About the Role
Thales is seeking a Senior Legal Contracts & Compliance Manager to join its team in Riyadh. This full-time position supports the Director Legal, Contracts & Compliance in delivering comprehensive legal, contractual, governance, and compliance services across Thales entities in Saudi Arabia and Central Asia. The role is designed for a senior professional with strong leadership potential, contributing to risk management, compliance maturity, corporate governance, and contract lifecycle support, while serving as a trusted advisor and key interface with authorities and stakeholders. This position plays a critical role in strengthening local governance, ensuring regulatory compliance, supporting strategic transactions, and embedding a robust compliance culture, with a clear development path toward future leadership within the function.
Key Responsibilities
- Provide proactive legal advice on Saudi and regional laws, regulations, and corporate requirements to the business.
- Support all legal aspects of commercial operations, projects, bids, tenders, and contractual arrangements in coordination with contracts and commercial teams.
- Assist in managing disputes, claims, and litigation, including coordination with external counsel.
- Support legal risk assessment and mitigation strategies across business activities.
- Oversee the contract lifecycle, including drafting, review, negotiation, and interpretation of commercial contracts.
- Provide legal support to project teams on contractual risk, variations, claims, and dispute avoidance.
- Ensure contract alignment with internal policies, compliance requirements, and delegation of authority.
- Promote contractual best practices and contribute to the development of templates and guidance.
- Support the implementation and monitoring of Thales' compliance framework, focusing on Antitrust & Competition Law, Anti-Corruption & Integrity, Data Protection & Privacy, and Third-Party Risk.
- Assist with compliance risk assessments, investigations, and remediation actions.
- Contribute to compliance reporting, training, and awareness programs.
- Act as a local compliance ambassador and point of contact for business teams.
- Support the management of corporate governance frameworks and corporate secretarial activities, including resolutions, powers of attorney, and regulatory filings.
- Ensure compliance with Saudi Companies Law and local regulatory requirements.
- Support mergers, acquisitions, restructurings, and other strategic transactions, including due diligence and documentation.
- Act as a key legal interface with Saudi authorities, regulators, and government entities.
- Manage relationships with external law firms and advisors.
- Demonstrate leadership behaviors and act as a role model for ethics and professionalism.
- Support the development of legal, compliance, and governance capabilities within the team.
Qualifications and Experience
- 8–10 years of progressive experience in legal, contracts, and compliance roles.
- Strong experience in Saudi Arabia, preferably within multinational or complex regulated environments.
- Demonstrated exposure to corporate governance, corporate secretarial work, commercial contracts, project-based environments, compliance programs, and regulatory/governmental interfaces.
- Experience in defense, infrastructure, energy, industrial, or similarly regulated sectors is a strong advantage.
- Master’s Degree in Law (** – Commercial Law, Corporate Law, or equivalent.
- Fully qualified lawyer.
- Strong knowledge of Saudi laws and regulatory framework.
- Exposure to international legal standards and comparative legal systems is a plus.
Required Skills and Attributes
- Saudi national (Saudization requirement).
- Fluency in Arabic and English (mandatory).
- Strong legal judgment with a pragmatic, business-oriented mindset.
- High integrity, ownership mentality, and leadership potential.
- Ability to manage complexity, multiple stakeholders, and sensitive matters.
- Strong communication, negotiation, and relationship-management skills.
- High learning agility and ambition to grow into senior leadership roles.
Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) Responsibilities
Employees are expected to ensure their own safety and the safety of others at all times. This includes actively participating in achieving HSE objectives, adhering to the HSE Thales Policy, and complying with local HSE laws and legislation. Proper use of safety equipment, including PPE, is mandatory. Employees are encouraged to lead by example in conserving resources and minimizing waste. Any concerns regarding health and safety must be reported immediately to the line manager and the HSE department.
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