Strategic Growth Initiatives Counsel Associate Manager

Accenture is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all employees and to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. Accenture will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics. Accenture encourages applicants of all ages.

Global Legal Network (GLN) is a group of professionals operating globally from 10 countries. It provides a broad spectrum of differentiated services - focused on delivering value and innovation. We partner with Legal teams across Accenture to build efficiencies and centres of excellence related to Legal services; and through our size, geographic spread and language diversity, the GLN is able to drive quality, agility and speed in our services, aligned to Accenture’s relentless focus on maximum efficiency and operational effectiveness.

CORE and Global Services (CGS) is a group of legal professionals working and supporting different legal areas such as Compliance, Regulatory Offerings, Ethics, Procurement, Corporate Matters and the Services Areas aligned with the new offerings and technologies.

Talent Segment:

Accenture’s businesses are powered by gathering, using and managing data, particularly in an ear of expansion of AI. This requires data strategy, governance and sourcing – as well as risk and compliance frameworks for responsible use of data and AI.

This Counsel supports that strategy, acquisition, use and governance of data for all of Accenture’s businesses. 

Management Level Description

Complexity:

• Requires analysis and solving of complex problems. Typically creates new solutions, leveraging and, where needed, adapting existing methods and procedures.
• Requires understanding of the strategic direction set by senior management as it relates to team goals.
• Interaction is with senior management at a client and/or within Accenture, involving matters that may require acceptance of an alternate approach.

Authority: Some latitude in decision-making. Acts independently to determine methods and procedures on new assignments.

Impact or Decision Impact: Decisions have a major day to day impact on area of responsibility.

Key Responsibilities:

Generic Responsibilities

• Excellent understanding of Legal/GLN, and GSL area needs, goals, strategy, and opportunities, with very good understanding of relevant company policies
• Enhance subject-matter knowledge and proficiency in the concerned support area, act as a point of contact and escalation point for support area, understand, suggest, and encourage process improvements in the support area, build credible and effective relationships with onshore counsels and within GLN team.

• Supervise the management of SharePoint and communication records, ensure creation of checklists and other process documents.
• Identify and implement new initiatives in GSL support area or within Legal/GLN, ability to represent GLN, directly liaison with internal stakeholders on various issues, identify and drive trainings for the team for upskilling and professional development.
• Represent GLN; directly liaison with internal stakeholders on various issues, build credible and effective relationships with onshore counsels and within GLN team.
• Provide coaching and mentoring to junior members of the team, effective management of direct reports and team; quick conflict resolution, provide feedback to team members and drive talent discussions for the team.
• Collaborate with tech team in development of new tool or enhancement of existing ones, supervise implementation of new initiatives in CGS support area or within Legal/GLN, and commit to ‘give back’ to GLN/Legal.

Specific Responsibilities aligned to Role

GLN resources partner with Legal teams across Accenture to align areas of work and drive efficiencies to ensure the best delivery of Legal services to our business clients. This role consists of product and/or offering legal counsel within the applicable area of support in GSL. The GLN GSL resource may be asked to provide support in any of the following areas and over time will develop their skills to work on such projects independently:

• Offerings & Solutions: Collaborate with GSL teams to support the approach to service and product offering reviews related to Data, by conducting assessments and providing recommendations and tools that mitigate risks while enabling desired outcomes for the business. This includes analysis of ad hoc licensing arrangements for tools and software used by the business, as well as Offering/Asset investigation and clearance in coordination with technical resources/teams to facilitate open-source software, data privacy, ECATT, vendor contract reviews;
• Business Risk: Provide risk assessments and recommendations to the applicable business team, including on implementation of risk management practices. Recommend mitigation strategies and self-regulating governance strategies for handling Data topics. Help shaping commercial models to manage legal and commercial risk;
• Regulatory Compliance: Collaborating with enabling regulatory compliance. Create and enable best practice standards, frameworks and processes for Data related offering development reviews. Support Accenture’s Ethics & Compliance team in the design and implementation of Data & AI compliance programs. Help provide regulatory compliance reviews & advice to applicable geographies, including future-looking projections of any anticipated regulatory changes with potential impact on our business and on the strategic growth initiatives areas;
• Client Opportunity: Enable Accenture’s Sales & Delivery Legal team to efficiently handle day-to-day contracting, including developing contracting templates and guidance and providing SME support to deal teams;
• Ventures &Acquisitions (V&A): Supporting Accenture’s V&A legal and business teams in evaluation of Data issues for acquisition targets, development and implementation of post-merger integration strategy;
• Strategic Alliance & Partnerships: interact with Resale and/or Strategic Partnering teams to help shape new strategic alliances and partnerships, including capability sourcing via vendor and resale/agency transactions;
• Responsible Business: Work with other teams and participating in initiatives to create frameworks related to cutting edge, cross-industry topics that address technology, ethics, human rights, legal and societal issues;
• Business Operations Projects: Provide legal support to business-owned enterprise initiatives/programs, including adjusting Accenture policies and procedures to accommodate requirements of Accenture business, and;
• Other type of responsibilities may include: (a) providing legal advice to Accenture business teams and to deal facing professionals, (b) independently drafting, analyzing, reviewing and/or negotiating low to high complexity agreements and documents, (c) performing legal research of laws and regulations or technical aspects applicable to assigned requests, (d) assisting with contract benchmarking, (e) helping produce and/or deliver trainings, (f) leading specific ad-hoc projects, planning strategy, coordinating team members and aligning with other areas, (g) working with the business teams to evaluate inbound technology and data supply templates/agreements and outbound or client facing templates in different geographies, industries and regulatory environments, and (f) supporting clean teams (protocol audits, training / onboarding to new team members, exit / offboarding reviews)

External Relationships:

• Accenture legal counsels, client commercial, procurement, contract management, business executives, outside counsels, vendors, corporate function.

Qualifications:

Education:

Graduate Law degree (JD) and admission in good standing with applicable bar association(s) (or local equivalents). Knowledge or expertise (example, post graduate studies or work experience in connection with data science and AI) in the Talent Segment expertise is a plus.

Work Experience:

• Minimum of 6 years of experience at law firms or as in-house counsel and/or in legal outsourcing.

Knowledge and Skill Requirements:

Generic Skills:

• Experience at a law firm and/or as in-house counsel or in legal outsourcing, with special focus on product and offering counsel work, identifying risks and proposing solutions, in generic/legal research & reporting, compliance, risk identification & mitigation strategies.
• The role does not require acting as the main point of contact for contract negotiation though candidates should have experience drafting, reviewing, and/or negotiating a variety of low to high complexity agreements with vendor and clients, including but not limited to NDAs, software and technology licensing, cloud as-a-service solutions, and e-commerce implementations, demo/evaluation agreements, consulting services agreements, statement of work, business proposals, subcontract and teaming agreements, etc.
• Strong understanding of Intellectual Property (IP) concepts (trademark, copyright, right of publicity, patent), and experience in content review and clearances.
• Experience in managing end-to-end projects and teams on function specific processes and/or areas, worked with internal and external teams, and understands delivery requirements.
• Demonstrate very good interpersonal skills, demonstrate promptness, accuracy and consistency with the activities supported, drive tasks to closure, is detail-oriented, with sound judgement, adaptable, with strong time management, prioritization, and organizational skills.
• Able to work with internal and external teams, and understands delivery requirements, takes End-to-End responsibility of projects and teams, on function specific processes.
• Good understanding of Accenture offerings and function specific services performed, of commercial agreements, legal and compliance fundamentals, of corporate business practices and contracting regulations.
• Build trust-based relationships by delivering on commitments, ability to work under pressure, with exposure to senior Management Effectively manage priorities and stakeholder expectations.
• Strong interest in learning about emerging technologies experience in the use of tools & databases
• Proficient in the use of MS Office Suite of products, specially highly proficient in using MS PPT and communicating complex issues succinctly.
• Have a proven ability to work creatively and analytically in a problem-solving environment. Adaptable and comfortable working in a fast-paced and dynamic environment.
• Have negotiation skills, including internally within the company and with customers or suppliers.
• Demonstrate good judgment, an ability to prioritize and make decisions, and spot and mitigate risks.
• Ability to design and shape presentations to executive leadership (business and senior legal professionals) and to effectively influence senior management.

Specific Talent Segment Skills:

Data Strategy Legal: experience of relevant attorney work, including inbound technology transactional experience in drafting and negotiating data vendor, data sourcing, technology and/or OEM vendor agreements for use in B2B or B2C products or services offered to clients. Functional understanding of legal issues, especially data privacy related issues, related to bringing products and services offerings to market in a legally compliant manner, including offerings utilizing machine learning, third party data, or the delivery of digital or targeted marketing campaigns. Working knowledge of: (a) data privacy issues regarding consumer or personally identifiable data; and (b) open-source licensing. Experience with data licensing or monetization strategies. Understanding connection between in-bound agreements and client-facing agreements. Risk analysis, appreciation, and management. Candidates should ideally also have experience in: (a) risk identification, analysis, and management relating to products and services; (b) drafting and negotiation of client and supplier agreements, including data privacy and data protection issues; and (c) deal shaping and evaluation of innovative commercial models for new product and service offerings.

Behaviors and Attributes:

• Open to work with and understand cross-cultures and locations throughout Accenture global organization.
• Understand the value of diversity and recognize the strengths that different styles, innovative perspectives and experiences bring to Accenture. 
• Demonstrate inclusion and respect for all individuals regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, religion, belief, age, disability, culture, social status and/or sexuality. 
• Team player, proactive, collaborative and persuasive; able to work well with executives and non-executives.

Work Requirements:

• Travel may be required.
• Proficiency in English (other languages may be required depending on geography supported) with strong oral and written communication skills.