Senior Legal Affairs & Contracts Specialist

THE OPPORTUNITY

The Office of Legal Affairs is seeking Senior Legal Affairs and Contracts Specialist who will be responsible for implementing Legal Affairs and Contracts related activities, including institutional agreements drafting, facilitation of dispute resolution activities, and execution of legal risk assessments, to ensure regulatory compliance, protect institutional interest, and support informed decision-making in line with legal and regulatory frameworks.

THE RESPONSIBILITIES

Draft, review, negotiate, finalize a wide range of university contracts, agreements, and Memorandums of Understanding (MoU’s) ensuring compliance with applicable laws, regulations, policies, procedures, and institutional requirements.

Review Agreements submitted by academic, administrative, research, procurement, IT, HR, and other university departments.

Review and negotiate academic and institutional partnership agreements, including MOU’s and collaboration agreements.

Interpret contractual provisions and advise stakeholders on their legal implications.

Identify unfavorable, ambiguous, or high-risk contractual provisions and recommend favorable provisions.

Ensure contracts adequately protect the university's legal and commercial interests.

Ensure contractual processes follow applicable university policies and approval procedures.

Advise internal stakeholders on contractual rights, obligations, risks, and potential liabilities.

Negotiate contractual provisions with external parties, including vendors, consultants, service providers, institutions, and other organizations.

Coordinate with external counterparties and their legal representatives during negotiations.

Facilitate constructive negotiations with external parties while safeguarding the university’s legal, commercial, and reputational interests.

Develop risk-based recommendations for contract approval and negotiation.

Conduct legal research and provide written or verbal legal opinions where required with thorough legal analysis and well-founded recommendations in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, and university policies and procedures.

Communicate legal and contractual matters clearly to non-legal stakeholders and provide practical recommendations to support informed decision-making.

Prepare amendments, addendums, renewals, warning letters, termination notices, and other legal documents.

Contribute to the development and review of university-wide policies from a legal perspective, ensuring alignment with applicable laws, regulations, and university requirements.

Manage the contract review process from initial request through execution.

Monitor turnaround times and prioritize contracts according to urgency and risk.

Represent the Legal function professionally in interactions with internal and external stakeholders and contribute to positive and effective working relationships.

Interpret and implement general legislation to ensure compliance with legal and regulatory frameworks.

Provide legal advice (as required) and implement risk mitigation strategies to support crisis and incident response activities.

Protect the intellectual property rights through the implementation of registration, enforcement, and awareness initiatives.

Stay up-to-date and compile legislative and regulatory updates to highlight changes that may impact the university's activities or compliance obligations.

Conduct legal risk assessments related to proposed institutional initiatives, partnerships, and operational decisions in an accurate and timely manner.

Maintain and manage accurate legal records and supporting legal documentation to ensure accessibility, proper record retention, data integrity, confidentiality, and audit-readiness.

Perform Ad-hoc activities related to the job duties, as requested by the Direct Supervisor.

THE REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor's Degree with a minimum of 8 years of experience and at least 4 years of supervisory position.
• Master's degree with a minimum of 6 years of experience and at least 2 years in a supervisory position.
• Certification in a relevant field is preferred.

THE BENEFITS

The University’s benefits package is highly attractive, with competitive salaries free of tax in the U.A.E., cash housing, annual vacation airline tickets for the employee and immediate family, educational subsidies for children and healthcare is provided to the employee and sponsored family members.

TO APPLY

In addition to completing the online application form, attach a cover letter, a current CV, and three professional references' names and contact details.

While we appreciate all applications, you will be contacted only if selected for an interview .

For any further inquiries, please contact Recruitment@zu.ac.ae