General Counsel - global software company

Canonical is a leading provider of open source software and operating systems to the global enterprise and technology markets. Our platform, Ubuntu, is very widely used in breakthrough enterprise initiatives such as public cloud, data science, AI, engineering innovation and IoT. Our customers include the world's leading public cloud and silicon providers, and industry leaders in many sectors. The company is a pioneer of global distributed collaboration, with 1000+ colleagues in 70+ countries and very few roles based in offices. Teams meet two to four times yearly in person, in interesting locations around the world, to align on strategy and execution.

The company is founder led, profitable and growing.

We are hiring a Global General Counsel to lead our in house legal, ESG, regulatory compliance and reporting team. We focus on customer, partner, supplier, contractor and employee contracts, predominantly under US and English law. We are growing our compliance and ESG reporting capacity as part of our program to list the business on a US or UK exchange.

This is an opportunity to work in an exciting and dynamic technology company in the software sector. The successful candidate will lead work across a very wide variety of commercial contracts, counterparts and jurisdictions. The candidate must demonstrate excellent commercial and legal judgment, leadership, and teamwork at a global executive level. The sector is competitive and demanding, our GC will lead by example on work ethic, attention to detail, innovative use of technology and problem solving.

The role entails

• Establish policy and default positions on commercial, regulatory and strategic matters
• Represent Canonical on complex regulatory matters including privacy, security, technology policy and employment in multiple jurisdictions
• Draft, review and negotiate commercial contracts, including complex agreements with large global customers
• Accountability for software licensing, technology service agreements, commercial contracts, real estate agreements, IP, tax and employment matters
• Coordination and communication with legal counsel, executives, managers, specialists and the open source or Ubuntu Community
• Legal research and independent work to produce industry- or jurisdiction-specific analysis or position statements

Required skills​ ​& experience

• An exceptional academic track record from both high school and university
• An undergraduate degree in law, JD or equivalent, and active license to practice law
• Demonstrated leadership and management skill in a high profile, consequential role
• Experience in corporate, commercial, and intellectual property law with a software or technology focus
• Understanding of digital privacy, and the challenges in defending privacy, in a complex geopolitical environment
• Able to organise, prioritise and coordinate projects with end-to-end responsibility
• Confidence to respectfully speak up, exchange feedback, and share ideas without hesitation
• Track record of going above-and-beyond expectations to achieve outstanding results
• Passion for technology evidenced by personal projects and initiatives
• Professional written and spoken English with excellent presentation and interpersonal skills
• Appreciative of diversity, polite and effective in a multi-cultural, multi-national organisation
• Curiosity, flexibility, and accountability
• Thoughtfulness and self-motivation
• Result-oriented, with a personal drive to meet commitments
• Ability to travel twice a year, for company events up to two weeks long

Nice to have

• Understanding of free and open source software, and open culture, legal and philosophical principles
• Technical experience preferred, including experience of open source software
• Previous experience of in-house legal work
• Private practice legal experience

What we offer you

We consider geographical location, experience, and performance in shaping compensation worldwide. We revisit compensation annually (and more often for graduates and associates) to ensure we recognise outstanding performance. In addition to base pay, we offer a performance-driven annual bonus or commission. We provide all team members with additional benefits, which reflect our values and ideals. We balance our programs to meet local needs and ensure fairness globally.

• Distributed work environment with twice-yearly team sprints in person
• Personal learning and development budget of USD 2,000 per year
• Annual compensation review
• Recognition rewards
• Annual holiday leave
• Maternity and paternity leave
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Opportunity to travel to new locations to meet colleagues
• Priority Pass, and travel upgrades for long haul company events

About Canonical

Canonical is a pioneering tech firm at the forefront of the global move to open source. As the company that publishes Ubuntu, one of the most important open source projects and the platform for AI, IoT and the cloud, we are changing the world of software. We recruit on a global basis and set a very high standard for people joining the company. We expect excellence - in order to succeed, we need to be the best at what we do. Most colleagues at Canonical have worked from home since its inception in 2004.​ Working here is a step into the future, and will challenge you to think differently, work smarter, learn new skills, and raise your game.

Canonical is an equal opportunity employer

We are proud to foster a workplace free from discrimination. Diversity of experience, perspectives, and background create a better work environment and better products. Whatever your identity, we will give your application fair consideration.

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