Legal Counsel

Legal Counsel - DACH Region.

UK Based, Remote.

Part Time - 2 Days Per Week.

Summary

This is a key legal role for a German and English-speaking tech lawyer qualified in a jurisdiction in the DACH region (preferably Germany). You will be working with the Sales and Commercial teams to manage the negotiation and closing of commercial contracts for the licensing of Smart Communications cloud based SaaS services and the provision of related services to customers, predominantly in the financial, insurance and healthcare sectors. You will be supporting the global business with a principal focus within our continental Europe sales region, particularly the DACH region, where we are newly expanding the company’s customer footprint through a recent acquisition. The role will also support the business in all legal matters relating to the day to day running of the group, including customer negotiations, regional procurement, compliance, responding to supplier RFPs and dealing with data protection/regulatory queries.

The role is based in UK remote and initially part-time (two days per week) with a view to growing as the regional sales efforts grow.

About Smart Communications

Smart Communications is a leading technology company focused on helping businesses engage in more meaningful customer conversations. Its Conversation Cloud platform uniquely delivers personalized, omnichannel conversations across the entire customer experience, empowering companies to succeed in today’s digital-focused, customer-driven world while also simplifying processes and operating more efficiently.

Smart Communications is headquartered in the UK and serves more than 650 customers from offices located across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. Smart Communications’ Conversation Cloud platform includes the enterprise-scale customer communications management (CCM) power of SmartCOMMTM, forms transformation capabilities made possible by SmartIQTM and the trade documentation expertise of SmartDXTM. In 2021, the company acquired Assentis, a leading European software solutions provider specializing in customer communications management (CCM) with a focus on the financial services industry. To learn more, visit smartcommunications.com.

Who are you?

Ideally you would be a German qualified lawyer with experience of handling negotiations of SaaS implementations with large regulated organisations. You have the ability to negotiate complex technology contracts in either English or German. Experience in deployment of on-premise software would also be an advantage. We need someone who can run our continental European legal function with a good degree of autonomy. You will be able to function in a flexible and changing business environment, be persuasive and a good negotiator on the fundamentals of a SaaS based offering. We need a person who can find solutions to the challenges of new product launches and sales of SaaS solutions to existing customers with on premise software predominantly in Germany and Switzerland. You would report to the General Counsel in London and receive the support of the wider legal team in the materials and working practices of Smart Communications. This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a rapidly growing and innovative business with opportunities to make an impact in new jurisdictions for our products.

The responsibilities of the role include:

Working proactively with the sales teams in Europe on the creation and negotiation of commercial agreements (whether on Smart Communications or customer paper) relating to:

• Master Agreements for multi tenanted SaaS.
• Partnership/Collaboration Agreements.
• Sales-related contracting including NDAs and Evaluation Agreements.
• Professional Services Agreements and SOWs.
• Amendments to existing customer agreements, as required.
• Processing and dealing with customer questionnaires and RFPs.
• Providing advice on data protection/financial regulation as it applies to software providers to financial institutions in relation to customer and supplier negotiations.
• Supporting the wider business with legal and contracts advice across a broad range of topics including, and taking the lead on and managing the process for:
• Supplier agreements (procurement) for key products and services including infrastructure, IT and marketing.
• Reviewing responses to supplier due diligence questionnaires and advising the business of risks.
• Amendments to existing supplier agreements, as required.
• Supporting marketing and publicity event contracting
• Supporting the building and ongoing updating of a customer contract database.

What we’re looking for:

Must have skills/experience:

• Professional working proficiency in German
• Proven experience of at least 4 years in commercial law with in-house experience of customer negotiations for a SaaS based technology business.
• Law degree in German law from an accredited law school or a high degree of familiarity with German law in order to advise the business/negotiate with German customers.
• Current member of a Bar association (or similar) applicable to jurisdiction of hire required.
• Ability to work independently and flexibly.
• Ability to deal with demanding customers, including top tier investment banks.
• Experienced in contract negotiation in the software industry, ideally in a financial services environment. SaaS experience is essential.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to articulate key legal issues and explain them to others.
• Good understanding of contract law and in the context of software and SaaS.
• A strong understanding of regulations relevant to customers of a software provider to the financial services industry in the DACH region would be highly desirable.

Advantageous skills/experience:

• Experience servicing sales teams to tight deadlines.
• You will need experience in a commercial company and will be comfortable working with senior management to support ad-hoc projects as required.

We look for the following SMART values in everyone we hire at Smart Communications:

• Speak Openly - We are positive, creative, helpful, kind and we have fun. We listen and provide constructive feedback. Through meaningful conversations we encourage each other to be the best that we can be. We’re not complainers we’re problem solvers.
• Make a Difference - We focus on the things that matter and prioritize the things that have the greatest impact. We celebrate success and hold ourselves accountable for our choices. We don’t sit on the sidelines.
• Agile & Flexible - We are focused on evolving, improving and growing. We think differently and challenge the status quo with open minds. We ask ‘why?’ so that we can help remove complexity. We don’t allow hurdles to get in our way.
• Results-Focused - We get stuff done by being efficient, working at pace and paying attention to detail. We focus on finding solutions and fixing things. We don’t believe in being busy for the sake of being busy, we focus on productivity.
• Teamwork - We are stronger and better together. We collaborate, trust and support each other to deliver results for our company and our customers. We don’t want anyone to feel disengaged, we’re in this together!

What’s the deal?

We will provide you with the tools, equipment and support to give you the best possible chance of success and over-achieving your goals. Salary will depend on your experience and will be highly competitive.

In addition to a friendly and fun working environment, we provide a range of other benefits, including extensive health insurance, income protection, life assurance, subsidised gym membership, leisure travel insurance, pension contribution and 25 days’ holiday allowance plus an additional day off for your birthday!

So, if we interest you, please let us know by applying for this position and tell us all about yourself.

Please note: we only consider applicants with current legal right to work in the countries in which our positions are based. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment regardless of protected characteristic

To learn more about Smart Communications visit:

https://www.smartcommunications.com/