite.
4. Deliver training for key stakeholders (Commercial, Marketing, Procurement) on core terms, key clauses, and escalation triggers.
5. Build dashboards and metrics (volume, cycle time, bottlenecks, risk themes, external counsel spend) and share insights with leadership.
6. Manage external counsel and legal providers (scope, instructions, budgets) and ensure pragmatic, business ready outputs.

Employment

1. Provide day to day employment law advice across the UAE, US, and UK (hiring, performance, discipline, terminations, restructurings, and investigations).
2. Advise on cross border employment topics, including expatriate arrangements and remote work compliance.
3. Draft and update HR policies, handbooks, and employment contracts, aligned with statutory requirements (working time, leave, wage and hour, and data privacy).
4. Support employment compliance audits and drive corrective actions.
5. Lead or oversee investigations (misconduct, discrimination, harassment, code of conduct) and advise on risk mitigation and remediation.
6. Handle sensitive employee relations matters with discretion and cultural awareness.
7. Manage employment disputes (strategy, pleadings, budgets, settlements/ADR) and coordinate external counsel.
8. Advise on restructurings, redundancies, workforce planning, and the employment aspects of M&A.
9. Deliver training on employment law, workplace conduct, and compliance.

Qualifications

1. Qualified lawyer with post qualification experience in commercial law (in house or private practice) supporting fast paced business teams.
2. Strong drafting and negotiation skills across commercial agreements (distribution, retail/wholesale, e commerce/marketplace, logistics/3PL, services, SOWs, and marketing/agency).
3. Experience supporting global operations and cross border contracting, partnering with regional teams, distributors, and external counsel across multiple jurisdictions.
4. Hands on legal operations experience (templates/playbooks, intake and triage, self service enablement, approvals/exceptions, and risk thresholds), and exposure to employment/HR legal topics.
5. Data driven and comfortable using metrics (volume, cycle time, bottlenecks, risk themes) to improve service delivery and manage external counsel spend.
6. Working knowledge of consumer, marketing, and digital topics for a global beauty/fragrance brand (promotions, claims/substantiation, influencer/agency terms, and e commerce terms).
7. Familiarity with privacy and data protection in commercial operations (vendor DPAs, marketing data, cross border transfers where applicable), with sound judgement on when to escalate.
8. Pragmatic and solutions oriented, with strong commercial judgement and the ability to move quickly, navigate grey areas, and balance risk with growth.
9. Acts with courage and kindness, embodies KAYALI's ownership mindset, and partners effectively with stakeholders globally.

Benefits

• Premium Medical/Dental/Vision coverage
• Find Your Magic Days (paid time off)
• Volunteer Day
• Birthday Leave
• Egg Freezing Benefits
• Employee discounts on all Kayali products
• Quarterly product gifting