Assistant to Legal Department (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 Assistant 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 gain experience and contribute to the success of the Legal Department in a unique and dynamic sector and setting.

Your Scope

You are the co-hub of administration and support of the centralized Legal Department with all its business affairs and clients of the FSC Group under direct supervision of the Head of Legal. You will collaborate closely with the Legal Assistant in the team to manage the tasks.

Your Role

• To carry out general administrative tasks, such as:
  • responding to incoming requests and managing mails and informing colleagues on new requests.
  • coordinating and organizing meetings and travel arrangements of the legal team.
  • managing, organizing, filing, and checking completeness of (legal) documents.
  • supporting all units in the contract processes established in the organization.
  • maintaining databases, e.g., for contracts, legal documents.
  • checking and processing invoices.
  • taking minutes of meetings.
  • creating Excel overviews, e.g., for statistics, budgets etc.
  • preparing and giving training on internal procedures to staff.
• Participating in and co-leading contract coordination efforts involving the legal team and senior team members at FSC International.
• Supporting legal team colleagues’ deadlines, for example by verifying, tracking, and monitoring of deadlines including expiry checks.
• Proofreading contracts and other legal documents and translating legal documents.
• Engagement of and checking proper work from external translators.
• Preparing and proofreading of presentations and other overview documents.
• Collaborating with internal and external clients and preparing related writs.
• Supporting trademark enforcement cases by performing search and clearance activities and creating cease-and-desist letters for our trademark counsels.
• Supporting with procuring legal services by:
  • responding to internal requests for the purchase of legal services.
  • conducting RFQ (request for quotation) and RFP (request for proposal) processes for legal services including review, negotiation, reporting, and alignment with the legal team.
  • serving as the co-liaison person between the procurement team and legal team.
  • answering questions concerning the proper implementation of the applicable; procurement policies and procedures related to legal services.

Your Profile

• Successful education or training as an Assistant, Secretary, Paralegal, Multilingual Secretary, Office Manager or similar (for candidates from Germany apprenticed to: “Rechtsanwaltsfachangestellte(r)”, “Fremdsprachensekretär/in”, “Bürokauffrau/-kaufmann”, “geprüfte(r) Rechtsfachwirt/in”, “Diplom-Jurist”, “Wirtschaftsjurist” oder vergleichbar).
• Over 2 years of professional experience in an administrative position, preferably in the legal, finance, or compliance department of an international organization.
• Experience in dealing with notaries, authorities, external clients, courts, and law firms is desirable.
• Fluency in German and English (spoken and written).
• Spanish and/or French is a big advantage.
• Competent in time management and multitasking even in stressful situations.
• Service-oriented attitude to work focusing on solving tasks with a strong sense for diligence and accuracy.
• Good verbal and written communication skills, able to establish and maintain positive interpersonal relationships.
• Proficient with the use of the standard software packages (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Experience with contract databases or general knowledge management platforms is an asset.
• Experience and knowledge of SharePoint, Office 365 / Dynamics 365 and SAP is a big plus.
• Ability to work well as a member of a multi-cultural, inter-disciplinary, multi-lingual, global team.

What We Offer

• Location: Bonn, Germany.
• Starting Date: As soon as possible.
• Working Hours: Full-time - 40 hours per week (part time of 75% or more could be considered)
• 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 17 December 2023. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

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!