Role Overview

This is a senior in-house legal and commercial role providing legal, compliance, governance, and risk support across the business.

The key distinction is that Coca-Cola is looking for a commercially minded Legal Counsel, not simply a technical legal specialist. The role requires someone who can translate legal risks into practical business decisions and work directly with senior management.

Key Responsibilities

Legal & Commercial Advisory

• Advise business leaders and departments on:
  • Commercial law
  • Regulatory matters
  • Labour issues
  • Compliance
• Draft, review, negotiate, and manage:
  • Supplier agreements
  • Distribution agreements
  • Partnership agreements
  • Other commercial contracts
• Maintain contractual templates and legal processes.

Legal Risk & Compliance

• Identify legal risks affecting the business.
• Recommend practical risk-mitigation measures.
• Monitor changes in legislation and regulations.
• Advise management on how regulatory changes affect operations.
• Conduct legal and compliance awareness training.
• Ensure policies and processes remain aligned with applicable requirements.

Litigation

• Manage litigation matters.
• Determine when specialist external legal expertise is required.
• Coordinate external lawyers and legal-service providers.
• Help reduce unnecessary dependence on external counsel while maintaining quality legal support.

Governance

• Support corporate governance initiatives.
• Promote adherence to internal policies and standards.
• Maintain effective relationships with regulators, internal stakeholders, external counsel, and The Coca-Cola Company.

Commercial Cost Management

An important feature of this position is responsibility for legal budgets and external legal costs. The successful candidate needs to understand not only the legal issue but also the financial implications of different approaches to resolving it.

Qualifications

Essential

• Bachelor of Laws (LLB) or equivalent.
• Must be an Admitted Attorney or Advocate.
• Minimum 8 years post-qualification legal experience.

Relevant Experience

The experience should cover several of:

• Commercial law
• Legal compliance
• Corporate governance
• Litigation
• Contract management

Experience in both:

1. A reputable law firm, and
2. A corporate/in-house environment

is preferred.

Advantage

• LLM
• MBA
• Other relevant postgraduate qualification
• FMCG experience
• Multinational-company experience

Competencies They Are Looking For

The strongest candidate will demonstrate:

• Contract drafting and negotiation
• Legal and commercial risk assessment
• Strong stakeholder management
• Influencing and advisory skills
• Ability to balance legal protection with commercial objectives
• Excellent communication and presentation
• High integrity and sound judgement
• Strong attention to detail
• Ability to manage multiple competing priorities

What makes this role senior

The reporting line is particularly important: the Legal Counsel reports directly to the Managing Director.

That means this isn’t simply a contracts-review position. The person is effectively expected to function as a senior legal business adviser, helping the MD and leadership team make decisions while protecting the company’s legal and commercial interests.

Overall profile

The ideal candidate is essentially:

Senior commercial lawyer + compliance adviser + corporate governance adviser + risk manager + business partner.

The 8-year post-qualification requirement and admission requirement make this a substantially more specialized position than the other non-legal management roles you’ve shared.