Head of Legal Center of Excellence

Key Responsibilities

This is a senior legal leadership role combining Group-wide responsibility for Zentiva's Legal Centre of Excellence with hands-on legal support on strategic, operational and commercial matters. You will shape common legal standards and capabilities across Zentiva while providing trusted legal advice to senior stakeholders and supporting the General Counsel in the continued development of an efficient, scalable and business-oriented Legal Function.

You will

• Lead and develop Zentiva's Legal Centre of Excellence, establishing Group-wide legal frameworks, standards, processes, tools and ways of working, and driving their consistent implementation across HQ and affiliates.
• Provide senior legal advice on complex and business-critical matters, including the preparation and negotiation of significant contracts, balancing legal risk with operational and commercial considerations.
• Provide legal support to key HQ functions, including Product Supply across internal and external sites, Quality, HSE and other evolving areas such as ESG and AI.
• Provide and ensure effective legal support to Zentiva's Czech commercial organization, including advice on commercial activities and compliance with applicable Czech legal and regulatory requirements.
• Strengthen legal risk management across the Group, identifying regulatory and legal developments, coordinating internal and external legal expertise, managing significant claims and litigation exposure, and supporting internal investigations where required.
• Build the future legal operating framework, including policies, SOPs, contract templates, commercial guidelines, contract-management practices and legal technology, including the effective adoption of AI-enabled solutions.
• Lead, develop and support the Legal Centre of Excellence team, setting clear priorities and expectations, ensuring effective allocation of work and oversight of significant matters, and building a collaborative, accountable and high-performing team.
• Partner closely with the General Counsel and the wider Legal Function, including Patent, Trademark, Corporate Governance and Ethical Compliance teams. You will contribute to legal strategy, operational priorities, capability development and cross-functional initiatives, represent Legal in selected management forums and projects, and act as deputy to the General Counsel on selected matters when requested.

Must-have

• Master's degree or equivalent professional qualification in Law.
• At least 15 years of relevant legal experience gained in an international and highly regulated environment, including significant experience within the pharmaceutical or life sciences industry.
• Significant senior legal experience advising executives and senior management on complex, business-critical legal matters.
• Strong knowledge of commercial and contractual matters, legal risk management and the practical application of legal and regulatory requirements within a business environment.
• Relevant experience supporting commercial activities in the Czech Republic and a strong understanding of the applicable Czech legal and regulatory environment.
• Proven leadership experience, with the ability to lead and develop legal professionals and influence senior stakeholders across functions and geographies.
• Experience developing and implementing legal frameworks, processes, policies, tools and ways of working across an international organization.
• Strong legal judgement, strategic thinking and business acumen, with the ability to provide clear, pragmatic and solution-oriented advice.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder-management skills and fluent written and spoken English.

Nice-to-have

• Experience operating within a regional or Group-level Legal Centre of Excellence or similar international legal operating model.
• Experience with legal technology, automation and AI-enabled legal solutions.
• Experience leading cross-border legal transformation or harmonization initiatives across multiple affiliates.
• Experience managing significant litigation, investigations and external legal counsel across different jurisdictions.
• Previous experience working closely with manufacturing, Product Supply, Quality, HSE or other pharmaceutical operational functions.

Diversity & Inclusion

Zentiva is committed to diversity and has employees representing more than 50 nationalities in 30 countries with different ethnical and educational backgrounds, across four different generations, with various beliefs. At Zentiva, we are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone feels respected, valued, and empowered to contribute. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates regardless of background, and we believe that diversity strengthens our ability to serve patients and communities.