Senior Counsel

Are you ready to combine deep commercial legal expertise with innovative AI and data privacy mentorship to help deliver life-changing medicines in the UK? As Senior Counsel supporting AZ UK, you will be the trusted legal partner to leaders across Oncology and Biopharmaceuticals. You will craft how we collaborate with the NHS and other healthcare organisations. You will also guide how we deploy digital, data, and AI responsibly to accelerate patient impact.

You will advise on the full spectrum of commercialisation activities, coordinate legal mentorship related to artificial intelligence projects, and act as Deputy Data Protection Officer. This is a role for a pragmatic, innovative lawyer who enjoys operating at pace, solving sophisticated problems and improving the way legal work is done. How would you guide critical collaborations and set clear guardrails that enable innovation while protecting patients, partners and our enterprise?

Accountabilities:

• Serve as lead lawyer for assigned Business Unit and Franchises; provide strategic, outcome-focused legal advice; participate actively on leadership teams and lead legal input for collaborations with the NHS and other external organisations, aligning closely with the Legal Director.
• Provide comprehensive advice on commercial matters related to bringing pharmaceutical products to market in the UK, with a strong emphasis on NHS and healthcare partnerships and on digital, data and AI-enabled solutions.
• Lead legal support for AI initiatives; ensure alignment with internal controls; manage incident response and lifecycle compliance; advise on data use, regulatory obligations and risk classification; draft and negotiate AI-related agreements; develop internal AI policies, governance frameworks and employee guardrails aligned with privacy, data governance and cybersecurity requirements.
• Handle complex legal issues and innovative arrangements, contentious and non-contentious, raising to the Legal Director as appropriate.
• Draft, review, negotiate and finalise a wide range of commercial contracts, policies and legal documents, applying sound judgment and commercial pragmatism.
• Develop and apply expertise in legal issues impacting the pharmaceutical industry, including AI, privacy and data use; provide advice directly or coordinate input from internal and external counsel.
• Monitor UK and EU legal developments on AI, data and privacy; assess business impact; advise on risks and opportunities; ensure operations align with applicable laws, regulations and the highest legal and ethical standards.
• Partner with Legal, Compliance and other stakeholders to deliver seamless support; lead external providers for quality, value and cost control.
• Lead and deliver assigned UKMC legal projects; work in close alignment with the Legal Director and key business partners.
• Represent the company in dealings with external entities where appropriate.
• Drive improvements to legal-owned processes (including contracting automation) to increase quality, efficiency and consistency, reduce cost and manage risk; develop and deliver training to embed adoption.

Essential Skills

• Experienced lawyer within in a corporate organisation or law firm (ideally within the pharmaceutical, biotech, or medical devices industries) with a focus on doing business with ethics and integrity
• Knowledge of the laws, regulations and compliance requirements within which the drug development sector operates
• Expertise in data protection, privacy impact assessments and cross functional privacy governance (DPIA, data governance reviews)
• Knowledge of AI related laws and regulations, including GDPR, EU AI Act, data privacy frameworks, and emerging global AI standards
• Experience of creating, drafting and implementing policies and processes
• Experience drafting and negotiating complex commercial agreements
• Experience leading senior partners across a variety of functions and environments
• Strong and effective communication skills (in English) with excellent collaboration skills, capable of interacting meaningfully with and across both company and outside contacts
• Capability and experience working with senior executive partners
• Continuous learning approach, with the ability to monitor, interpret, and operationalize fast evolving laws, standards, and case law relevant to the pharmaceutical industry
• Qualified solicitor

When we put unexpected teams in the same room, we unleash bold thinking with the power to encourage life-changing medicines. In-person working gives us the platform we need to connect, work at pace and challenge perceptions. That's why we work, on average, a minimum of three days per week from the office. But that doesn't mean we're not flexible. We balance the expectation of being in the office while respecting individual flexibility. Join us in our unique and bold world.

Be part of a high-performing legal team that partners closely with leaders across the enterprise to unlock the power of science for patients. You will work at the intersection of commercialisation, digital innovation and responsible AI, using modern tools and agile ways of working to influence how the business operates today and prepares for tomorrow. We bring a diverse set of minds together to move quickly, take balanced risks and turn ideas into outcomes, while valuing kindness alongside ambition. Your expertise will shape pivotal NHS collaborations, strengthen trusted data practices and help build the foundations for balanced growth—so the impact of your counsel is felt in real-world patient outcomes.

If you are ready to lead with insight, enable responsible innovation and leave a measurable mark on patient care and business success, take the next step today.

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