Assistant General Counsel – Marketing & Innovation – Global Petcare

Mars•Franklin, TN

About The Position

The Assistant General Counsel role is a strategic global legal leader in Petcare who is focused on partnering with our Marketing & Innovation teams and helping to lead the strategic direction of our Intellectual Property function, for marketing and innovation intellectual property (brand protection, trademark, copyright, social media, AI, innovation, etc.). This role will provide a holistic view across the Petcare divisions to help shape our growth and innovation strategies including supporting our innovation pipeline, marketing ambitions, and provide thought leadership on IP matters to ensure they are aligned with our end-to-end demand strategy and supports our overall growth, innovation, demand and marketing agenda within Petcare. This position will play a key role in enabling innovation and brand differentiation in a competitive, fast-moving consumer landscape with a diverse set of businesses in the Petcare segment ranging from traditional consumer packaged goods to veterinary and lab services underpinned by foundational and transformational sciences. The Assistant General Counsel is responsible for Marketing & Innovation across the Petcare business segment of Mars, Incorporated. Petcare is comprised of four distinct business units: Pet Nutrition, Royal Canin, Mars Veterinary Health and Science & Diagnostics spanning a number of technologies and brands, including for example comprehensive veterinary care (including: AniCura, BANFIELD™, BLUEPEARL™, Linnaeus and VCA™), nutrition (including ACANA®, PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, and WHISKAS®), diagnostics (including Antech and Heska), wearable health monitoring, DNA testing and pet parent platforms. Moreover, Our Waltham Petcare Science Institute is also supporting foundational and future science to support pet health by driving innovations to improve pet health through nutrition, data and veterinary care.

Requirements

Minimum of 12+ plus years as a practicing law with demonstrated experience in supporting marketing and innovation initiatives; if an in-house lawyer, law firm experience earlier in career is preferred.
Possess an understanding of the corporate environment, and specifically the importance of the linkage between a company’s business objectives, end to end demand strategies including Marketing, Innovation and R&D efforts, and related global portfolio development, protection and enforcement strategies.
Exposure to global issues and strategic vision delivering business priorities.
Strong interpersonal and communication skills; ability to work well with and relate to company personnel at all corporate and scientific levels.
Demonstration of the ability to be sensitive to cultural issues arising from a global business that may impact a business or legal decision.
Strong written and oral communications skills, with the ability to communicate and interact effectively with clients and business leaders at all levels of the organization; must be able to identify critical issues requiring action and convey them in a manner that is understandable and useful to the client.
Strong interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to function well in a multi-disciplinary team environment.
Quick study, able to handle complex matters with multiple initiatives going on simultaneously.
A positive track record in leading and engaging a large, geographically dispersed legal function.
Successful experience developing talent, building and motivating a legal team and when necessary, advocating and instituting change within a legal department; a leader who innately develops followership.
A mindset that is collegial and collaborative and who will bring a proven commitment to the creation of a positive working environment within the legal organization.
Experience in talent development and an appreciation of the benefit of having a diverse team of in-house attorneys.

Responsibilities

Strategic leadership across an array of legal areas (marketing, advertising, contract, IP/brand protection, AI, social media, etc.) to provide a broad view of critical focus areas & investments across the Segment (including brands, claims, innovation, as well as Digital and AI initiatives).
Legal lead in supporting holistic brand & innovation strategies to deliver Petcare OGSM, includes building comprehensive legal strategies at Segment level in support of our marketing and innovation ambitions.
Ensure integrated approach to IP protection and development for innovation and brands ensuring a cross-divisional approach to science focused on pet health (as supported by Waltham), and translated into business-focused deliverables
Partner with Brand Experience, Marketing & Strategy teams at Petcare level to support initiatives including advertising, claims, branding, co-branding and digital/AI marketing projects and strategies.
Oversees the integrated approach to protecting and enforcing our worldwide brands and content portfolios aligned to the Segment priorities.
Liaise with the business unit Legal leads, Food law, SRA, Marketing, R&D and Innovation teams, as well as broader business associates to develop and implement a well-conceived strategy to optimize the Segment’s IP & Brand positions, including evaluating the competitor portfolios, and enforcement activities.
Ensure that the Intellectual property function provides necessary legal support, as appropriate, to the Segment’s Marketing, Innovation, Commercial (procurement), Digital Technologies, Business Development, Sales, Supply and R&D teams.
Oversee strategic approach to Marketing related agreements, including, but not limited to, NDAs, MSAs, consulting agreements, licenses and other IP related agreements.
Oversee the continuous refinement of the portfolio mapping and life cycle management program for the Segment’s trademark portfolios.
Provide IP due diligence support to other law department members in connection with technology investments and business acquisitions.
Contribute to and ensure a high performing and collaborative legal team supporting the intellectual property function across the Segment in an integrated approach.
Strong people management across the function including hiring, supervising, and evaluating the Segment’s intellectual property lawyers; implement an effective program to continue to motivate, mentor and retain members of the Segment’s legal team.
Assist in setting and managing the Segment’s IP budget for Brands/Marketing and approve spend against the budget to ensure aligned with segment priorities.
Liaise and coordinate with business unit Legal Leads to ensure team members are meeting ongoing needs of business unit to support both strategic and operational initiatives across the business.
Ensure high performance collaboration across the Intellectual property teams cross-segment and in partnership with Center of Legal Excellence to ensure efficient and effective use of resources within the Petcare Segment and broader Mars, Inc organization.