Head of Legal

**PANTHER - PANdemic preparedness for Health and Emerging infections’ Response** (pantherhealth.org)

A sustainable & collaborative clinical research platform - linking Europe and Africa - for preparedness and rapid pandemic response.

**About PANTHER**:
Currently established as an association under French law, PANTHER’s mission is to contribute to controlling future epidemics or pandemics by supporting preparedness and rapid response to emerging infectious diseases, via one or more flexible clinical research platform(s).

PANTHER aims to develop, implement and sustain a “ready to use” living clinical research platform which integrates research capacity in clinical care in Africa.

**Purpose of the position**:
The Head of Legal will assist in management decision processes with legal risk assessments and provide general legal advice and recommendations related to contractual and legal obligations, intellectual property, corporate status, governance and other relevant matters.

S/he will be responsible for developing, drafting and negotiating appropriate agreements to frame PANTHER’s activities, and for developing appropriate contractual frameworks with strategic partners.

S/he will build the necessary legal resources (staffing, outsourcing, tools, etc.), to ensure a rapid and accurate turn-over of PANTHER legal and transactional matters.

This role is at an executive level. The Head of Legal will have the opportunity to work closely with PANTHER’s General Delegate, its Board, and its broader membership and related key external stakeholders.

**Specific job responsibilities**:
**Transactions/Partnerships**:

- Shape, draft and negotiate strategic long-term collaboration agreements or MOUs with key stakeholders.
- Draft/review/negotiate contracts (including CDAs, MTAs, various kinds of Service Agreements, Clinical Trial agreements, amendments, MOU, etc.) to support PANTHER’s R&D activities, in close collaboration with the relevant project leaders.
- Provide legal support on alliance management, as needed.
- Conduct legal due diligence; assess legal implications of contracts or any other binding documentation that need to be brought to the attention of management; support development of term sheets.
- Implement in contractual documentation any donor requirements that may apply.

**Governance and compliance**:

- Support and coordinate external legal advice concerning PANTHER’s status as a French association and its corporate requirements.
- Support and coordinate external legal advice on appropriate legal structures for PANTHER’s set up in Africa.
- Support management to ensure compliance with PANTHER statutes and support preparation of Board meetings as appropriate.
- Provide support in the development and review of PANTHER policies and procedures to ensure compliance with all statutory or legal requirements; advise on legal implications of internal policies & procedures.
- Support and coordinate external legal advice on PANTHER trademark portfolio, including PANTHER logo registrations worldwide, as may be necessary.

**Legal team set-up and management**:

- Build the legal team and provide leadership and ensure its efficient and effective management, supervision and mentoring, in accordance with available resources.
- Develop and implement adequate contractual templates, processes and management tools ensuring appropriate contractual risks management and consistency of contractual practice within the legal team and across PANTHER.
- Supervise the development of a contract repository, and of tools to monitor the contractual lifecycle.
- Ensure consistency of contractual practice and adequate sensitivity in risk identification within the legal team.
- Prepare annual action plan and budget for the legal team in line with available resources.

**Legal advice**:

- Resolve routine to complex legal issues using negotiation skills and legal expertise.
- Identify and analyse contractual and legal risks and, if applicable or requested, provide timely, high-quality and practically sensible legal advice on appropriate courses of action to be taken.
- Provide decision making support to executive and governance bodies on legal matters as appropriate.
- Support relevant internal stakeholders (R&D, clinical, admin, etc ) in relation to insurance practices.
- Support internal stakeholders in relation to data protection.
- Keep abreast of changes in laws that affect PANTHER; communicate these to management.
- Perform or supervise legal research as needed. Disseminate appropriate legal information; conduct training.
- Manage legal aspects of any litigations.
- Liaise with and coordinate external lawyers when needed.
- Assist the General Delegate in any other manner as requested.

**Job requirements**:

- Recognized advanced university degree in a relevant field of law and excellent knowledge of French law preferred.
- At least 10 years in Senior role in the pharmaceutical/biomedical sector in legal or strate