Senior Legal Counsel – 6-Month Fixed-Term Contract

Location: Paris, France
Contract: 6-month fixed-term contract
Department: Legal – Commercial Legal Team
Geographical scope: Primarily France, with support across Europe

The Role

We are looking for an experienced Senior Legal Counsel to join our Commercial Legal Team, part of the wider Legal function, on a six-month fixed-term contract.

Based in Paris, the role will primarily support the French business while also covering other European markets as required. The position is predominantly focused on B2B commercial matters, covering both customer and vendor contracts, with additional responsibilities relating to rights of way, corporate matters, insurance and pre-litigation.

The successful candidate will work closely with the Commercial Legal Team and key business stakeholders including Sales, Deal Management, Product, Finance, Procurement and Service teams. We are looking for a pragmatic, commercially minded and autonomous lawyer who can manage competing priorities and provide clear, practical and timely legal advice.

Key Responsibilities

Customer Contracts and Commercial Support

• Draft, review and negotiate MSAs, Service Schedules and related amendments;
• Review and respond to the legal and contractual aspects of RFPs and tenders;
• Draft and review amendments to Service Orders and assist with novation requests;
• Advise service and operational teams on the interpretation and application of contracts governing existing services;
• Respond to customer legal and contractual queries and, where appropriate, assist specialist teams, including Compliance, with customer queries relating to matters such as GDPR and company policies;
• Work closely with business teams to facilitate transactions while appropriately managing legal and contractual risk.

Vendor Contracts

• In coordination with Procurement, draft, review and negotiate vendor MSAs and related contractual documentation, and advise on contractual risks.

Rights of Way

• Draft, review and negotiate rights-of-way agreements and conventions, including new agreements and renewals.

Corporate

• Act as the Legal point of contact for corporate matters relating to the French entities and affiliates, coordinating with Finance and external corporate counsel as required.

Insurance

• Coordinate insurance matters, including policy administration, certificate requests and claims, in liaison with internal stakeholders, brokers and insurers.

Disputes and Pre-Litigation

• Review and respond to customer complaints and pre-litigation matters, assessing the company's contractual rights and obligations;
• Liaise with external counsel where required in relation to disputes and legal analysis.

Experience and Qualifications

The successful candidate will ideally have:

• Qualification as a lawyer in France or another relevant European jurisdiction, with at least 7+ years of relevant experience;
• Significant experience in B2B commercial contract drafting and negotiation, covering both customer and vendor matters;
• Strong knowledge of commercial and contract law in France, together with a good understanding of commercial contracting principles across European jurisdictions;
• Experience advising on and negotiating cross-border commercial agreements within Europe;
• Experience in telecommunications, technology, infrastructure or a comparable B2B environment would be an advantage;
• Strong commercial judgement and the ability to provide practical, business-oriented legal solutions;
• Ability to work autonomously, manage competing priorities and respond to internal stakeholders in a timely manner;
• Strong communication and stakeholder-management skills.

Languages

Fluency in French and English is mandatory. Approximately 90% of the day-to-day work will be conducted in English within an international environment.

The successful candidate must have excellent written and spoken English and French, including excellent legal drafting skills in both languages.

Rewards

• Competitive compensation including annual incentive plan 
• Hybrid working 
• Excellent benefits including health and disability insurance 
• Generous paid time off policy including 25 days paid holiday, one floating day and two volunteer days per annum
• 15 days of RTT (reduced working time) 
• Luncheon vouchers contribution
• Activities organised by the works council 
• Employee assistance programmes including mental health, wellbeing and medical support

Zayo Europe provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, colour, religion, age, sex, ethnic or national origin, disability status, genetics, military service status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, redundancy, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.