Job Description
About the role
The Legal Lead – International Partner Markets is a strategic leadership role, providing broad legal oversight, guidance and counseling to the International Partner Markets management team. This position shall support the mission of driving a robust corporate culture that embraces integrity in our operations, consistent with the core values and principles of Biogen´s Code of Conduct.
This is a leadership role with high exposure at the Intercontinental, Europe and Global Leadership level and country level. This is also an operational role as a legal advisor and business partner to the applicable leadership, requiring a hands-on approach and “business partner” mentality. You will work well cross-functionally with different business partners/level within the organization and within Legal & Compliance to develop global standards and processes for the engagement of distributors at the regional and country level.
The role reports to the Chief Commercial & International Counsel.
Location: Baar, Switzerland (working 50% from the Baar office as per our hybrid policy)
What you'll do
- You serve as the lead legal counsel for the Company’s distributor market and geographic expansion efforts, including establishment of global processes, framework, and contracting for engagement with distributors.
- You advise the business on developments in pharmaceutical law, regulations, corporate policy and governance in the engagement and ongoing management of distributor partners. Prepare, negotiate, and review agreements (e.g. distributor agreements, clinical trial, distribution agreements, vendor and supplier agreements, services agreements, HCP/HCO agreements, etc.) and act as interface with Contract Management team.
- Review and assess new business initiatives and projects and provide risk -mitigating strategies to enable and facilitate such business activities while reviewing and advising as needed on promotional/non promotional concepts, initiatives and material.
- Ensure legal training and education is given to all employees (e.g. competition law, FCPA, internal business conduct policies and rules).
- You support in managing applicable litigation and investigations as may arise in the course of the company’s work with the distributor partners and markets. Advise and closely collaborate with the Compliance/S&G functions and Data Privacy Office (DPO) on compliance and risk pertaining to the commercialization of specialty pharmaceutical products, as well as medical affairs, healthcare services and digital activities. Support preparation and submission of topics to regular governance and other relevant corporate compliance meetings.
Who you are
You gained prior pharmaceutical experience and general legal corporate I commercial experience in an international environment. Ability to operate at a high level of autonomy in a complex area of responsibility. Superior judgment, confidence and authority in working through complex issues, including those with potential strategic risk to the company. Ability to apply judgment to areas outside of core competency. Effectively and practically deliver legal and business advice that mitigates risk. Influence people and defend recommendations throughout the company. Capable of acting as a project team leader on cross-functional, multi-disciplinary projects. Represent legal on country-wide or region-wide strategic initiatives and highly complex cross-geography business transactions.
Qualifications
- Education: Juris Doctorate (equivalent) required.
- Minimum of 10 years working in legal department (in- house or law firm) with coordinated experience working in Compliance. A minimum of 5 years in the life sciences industry. International experience contracting with distributor and distributor models is strongly preferred.
- Ability to influence others to drive action and unlock problems, without creating disruption and while defending recommendations throughout the company.
- Effective communication and presentation skills directed t sophisticated and front-line junior audiences, including the ability to synthetize complex information into executive messages.
- Ability to integrate partial information from different sources and make sound judgment even with ambiguity
- Experience working in and being comfortable with matrix organization and reporting lines, and cross-functional teams without clear single leadership.
- You are able to operate at a high level of autonomy and have proven that your able to very competently lead a complex area of responsibility or department that requires significant experience
- Proven judgment in working through complex issues, including those with potential strategic risk to the company.
- Effectively and practically deliver legal and business advice that mitigates risk.
- Able to represent legal on country-wide or region-wide strategic initiatives and highly complex cross-geography business transactions.
- Fluency in English
Additional Information
Why Biogen?
We are a global team with a commitment to excellence, and a pioneering spirit. As a mid-sized biotechnology company, we provide the stability and resources of a well-established business while fostering an environment where individual contributions make a significant impact. Our team encompasses some of the most talented and passionate achievers who have unparalleled opportunities for learning, growth, and expanding their skills. Above all, we work together to deliver life-changing medicines, with every role playing a vital part in our mission. Caring Deeply. Achieving Excellence. Changing Lives.
At Biogen, we are committed to building on our culture of inclusion and belonging that reflects the communities where we operate and the patients we serve. We know that diverse backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives make us a stronger and more innovative company, and we are focused on building teams where every employee feels empowered and inspired. Read on to learn more about our DE&I efforts.
Biogen Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Biogen and has not been reviewed or approved by Biogen.
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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Pay is generally positioned as competitive and often perceived as fair across roles, with total compensation framed as strong when bonus and equity are included. Compensation sentiment is described as above-average overall, though it varies by function and business cycle.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Equity programs are repeatedly highlighted as a meaningful part of the total package, including stock programs and an employee stock purchase plan. Equity and bonus elements are portrayed as important contributors to feeling well rewarded beyond base pay.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time-off benefits are described as distinctive, including a year-end shutdown and a paid sabbatical after extended tenure. Vacation, holidays, sick time, and personal-significance days are also presented as supportive of work-life needs.
Biogen Insights
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What We Do
Through cutting-edge science and medicine, Biogen discovers, develops and delivers innovative therapies worldwide for people living with serious neurological and neurodegenerative diseases. Founded in 1978, Biogen is a pioneer in biotechnology and today the Company has the leading portfolio of medicines to treat multiple sclerosis, has introduced the first and only approved treatment for spinal muscular atrophy, and is at the forefront of neurology research for conditions including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Biogen also manufactures and commercializes biosimilars of advanced biologics. With approximately 7000 people worldwide, we are truly a global organization, headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which is also home to our research operations. Our international headquarters are based in Zug, Switzerland and we have world-class manufacturing facilities in North Carolina and Denmark. We offer therapies globally through direct affiliate presence in 30 countries and a network of distribution partners in over 50 additional countries. For more information, please visit www.biogen.com. Follow us on social media – Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube.









