Associate Counsel, Contracts

PPD is a leading global contract research organization providing comprehensive, integrated drug development, laboratory  and lifecycle management services. Our clients and partners include pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, academic and government organizations. With offices in 46 countries and more than 14,500 professionals worldwide, PPD applies innovative technologies, therapeutic expertise and a firm commitment to quality to help clients and partners bend the cost and time curve of drug development to deliver life-changing therapies that improve health. 

We are seeking someone to join our Legal Contracts team as an Associate Counsel in our Cambridge office on a full-time permanent basis.

In this role you will:

• Draft, review, negotiate and approve commercial contracts with our global sponsors/clients for the provision of PPD’s services in adherence with PPD’s policies, rules practices, procedures and guidelines
• Be responsible for ensuring all applicable internal function approvals pertaining to the contract have been obtained
• Manage the finalisation, execution and filing of the contracts under your responsibility, with support from the department's Administrative Assistants
• Identify, assess and  advise PPD how it may protect itself from unnecessary business and legal risk.
• Serve as the primary legal contact for legal or contractual matters pertaining to the contracts and/or PPD’s clients under your responsibility; both externally, in respect of PPD’s clients, and internally, in respect of PPD staff.
• Maintain contact and relationships with all internal departments, PPD Senior Management and your legal counterparts within PPD’s clients
• Identify and assist with the implementation of process improvement opportunities

Education and Experience:

The ideal candidate will be a qualified lawyer with training from a well-regarded Private Practice or in-house legal team.

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in law
• Candidates will be NQ-2 PQE*, Solicitor, Barrister or Chartered Legal Executive
• 2+ years’ experience in contract drafting and negotiation experience

(*PQE is merely a guideline. No level of PQE will be precluded from this search)

Preferred:

• Solid experience and knowledge of all commercial contract types
• Experience in a biotech or technology environment would be desirous but is not essential.
• Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Excellent organizational skills and strong attention to detail with proven ability to handle multiple tasks efficiently and effectively
• Flexible and able to re-prioritise workload to meet changing project needs
• Excellent MS Excel and MS Word skills
• Excellent English and grammar skills
• Excellent analytical and decision based thinking
• Capable, with appropriate oversight, of drafting and negotiating contract provisions
• Must be able to work independently and as a team player
• Must be able to provide direction to other employees
• Must be able to identify issues and escalate appropriately