Job Description

Legal Commercial Lead - United Kingdom
About Astellas:
At Astellas we are a progressive health partner, delivering value and outcomes where needed.
We pursue innovative science, focusing initially on the areas of greatest potential and then developing solutions where patient need is high, often in rare or under-served disease areas and in life-threatening or life-limiting diseases and conditions.
We work directly with patients, doctors and health care professionals on the front line to ensure patient and clinical needs are guiding our development activities at every stage.
Our global vision for Patient Centricity is to support the development of innovative health solutions through a deep understanding of the patient
experience. At Astellas, Patient Centricity isn't a buzzword - it's a guiding principle for action. We believe all staff have a role to play in creating a patient-centric culture and integrating an awareness of the patient into our everyday working practices, regardless of our role, team or division.
We work closely with regulatory authorities and payers to find new ways to ensure access to new therapies. We deliver the latest insights and real-world evidence to inform the best decisions for patients and their care-givers, to ensure the medicines we develop continue to provide meaningful outcomes.
Beyond medicines, we support our stakeholder communities to drive initiatives that improve awareness, education, access and ultimately standards of care.
The Opportunity:
The Legal Commercial Lead (UK) takes charge of all legal support and risk management for the Astellas UK Affiliate. Acting as a strategic partner to the Affiliate GM and Leadership Team, the Legal Lead ensures business goals are met while navigating a fast-moving commercial and regulatory environment. The role balances protecting the Affiliate from high-stakes liability with unlocking opportunities-delivering compliance, efficiency, and business growth in one of the most complex markets.
Hybrid Working:
At Astellas we recognise the importance of balancing your work and home life, so we offer a hybrid working solution allowing time to connect with colleagues in person at the office alongside the flexibility to work from home; optimising the most productive work environment for you to succeed and deliver.
Key Responsibilities for the role:
1. Developing and driving Legal support strategy aligned with Global Legal strategy, supporting Affiliate business objectives.

• Ensuring evolving legal needs are met by assessing capability and planning resources for short- and long-term needs.
• Agreeing focus areas and risk profile with Affiliate stakeholders.
• Driving simplification of legal processes and supporting operational excellence initiatives.
• Identifying training needs and assisting in developing and presenting training on relevant laws and risk issues.

2. Contributing as core member of Affiliate Leadership Team, supporting delivery of business objectives while managing risk and maximizing opportunities in compliance with laws and regulations.

• Acting as first point of contact for all Affiliate Legal matters and serving as conduit to Legal towers, ensuring responsive advice and guidance to Affiliate needs

3. Leading and overseeing Affiliate legal support, providing proactive, strategic, and risk-balanced advice on complex issues including product launches, life-cycle management, and market-specific requirements, consulting Global Legal SMEs when needed.

• Reviewing legal developments and industry best practices, advising clients accordingly while identifying, preventing, mitigating, and resolving legal risks.
• Managing complex contracts and partnerships (distribution, wholesaler, license, co-marketing/co-promotion), overseeing other agreements with the Global Contracting Office.
• Mitigating and resolving disputes, litigation, investigations, audits, and crisis matters in close collaboration with Litigation & Investigations, Ethics & Compliance, and Legal towers.
• Providing legal support on privacy, employment, IP, and regulatory matters, and supporting setup/closure of legal entities, integrations, and divestitures.

4. Ensuring timely reporting of legal matters to senior Legal management.

• Providing effective guidance on legal risks to senior Legal management.
• Advising on legal developments in the pharmaceutical industry and best practice recommendations.
• Assisting the Commercial Legal Lead for Established Markets in reporting to the Head of Legal and the General Counsel & Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer.

5. Collaborating with Legal towers, Ethics & Compliance, and Internal Audit to minimize risks and ensure strong corporate governance.

• Championing and embedding a culture of compliance and good governance across the Affiliate.
• Overseeing corporate governance and supporting boards of directors and governance committees of relevant legal entities.

6. Managing Affiliate Legal budget and ensuring overall accountability.

• Managing outside counsel effectively and efficiently within budget, minimizing fees through creative approaches and alternate fee arrangements.

7. Participating in Affiliate committees and supporting global shared service functions (Procurement, HR, Finance, Tax) as required.

• Leading or supporting regional/global strategic business projects and Legal strategic initiatives.

Required Experience:

• Qualified attorney with proven experience handling complex and general commercial matters within the pharmaceutical industry
• Deep knowledge of business, legal, and compliance issues in pharmaceuticals and life sciences, including emerging markets
• Proven ability to influence diverse senior stakeholders and present to executive management
• Extensive experience in multi-functional, cross-cultural, and cross-country teams, managing lawyers and projects across jurisdictions, including major cross-border transactions
• Fluent in written and verbal business English with strong communication and negotiation skills
• Quick to grasp legal issues, offering practical, constructive advice with sound judgment in fast-paced, high-pressure environments
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, decision-making, and organizational skills; able to manage large workloads, prioritize critical tasks, and deliver high-quality work under tight deadlines
• Team player with ability to build relationships internally and externally, motivate others, and work collaboratively
• Innovative, strategic, detail-oriented, self-motivated, and committed to integrity, professionalism, and excellence

Education:

• Law degree or equivalent.

Additional Information:

• The is a permanent full-time position based in the UK.
• This position follows our hybrid working model. Role requires a blend of home and minimum of 2 days a month in office. Flexibility may be required in line with business need. Candidates must be located within a commutable distance of the office.
• Some occasional travel may be required.

We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
#LI-Hybrid
#LI-Addlestone
#LI-CC1

Skills Required