Head Of Legal Affairs

ICFO - The Institute of Photonic Sciences
Organisation/Company ICFO - The Institute of Photonic Sciences Research Field Juridical sciences » Public law Researcher Profile Other Profession Positions Undergraduate Positions Application Deadline 12 Nov ***:00 (Europe/Madrid) Country Spain Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Offer Starting Date 14 Oct ** Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No
Offer Description
ICFO is looking for a Head of Legal Affairs to build and lead its internal Legal function and become the institution's senior legal reference.
Reporting directly to the Executive Direction, the Head of Legal Affairs will have overall responsibility for ensuring that legal matters and legal risks across ICFO are appropriately identified, assessed and managed.
This is a unique opportunity for an experienced lawyer who wants to go beyond managing individual legal matters and shape a legal capability from the ground up. The successful candidate will combine senior legal judgement and hands-on legal work with the opportunity to build the processes, tools, knowledge base and team required for ICFO's next stage of development.
ICFO operates at the intersection of cutting-edge research, public-sector regulation, intellectual property, technology transfer and international collaboration, creating a diverse and demanding legal environment.
The internal Legal team will include a Legal Counsel and a Legal Operations Officer, complemented by specialized external legal support when required.
The role
A key initial mandate will be to assess ICFO's current legal activity, risks and ways of working and, based on this diagnosis, design and progressively develop the Legal function.
Main responsibilities will include:
acting as ICFO's senior legal reference and advising the Executive Direction and other relevant institutional decision-makers on complex, sensitive and strategically relevant matters;
taking overall responsibility for the quality, consistency and appropriate management of legal matters across the institution;
mapping and prioritizing legal risks and defining the operating model, priorities and ways of working of the Legal function;
providing senior legal advice on the public-sector legal and regulatory framework applicable to ICFO, including governance, transparency, incompatibilities, conflicts of interest, public funding and the legal implications of economic-financial and regulatory requirements;
monitoring relevant regulatory developments and supporting their appropriate interpretation and implementation across the institution;
providing senior legal expertise on intellectual property, research agreements, technology transfer, licensing, spin-offs and national and international research collaborations;
supporting institutional governance, Board-related matters, internal regulations, policies, resolutions and other governance instruments;
ensuring appropriate legal coverage of cross-cutting areas such as data protection, integrity and anti-fraud, complex labor matters and emerging digital and AI-related legal issues;
contributing to the preparation and review of institutional policies, procedures, internal regulations and other normative instruments;
creating and maintaining a coherent body of legal criteria, precedents, templates and internal regulatory documentation;
designing, documenting, simplifying and improving Legal processes, including their digitalization and automation where appropriate;
participating in cross-functional working groups and strategic institutional projects;
determining when specialized external legal expertise is required and coordinating external counsel;
leading and developing the internal Legal team.
The objective is to build a Legal function that is rigorous, pragmatic, accessible and efficient, capable of anticipating and managing legal risk while enabling ICFO to pursue its scientific and institutional objectives.
The Head of Legal Affairs will have overall accountability for Legal while working closely with the institutional functions that retain ownership of their respective activities.
Candidates must meet the following requirements:
University degree in Law and appropriate professional legal qualification.
At least 8 years of relevant professional legal experience, with demonstrated progression in autonomy and responsibility.
Strong practical knowledge and experience of the Spanish and/or Catalan public-sector legal framework.
Solid professional experience in intellectual property, research agreements and/or technology-transfer matters.
Demonstrated experience independently handling complex legal matters and negotiations.
Strong contractual drafting and negotiation skills.
Experience providi