Legal Contracts Manager/Business Affairs Manager - Up to £35k

Interpublic: GOLIN/Virgo Health (UK) – Business Affairs Manager/ Contract Manager 

Agency: GOLIN / Virgo Health

Category: In-House

Practice Area: commercial contracts, supply chain management

Location: London, UK

Experience: supply chain due diligence and contract negotiation

About GOLIN/Virgo:

Golin (www.golin.com/emea/office/uk) We are a global public relations agency that believes in the power of earned attention to create change that matters. We put collaboration at the heart of everything we do, we invest in our people and we invest heavily in data and analytics, strategy and planning – an award-winning approach aligned to the customer journey, that is earned-first, data-driven and creatively brave. We are PRCA Consultancy of the Year and EMEA Sabre Agency of the year 2023.

Virgo Health (www.virgohealth.com) is a leading, multi award-winning healthcare communications and medical education agency. We provide strategic communications across the full product lifestyle, including disease awareness and patient engagement, brand and product launches, market access, corporate strategy, issues and reputation management, employee engagement and social media strategy. We also offer specialist PR services for OTC and consumer health products. Our experience spans multiple therapy areas and we work with pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies, industry bodies, public and private health providers and patient organisations. Our in-house design team produces world-class graphics, award-winning video and digital media which enhances all of our client work.

What’s the role

The Golin group agencies are looking for someone with some legal/contracts background to offer business affairs support and guidance in the UK agencies particularly as regards vetting, negotiating and contracting its project specific suppliers. Those suppliers are myriad and wide-ranging – across content and experiential production, talent/ influencer, performer/speaker appointments, research agencies, venue hire etc. You will be embedded within agency practices, work as part of the agency’s Commercial Finance team and be guided and supervised by our experienced IPG (www.interpublic.com) group Legal & Business Affairs team.

This will be a challenging but interesting and diverse role. It will be great experience for anyone with a keen interest in people, negotiation and risk management. It would particularly suit a business affairs executive/contract manager keen to work and develop in this exciting sector; or someone who has entry level legal qualifications but has become disenchanted with the legal profession and instead wants to explore working in a more commercial role.

What you’ll be doing

• Vetting suppliers against client and group requirements
• Concluding confidentiality agreements with prospective suppliers
• Reviewing supplier terms including IP licenses
• Populating/checking standard form contracts
• Drafting supplier agreements
• Negotiating and concluding contracts and project scopes with suppliers and influencers/agents
• Inputting on the agency’s project scopes of work, with reference to the terms on which the supply chain can deliver
• Summarising client terms as they apply to suppliers
• Being alert to and raising any data privacy and other compliance concerns and issues
• Demonstrating best practice in supplier selection and contracting and assisting others to adopt a similar approach
• Implementing and responding to instructions and advice from senior solicitors throughout.

Over time you will be expected to train agency staff in these areas and progress to greater involvement helping to operationalize creative ideas and oversight of delivery on the business affairs side of a project to include content clearance, compliance and risk management.

Who are you?

• Commercially aware
• Good negotiation skills including in particular the ability to assert a position downstream and ensure understanding and movement upstream
• Attention to detail
• Excellent communication skills (verbal and written)
• Listen and engage well with instructions and ensuring correct understanding: to ensure efficient and accurate delivery
• Comfortable under pressure to include persuading senior staff as to the merits of your proposed approach
• Be able to correctly prioritise
• An adaptable attitude and ability to think laterally and a willingness to assume and take responsibility