Job Description

We are the world\xe2\x80\x99s largest university press. We have both a worldwide reach and a personal understanding of local needs, partnering on the ground to adapt publications and resources to meet the individual needs of communities, societies, and countries. We partner with researchers, educators, and technology partners to stay ahead of the changing ways people around the world are accessing and sharing knowledge. With a presence in more than 50 countries and millions of customers around the world, an idea launched at OUP can have global impact.

About the Role

As our new Senior Legal Advisor, you will provide high quality and professional legal service to Oxford University Press to facilitate the achievement of the Press\xe2\x80\x99s business objectives while managing legal risk. This role requires excellent business partnering skills to support and enable business growth initiatives by providing proactive, pragmatic, and solutions driven legal advice. You will support the Academic Division, the Press\xe2\x80\x99s global academic and research publishing business, and be part of a trans-Atlantic team of lawyers.

You will undertake the following responsibilities under appropriate supervision and guidance of the General Counsel for the Academic Division: * Provide proactive first line legal support to the areas of the business you will support as required by the divisional General Counsel to ensure minimisation of legal risk, compliance with the law, and advancement of OUP\xe2\x80\x99s interests.

• Advise on a wide range of publishing and general commercial matters, including contracts, copyright and other intellectual property, licensing and sales, data privacy, and pre-publication matters such as defamation and permissions.
• Draft and negotiate agreements in respect of content acquisition, copyright and trademark licensing, distribution, and general commercial matters.
• Create standard contract templates, guidance, and training materials to support the Press\xe2\x80\x99s business models while minimising legal risk.
• Create guidance and training programs for the business, including the editorial and publishing teams for topics such as contracts, permissions and libel.
• Manage pre-litigation, litigation, and other contentious matters, with external legal support where necessary, to ensure timely and cost-effective legal advice.

We operate a hybrid working policy that requires a minimum of 2 days per week in the Oxford office.

About You

• UK qualified solicitor, with significant post qualification experience and foundational experience at a law firm.
• Strong legal experience and know how in key areas (e.g. intellectual property and commercial), ideally gained from in-house experience at a publishing or media company.
• Extensive experience identifying and mitigating legal and reputational risks.
• Ability to build relationships and work effectively with stakeholders across a globally matrixed organization.
• Ability to communicate effectively and persuasively with individuals at all levels of the organization, including distilling complex issues and advice for audiences with divergent perspectives.
• Excellent drafting, negotiation, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent judgement and the ability to form a long-term view of matters taking into consideration multiple perspectives and future implications.
• Excellent organizational and prioritization skills, including the ability to manage multiple matters simultaneously and independently.

Benefits

We care about work/life balance here at OUP. With this in mind we offer 25 days\xe2\x80\x99 holiday that rises with service, plus bank holidays and Christmas closure (3-days) and a 35-hour working week. We are open to discussing flexibility in respect to working patterns, dependent on role. We also have a great variety of active employee networks and societies.

We help make your money go further by contributing to your pension up to 12%, offering loans and savings schemes through our partnership with Salary Finance, in addition to travel to work schemes and access to a wide range of local discounts.

Please see our Rewards and Recognition page for more information.

Queries

Please contact with any queries relating to this role.

We are committed to supporting diversity in our workforce, and ensuring an inclusive environment where all individuals can thrive. We seek to employ a workforce representative of the markets that we serve and encourage applications from all.

Oxford University Press