Legal Director EU Franchise Distribution

Fortidia is an equal opportunity employer. We believe that talent, expertise, empathy and ambition drive our success, and we base hiring decisions solely on candidates’ experience and skills.

Tutti i candidati sono invitati a leggere attentamente la seguente descrizione del lavoro e le relative informazioni prima di candidarsi.

For our headquarters in Milan, reporting directly to our Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, we are looking for a Legal Director EU/UK Sales & Compliance. The person in this role is primarily responsible for leading franchise matters, disputes, and franchise model and sales support for the EU, driving compliance across EU/UK, and serving as the key legal point of contact for M&A activities outside Italy as needed. This role carries direct management responsibility for a Legal Specialist, and works in close concert with other legal leaders and personnel throughout the globe. This role requires a senior legal professional who can wear multiple hats and someone who loves navigating a never-ending variety of challenges.

Tasks and responsibilities

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• Lead and own all franchise-related legal matters for the EU, including franchise agreements, disputes, franchise model structuring, and direct sales support to the EU franchise business.
  
• Serve as the primary legal owner of compliance across the EU and UK, ensuring adherence to applicable laws and regulations, including franchise-specific rules, consumer protection, data privacy, and other regulatory requirements.
  
• Act as the key legal point of contact for M&A transactions and corporate development activities outside Italy, coordinating with internal stakeholders and external advisors as needed.
  
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to identify and address legal risks, providing practical solutions to complex commercial and regulatory issues across EU/UK markets.
  
• Lead the development and implementation of compliance policies, procedures, and training programs to ensure consistency and adherence to EU/UK laws and regulations.
  
• Manage disputes and litigation across EU jurisdictions, working closely with external counsels as needed and taking ownership of dispute resolution strategy.
  
• Coordinate with and manage outside counsels across EU/UK jurisdictions and beyond, ensuring efficient and high-quality external legal support.
  
• Provide legal support in the maintenance of intellectual property portfolios, including but not limited to trademarks and domains.
  
• Help design and provide solutions to enhance legal processes.
  
• Lead and take charge of special legal projects end to end.
  
• Perform other key legal and compliance-related duties as may be required from time to time.
  

Requirements

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• Master’s Degree in Law (Italy)
  
• At least 12-15 years of working experience with understanding offranchised businesses or analogous (such as distributorships)
  
• Deep knowledge of Intellectual Property Affairs and GDPR
  
• Strong expertise in general commercial contractual work and excellent knowledge of international contractual principles, marketing/advertising regulations and consumer law
  
• Well-developed corporate law proficiency, including corporate secretarial activities, applicable to Italian and other European companies
  
• Ability to translate highly technical terms into understandable and practical recommendations for all business functions
  
• Strong executive presence, fast thinking and confident
  
• Leadership and ability to build effective collaborative relationships with local and international teams. Constructive, business-oriented and service-oriented mindset, commitment to propose viable solutions to internal and external stakeholders in a complex international context with efficiency
  
• Fluent in English and Italian (knowledge of Spanish, French or German is a plus).
  
• Collaborative spirit, with appreciation of diverse perspectives
  
• Bold, passionate, tenacious and curious mindset, not afraid to explore new ideas and challenge the status quo in pursuit of better solutions
  
• Willingness to travel up to 15% of the time, including international travel.
  

What we offer

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• A vibrant international environment in a continuously growing company, with many professional and personal development opportunities
  
• Extensive training and development opportunities within the group
  
• A multicultural organizational structure and team.
  

Compensation

€ 90.000 – € 105.000 + Bonus + Benefit. Final compensation will depend on experience, skills, and internal equity criteria aligned with our compensation framework.

Fortidia is the brand identity of MBE Worldwide S.p.A. - a company headqua