Lead Counsel

Royal DSM is active worldwide in nutritional and pharma ingredients, performance materials and industrial chemicals. The company develops, produces and sells innovative products and services that help improve the quality of life.

Within the DSM business, DSM Legal Affairs (DLA) is the corporate integrated shared services and competence center for legal support. DLA consists of 48 lawyers worldwide. Its main task is to provide efficient, responsive and solutions oriented advise to DSM’s businesses in a proactive and compliant matter.

One of the Emerging Business Areas (EBA) of Royal DSM is DSM Bio-based Products & Services (DBPS). The assignment for this 'pioneering company' within the multinational is simple: develop the technologies needed for DSM to be a leader in shaping the chemistry of the future. DBPS has 4 business units: Bio-Conversion Solutions, Bio-based Chemicals and Products, Biogas and Bio-based Chemicals & Polymers. These business units have a synergy, they look for bio-renewable resources to produce bio-based products. These products can be an alternative to existing chemical products, or they may be entirely new. Anyhow, the eco-footprint of these materials should be better than what is achievable via existing production. This is congruent with the commitment the holding company DSM made in its mission statement and practices in day-to-day business: People, Planet, Profit.

Within the EBA DBPS Legal People is looking for a Lead Counsel.

The Lead Counsel will have close contact with DBPS management. Given the dynamic environment of DBPS, the EBA Lead Counsel, partly assisted by the other DSM counsel(s) allocated to DBPS, is constantly confronted with multiple projects/activities for different customers, who expect that their project receives priority treatment. On top of that, in the dynamic world of DBPS with ever increasing speed of change and pace of growth a lot of ad hoc high priority issues come up. The Lead Counsel manages the legal workload and supports the business strategy and its global business operations by giving pro-active, professional, competent, (cost) effective and creative legal support and advice, acting as a trusted and value adding business partner. He or she anticipates and manages the (legal) risks connected with and/or resulting from the EBA’s business strategy and operations. The Lead Counsel reports to the Director of DBPS as well as to DSM Legal Affairs.

Profiel

a Master’s degree in Law

at least 8 years work experience, in an international environment

preferably acquired experience and expertise in the field of (green) biotechnology

excellent drafting skills and in depth knowledge of contract law

preferably knowledge of joint ventures, IP matters and R&D contracts

broad experience with negotiations and the handling of technically complicated legal matters as well as in general company law practice

good understanding of corporate business models and strategy

Propositie

a wide array of premium legal work in support of DBPS

direct access to and global team play with the business leaders

a unique opportunity to join the legal department of a large internationally established company