Legal Counsel

Job Purpose

Providing business and legal affairs support as required by the business in Asia, with a particular focus on the territories of Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau. This includes: being a vital, trusted advisor to the regional Head of Business and Legal Affairs and the regional business teams; delivering first hand and first class business and legal affairs support on matters of key strategic, financial and reputational importance to BBCS business; and ensuring that the highest standards of corporate governance, risk management and compliance with law, policy and regulation are observed at all times.

The role requires a 'one BBC' approach with close teamwork and/or embedded ways of working with all Divisions across the organisation. This is central to our purpose and culture and is critical to this role.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities

1. Negotiation and contracting: Drafts, negotiates, reviews and concludes complex contracts and other legal documentation. To secure all necessary rights and revenues and to mitigate business, financial, reputational and legal risks. To inform the evolution of commercial, rights, and business affairs frameworks, strategies, and policies as appropriate. Works unsupervised and conducts a general caseload, referring upwards as required.
2. Advising: Provides accurate, timely, practical and commercially focused legal advice to clients.
3. Stakeholder management: To positively represent the BBC and foster and develop effective creative and commercial relationships – both externally and internally across the Group.
4. Risk management: To mitigate legal, contractual and business risk, and resolve disputes concerning content, brand and IP protection.
5. Compliance: To ensure that standards and frameworks are adhered to and translated into compliant individual deals within a pan-BBC approach. Ensures compliance with BBCS policies and procedures and relevant legislation and regulation.
6. Market intelligence & Knowledge Management: To be aware of global market trends in pursuit of our overall vision, purpose and objectives and the overall effectiveness and credibility of BLA. Supports training and knowledge management activities.
7. Teamwork: To help develop and maintain collaborative, constructive, and high performing teams that are focused on working collectively and ensuring the BBC benefits from an increasingly digital, global and commercial media environment. To lead by example in maintaining a culture of integrity and empowerment and propose new ways of working that may help deliver this objective. To help, guide and develop other members of the team as may be required.
8. Project management: To lead or assist on complex projects and instil a matrix management style of working to ensure effective delivery and use of resources. Provides specialist legal support to major BBCS projects.

Knowledge, Skills, Training and Experience

Essential

• 3 – 5 Post-Qualification Experience (Singapore or UK is preferable but US/ANZ qualifications will be considered) in working in a private practice law firm environment or MNC in-house environment (TMT preferred but not essential).
• Professional working proficiency in Mandarin Chinese (Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese)
• Extensive negotiating, rights management, and contracting and copyright experience.
• Commercially aware with an understanding of the issues affecting BBCS and media industry generally.
• A track record of providing proactive, specialist, timely and authoritative legal advice and support to senior leaders and key decision-makers at the highest levels.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to clarify complex issues and concepts for non-lawyers.
• Ability to work supportively as a team member and to build and manage relationships at all levels.
• Ability to manage diverse workstreams and to apply complex analytical and problem- solving skills under pressure.
• Shows initiative, commitment and flexibility when faced with obstacles.
• Motivated to develop themselves and to contribute to knowledge sharing across the team.
• Experience of managing risk and delivering projects in a complex environment.
• Builds and maintains team standards of high performance and professionalism.

Desirable

• In-depth knowledge of, and experience in, the broadcast, production or digital media sector.
• Comprehensive knowledge of current market intelligence and global media trends.
• Understanding of the structures and systems within which broadcasters, producers, distributors (whether traditional or non-traditional e.g. digital) operate.
• Knowledge of the legal and regulatory framework particularly in the region within which the business operates.

Job impact

• Support of substantial and varied business lines within a regionally organised, global business.
• Face a wide variety of complex and challenging legal issues including developing geographic and product markets.
• Analyse and interpret legal issues in a timely fashion and advise the business how best to take account of them in its operations.
• Operate with autonomy and drive.
• Provide creative, intelligent and clearly directed contributions both at the Business Affairs and Legal level.
• Ability to work across multiple time zones, territories and business lines.