Manager Legal Operations (m/f/d)

The Mission

 FSC is an internationally operating NGO which works to take care of our forests and those who rely on them by protecting plant and animal species, Indigenous Peoples’ rights, forest workers’ safety, and much more on a global scale. We achieve this in particular through FSC certification, ensuring forests around the world are responsibly managed. This goal requires a successful licensing business with a rigid protection of FSC’s trademarks and the enforcement of intellectual property rights.  For more information on FSC, visit our website at www.fsc.org.

To effectively meet the challenge of protecting the world’s forests, we are committed to employing the world’s most skilled people. We are currently looking for an engaged Manager Legal Operations to join and support the FSC Legal Department.

This position will enable you to work in a very international and culturally diverse environment. You will use your English on a daily basis and become a part of the FSC Group’s legal department. You will gain experience and contribute to the success of the legal department in a unique and dynamic sector by developing those processes which excel the legal operations in our organization.

Your Scope

You will support the Programme Manager Legal Operations, who is reporting to the Head of Legal, to increase the legal efficiency in our legal operations and the legal services offered to internal and external clients. In this regard you will also leverage technology for operational optimization by participating in processes leading to the enhancement of existing legal tech tools, as well as the introduction of new ones (e.g., for contract management, intranet, learning platforms and other). Furthermore, your role includes project coordination and planning for projects driven by the FSC Legal Department. As a result, you will need to closely cooperate with officers and counsels in the team but also with other units in the FSC Group as well as Network Partners.

Your Role

As a Manager for Legal Operations, you will support the implementation of the group-wide strategic legal operations initiatives and will focus on digitization, automation, process optimization and standardization. You will also coordinate and drive forward key strategic or legal projects in cooperation with colleagues from various units.

The responsibilities and tasks will include in particular the following:

• Supporting legal operations and driving improvements for in-house counsels and legal officers.
• Undertaking quality checks of external law and tax firms.
• Defining rules, standards and work processes with an overarching effect.
• Ensuring seamless integration and enhancement of solutions into internal workflows and business processes.
• Developing decision templates, presenting them and discussing the results.
• Managing projects, developing quality control mechanisms and creating interfaces with all stakeholders in relevant projects.
• Searching for and implementing new software solutions for our various activities, including trademark enforcement activities.
• Supporting the yearly budget planning and taking over cost control.
• Procurement planning for the Legal Department.

Your Profile

• University degree in law, e.g., LL.M., J.D. (for lawyers educated in Germany: First State Examination is required, Second State Examination is a plus) or, alternatively, a university degree in economics or business.
• 3 or more years of experience in the area of legal operations.
• Experience in dealing with authorities and law firms is desirable.
• Fluency in English (spoken and written) is required; fluency in German is a big advantage. Spanish and/or French is/are a plus.
• Quick cognitive ability and good time management skills: ability to perform well while handling simultaneously several functions.
• Service-oriented attitude to work focusing on solving legal challenges with a strong sense of diligence and accuracy.
• Proven ability to plan and organize work proactively.
• Experience in project management, financial management and analytics.
• Good skills in the use of the standard software packages, in particular MS Office package, Adobe Acrobat. Experience with DocuSign, Dynamics 365, MS SharePoint, MS Vision and MS Project is helpful.
• Experience with contract databases or general knowledge management platforms is an asset.
• Ability to work as a team player in a multi-cultural, inter-disciplinary and multi-lingual team.
• Strong motivation and dedication to support FSC’s values and mission through excellent individual performance.

What We Offer

• Location: Bonn, Germany.
• Starting Date: As soon as possible.
• Working Hours: Full-time - 40 hours per week.
• Duration of contract: 2 years with a possibility for extension, subject to satisfactory performance.

How to Apply

• Please apply via our website by submitting your CV in English.
• Please do not send any photos of yourself.
• The deadline for applications is 10 December 2023.

We will confirm receipt of your application. However, only candidates shortlisted for an interview will be further contacted and will receive notice of the outcome of the selection process. Should you not receive a confirmation of receipt please check your spam filter and if you cannot find it there contact us at recruitment@fsc.org

For FSC, inclusiveness and diversity are important values. As such, we welcome and encourage applications from all backgrounds and are entirely committed to consider all qualified applicants regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, social background, age and disability.   

Please be informed, that by applying for this position you automatically accept our Data Protection Information on processing your personal data.

We are looking forward to your application!