Interim Legal Counsel – Commercial Contracts (6+PQE)

Full Job Description

About Fastmarkets

Fastmarkets is an independent commodity pricing and information organisation with over 600 staff. We are fuelled by values that bring us all together and are united by a collective passion to make a difference. We are supported by a working model that is based on a hybrid approach that allows each of us to balance home and office working while encouraging effective collaboration and accountability.

Fastmarkets is the most trusted Price Reporting Agency (PRA) in the metals, mining, agriculture, forest products, and energy transition markets. Our price data, forecasts, and market analyses give our customers strategic advantage in complex, volatile, often opaque markets. Our events provide forums for market participants to come together, trade, and talk through the critical issues of our times.

We are making a difference. Fastmarkets works to create transparent commodity markets through our reliable and trusted price data and market intelligence. The markets we serve are central to how economies work and are essential for our lives. By doing this, Fastmarkets helps our customers build a more sustainable world. We are built on a 130-year foundation while bringing a digital platform to market, combining the currency of trust with the power of digital.

Most importantly, we are fuelled by our teams that, across the globe, make the amazing possible. With a deep sense of purpose and belonging, we are building an extraordinary future – together. If you would like to help build the future, we hope you will join us on our journey.

Fastmarkets is owned by global private equity firm Astorg, a specialist investor in healthcare, software, technology, business services and technology-based industrial companies.

About the role

We wish to appoint a Legal Counsel to be part of the Legal, Risk & Compliance function (LRC) and who will report directly to the Senior Legal Counsel of Fastmarkets. The focus of this role will be two-fold:

• To provide general legal commercial support to the business on a global basis under the support of the Senior Legal Counsel. This covers a wide range of issues including intellectual property, information technology, data licensing (in and out), disputes and litigation, data privacy, electronic contracting and employment; and
• To support the Senior Legal Counsel to establish and grow the legal function within Fastmarkets following the acquisition of Fastmarkets by Astorg in late 2022. This is an exciting opportunity to create a legal function to meet the needs of Fastmarkets as an independent, fast-growing business

The role sits in the newly established Legal and Risk Function within Fastmarkets. LRC is responsible for managing legal, risk, compliance, privacy and co sec on a global basis across the business. The General Counsel reports to the CEO and the team is viewed as a genuine business partner and critical to helping the organisation deliver its strategy and this message is set from the top of the company.

PRINCIPLE ACCOUNTABILITIES

• support and manage the business’ commercial legal issues on a global basis. This covers a wide range of issues including intellectual property, information technology, data licensing (in and out), disputes and litigation, data privacy, electronic contracting and employment
• support the Senior Legal Counsel and General Counsel in a wide range of areas, including establishing systems, processes and controls to appropriately manage legal risk within the business
• manage the operation of the business’ ‘self-help’ model for the provision of legal services, ensuring continuous improvement measured against KPIs
• work closely with the team’s legal vendors to manage day-to-day service delivery, ensuring that work is triaged and prioritised appropriately
• support Senior Legal Counsel and General Counsel on projects, business implementation and commercial contracts
• adopt a pragmatic, business-orientated approach to the role, with a focus on implementing practical and scalable solutions to support the business in meeting its strategic objectives
• draft, negotiate and advise on a range of agreements, including both customer and supplier contracts
• take the lead on projects where requested
• partner with colleagues in Risk, Compliance and Information Security and CoSec on a range of issues
• represent the LRC at regular stakeholder meetings (for example in steering groups and working parties)
• escalate risk issues quickly to the Senior Legal Counsel
• monitor legal developments and translating them into clear, actionable plans for the business
• horizon scan’ on legal and regulatory change in the business’ key markets

Our Values

Fastmarkets people come from all different walks of life. It’s this mix of brilliant personalities, experiences and insights that gives us that warm, open, and friendly culture you can feel as soon as you meet us. But however wonderfully different we all are, there are six things we all have in common – and they form our Fastmarkets values.

Created by our own employees to reflect some of the personal traits that Fastmarkets people have, our values are key to what makes our culture unique. They reflect who each of us are and they're embedded in everything we do. Our values are:

• METRICS DRIVEN. We use insights to improve our customers’ experience and our business performance

• ACCOUNTABLE. We are accountable to ourselves and those we work with: we keep our promises and get things done

• GROWTH MINDSET . This value enables us to be nimble to the changing realities and operate with a sense of urgency

• INCLUSIVE. We are inclusive and respectful, celebrating each of us and giving everyone a deep sense of belonging with the desire to bring their best self to work every day.

• CUSTOMER CENTRIC. We are customer-centric in all that we do

• COLLABORATIVE. We are collaborative, able to work across teams and capitalise on the diversity of intellect, perspectives, and experiences.