Legal Counsel – Japan & APAC

About the role

We are a global brand specializing in innovative baby gear and are expanding our legal function across Japan and the broader APAC region. As a Legal Counsel, you will act as a trusted partner to senior management and cross‑functional teams, ensuring commercial objectives are met while mitigating legal and regulatory risks.

Key responsibilities

• Provide commercially focused legal advice on a wide range of commercial, corporate, and operational matters.
• Draft, review, negotiate and manage commercial agreements such as distribution, supply, procurement, licensing, marketing, technology and service contracts.
• Partner with Sales, Marketing, Supply Chain, Procurement, HR, Finance and Regulatory teams to deliver practical legal solutions.
• Lead compliance initiatives covering anti‑bribery, competition law, data privacy, consumer protection and internal investigations.
• Advise on legal and regulatory risks and develop mitigation strategies.
• Support corporate governance, risk management and other legal projects across Japan and APAC.
• Manage litigation, employment disputes, product liability matters and coordinate with external counsel.
• Collaborate with APAC, ANZ and global legal teams on cross‑border transactions and regional projects.

Required profile

• Qualified lawyer with 8–12 years post‑qualification experience, preferably in a multinational FMCG, consumer products, retail, manufacturing or healthcare environment.
• Strong in‑house experience in commercial contracting, business partnering and stakeholder management.
• Experience supporting multiple APAC jurisdictions; exposure to ANZ is a plus.
• Fluent in English and business‑level or native Japanese.
• Excellent communication, negotiation and influencing skills.
• Proactive, solution‑oriented with strong ownership and ability to work independently in a fast‑paced, matrixed organization.

Required skills

• Contract drafting and negotiation
• Compliance and risk management
• Stakeholder partnership across functions