Senior Legal Counsel

OUR MANIFESTO

At Sephora, we stand together, and we stand for something more. For empowerment, for exploration, for the opportunity to impact people’s lives through the unlimited power of beauty. We embrace uniqueness, unleash creativity, and pursue progress every day. Sparked by energy and excitement, our passion is contagious. We are united by a common goal - to reimagine the future of beauty.

Reimagine your future, with Sephora.

OUR VALUE PROPOSITION:

We have a powerful culture that fuses aspirations, uniqueness, authenticity and valued by each and every Sephora member:

These are the values:

Beauty & Beyond:

We reimagine beauty by inspiring our customers, empowering people and helping them become the best versions of themselves.

Creativity Unleashed:

We encourage exploration, innovation and having fun.

Endless Evolution:

At Sephora you are empowered to choose your own path and accelerate your growth.

Boldly Authentic:

We celebrate diversity and embrace your unique and winning spirit.

POSITION PURPOSE:

• The Senior Legal Counsel is responsible for providing strategic legal advice and ensuring compliance with all relevant laws and regulations for Sephora Middle East.
• He reports to the regional CFO and have a dotted line with the Global General Counsel based in France.
• With the support of one direct report, the Senior Legal Counsel closely partners with the business stakeholders in the region and the Global legal team in France.
• In a highly dynamic retail environment, this regional role covers 6 countries (UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman) and 7 legal entities.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES:

• The Senior Legal Counsel provides legal counselling, guidance, and support to business on all Middle East matters and projects, notably:
• Draft and negotiate commercial agreements such as: distribution, logistics & transport, lease agreements, IT contracts and other service/consulting contracts.
• Drive improvements to documentation processes and develop legal template for business stakeholders that are fit for purpose, standardized and in line with global guidelines.
• Provide legal advice and risk analysis to all business teams (marketing, communication, merchandising, expansion, digital, IT teams…).
• Implement data privacy compliance program roadmap in the region and advise the business stakeholders in collecting, processing, and using data privacy.
• Be the regional Ethics & Compliance correspondent, deploying Sephora’s global Ethics and compliance program roadmap with the support of the local E&C committee.
• Manage corporate secretary activities.
• Manage pre-litigations and litigations.
• Monitor new regulations, develop legal awareness and understanding for the business teams, promoting clear communication, and conducting relevant training when required.
• Control the quality and cost of legal services provided by external law firms.
• Lead by example and coach the legal counsel to enable high engagement.
• Communicate with stakeholders on a regular basis to resolve challenges and roadblocks with a client centric approach.

SKILLS, EXPERIENCE AND PERSONALITY:

• Master’s degree in business law
• Minimum 10 years of relevant experience, preferably within a large omni retail company and/or luxury sector.
• Fluency in English and Arabic, French is a plus.
• Strong working knowledge of regulations in Middle East, especially on competition laws, commercial, marketing & promotion practices, sustainability topics, and lease agreements.
• Demonstrated ability to deliver practical guidance clearly and concisely.
• Acting as a key business partner with problem-solving mindset.
• Ability to assess legal risks and propose viable solutions legally and commercially.
• Highly proactive and organized, while managing multiple and complex projects.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, good judgment, strong analytical skills, flexible and pragmatic.
• Exemplary integrity and display a commitment to ethics in all actions.
• Good team spirit and collaboration skills.

Most importantly, the candidate needs to live and breathe the Sephora Culture, DNA and Employee Value propositions (EVP). They need to have excellent authentic communication, strong confidence, leadership and influencing skills and be energized by working in a fast paced, dynamic environment.