Role Overview The Senior Manager – Legal & Compliance fills a critical leadership role in driving legal governance, contract lifecycle discipline, and regulatory compliance across a global research institute and its commercial operations subsidiary in India. This position operates across two distinct operating structures—a non-profit development organization and a commercial research entity. The primary objective is to act as a strategic enabler who facilitates programmatic and commercial success while maintaining robust legal guardrails and risk mitigation strategies. Reporting To: Director – Finance & Administration Location: New Delhi, India (Hybrid: ~3 days/week in-office) Key Responsibilities 1. Strategic Legal Guidance & Risk Control • Serve as the primary point of contact for all organizational contracts, agreements, legal queries, and risk frameworks. • Balance business facilitation with regulatory rigor—establishing strong guardrails without creating operational friction. • Act as the India Single Point of Contact (SPOC) for regional and global risk, legal, and compliance leadership. 2. Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) • End-to-end management of contract drafting, review, negotiation, and execution (grant agreements, collaboration agreements, commercial contracts, leases, NDAs, and MoUs). • Manage the CLM tool and repository to enforce approval workflows, track Turnaround Times (TATs), and deliver executive reporting. 3. Statutory Compliance & Governance • Lead full legal and regulatory compliance across both Non-Profit and For-Profit commercial operations. • Oversee statutory compliance management platforms to track adherence to DPDP Act, EU GDPR, Civil/Criminal frameworks, and New Labour Codes. • Maintain working knowledge of non-profit and commercial financial/regulatory requirements in India (FCRA, FEMA, Transfer Pricing, GST). • Ensure full compliance across corporate secretarial, real estate lease, and employment law domains. 4. Team Leadership & Stakeholder Management • Direct management of two (2) legal and compliance team members—providing work allocation, coaching, review, and capability building. • Collaborate across internal program divisions, infrastructure units, global leadership teams, and external legal counsel. Candidate Profile & Qualifications Educational Background • Mandatory: Bachelor's degree in Law (LLB) from a recognized university. • Preferred: Company Secretary (CS) certification and/or Master of Laws (LLM). Required Experience • 10–12+ years of progressive legal and compliance experience. • Prior experience in Social Development, Non-Profit, NGO, Academic Research, or Global Public Health sectors is strongly preferred. • Proven experience handling cross-border agreements, grant workflows, and complex multi-stakeholder contracts. • Experience utilizing legal technology tools (CLM software, compliance tracking platforms, document management systems, and e-signatures). Core Competencies • High Emotional Intelligence: Calm, composed, and empathetic communication style suited to a social development culture. • Balanced Judgement: Ability to make nuanced decisions on when to grant operational exceptions versus when to enforce hard legal boundaries. • Proactive Ownership: A self-starter capable of managing multiple priorities in a dynamic, matrixed environment. Work Culture & Benefits Flexible Hybrid Environment: Outcome-focused work structure with an expectation of ~50-60% office presence (~3 days per week) at the New Delhi office. • Fixed Salary Model: Pure fixed CTC structure. • Comprehensive Healthcare: ₹5 Lakh Medical, ₹10 Lakh Accidental, and ₹20 Lakh Life Cover provided over and above CTC. • Professional Growth: Dedicated annual Learning & Development allowance (₹48,500). • Tech Reimbursements: Monthly allowance (₹1,250) for mobile and internet expenses.