SENIOR COUNSEL MEXICO & CENTRAL AMERICA

Job Description.
Senior Counsel Mexico & Central America - Royal Canin & Pet Nutrition - Based in Querétaro or Mexico City.
Leads of the Petcare legal function in Mexico, representing the function in the business leadership Teams of Royal Canin (“RC") and of Mars Pet Nutrition (“PN”) in Mexico.
Accountable for overall legal support for the PN and RC organizations in Mexico and Central America (Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama) managing legal risk and protecting Mars’ freedom to operate in these countries.
Deploys the corporate legal agenda and the PN and RC global legal agendas in these countries.
Manages and/or coordinates legal resources servicing the business (local in-house Legal team, Local external counsel, as well as corporate and other global or regional in-house legal experts).
As most senior member of the Petcare legal function in Mexico and Central America, ensures the collaborative development and execution of business strategies.
What are we looking for? 10 to 15 years of experience practicing in Mexico, including a min of 5 years as in-house counsel.
Significant experience at a consumer goods company.
The incumbent carries out their accountability themselves and through their team and external resources, meeting all legal needs of the business.
Work is carried out primarily internally, the legal team analyzing all contracts, giving legal advice in all areas of law, carrying out corporate changes, interacting with external law firms and experts as needed, and defending Mars and RC in regulatory challenges and all kinds of lawsuits.
What will be your key responsibilities? Overall Legal point of contact for the two petcare divisions in Mexico and Central America.
Partners with each Associate/Assistant General Counsel for PN (Pet Nutrition) and RC (Royal Canin) and relevant members of the business leadership team on the establishment and execution of the Segment’s legal strategy.
Manages (and where relevant ensures clearly articulated business segment policies and procedures as relates to:) (a) Commercial Contracts (direct procurement), (b) Litigation, (c) Compliance, (d) Legal Training, (e) Marketing/Product Claims, (f) business regulation.
Handles the day-to-day strategy execution and coordination of legal work for assigned business segment, excluding Marketing Properties and Tech IP.
Handle directly and/or assigns to Segment Team and/or outside counsel, and then manages all legal and regulatory issues facing the business, excluding MP and Tech IP matters.
Builds strong relationships and partners with other internal stakeholders – especially Corporate Affairs, Finance, P&O, Marketing and sales, as well as other members of the legal function (Security, Compliance, IP, MP…).
Accountable for Legal Budget – ensure adherence, control impacts and pursue possible savings.
Implements Local Ethics and Compliance Committee, Lead the Mexican and the Central America compliance program in line with the global strategy; Provides legal input to Crisis Management Team decisions; On average, the Incumbent and their team manages every year + contracts, +200 legal consultations and 50 litigations ­ What can you expect from Mars? Work with over diverse and talented Associates, all guided by the Five Principles.
Join a purpose driven company, where we’re striving to build the world we want tomorrow, today.
Best-in-class learning and development support from day one, including access to our in-house Mars University.
An industry competitive salary and benefits package, including company bonus.
Mars is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
If you need assistance or an accommodation during the application process because of a disability, it is available upon request.
The company is pleased to provide such assistance, and no applicant will be penalized as a result of such a request.