Legal counsel

Legal Counsel

Industry: Designer collectibles

Location: Berlin

Job type: Full time, Permanent

Working Hours: 40 hours per week

Salary Range: 70.000 to 100.000 EUR plus annual performance bonus

About POP MART

Founded in 2010, POP MART is a market-leading entertainment company and a global champion of designer toy culture. Through global artist development, IP operations, and designer toy culture evangelism, we have built an integrated platform covering the entire designer toy value chain. Besides our original and iconic IPs such as Molly, Hirono, Skullpanda, and LABUBU, POP MART collaborates with top-tier toys and lifestyle brands including Disney, Universal Studios, and Sanrio to create collectible art toys featuring their iconic characters.

POP MART has established a strong presence across key European markets, including the UK, France, Italy, Netherlands, and Spain. As part of our strategic growth initiatives, we are focused on expanding our retail network into additional high-potential markets across Europe, continuing to strengthen our brand's position in the region.

For more information, please visit and our page.

Benefits

As part of our team, you’ll get more than just an exciting job, you’ll receive genuine appreciation:

• 30 days of annual leave (based on a 5-day work week)
• A transparent, performance-based bonus scheme
• Exclusive POP MART collectibles every month as a thank you
• Comprehensive training and professional development
• Regular team events and social gatherings

The Role and Candidate

The Legal Counsel role is a pivotal member of our legal team, responsible for comprehensively leading and managing all legal affairs for our German operations. This includes providing dedicated support for key strategic initiatives in Germany and championing Group-level compliance within the German entity. This position requires strong independent project-managing abilities, robust legal research and analytical skills, and excellent communication abilities to effectively collaborate with internal teams, group headquarters, and external stakeholders including governmental departments.

Responsibilities

Comprehensive German Legal Operations:

• Draft, review, negotiate, and finalize a wide range of contracts, agreements, and other legal documents essential for the company's business operations in Germany, including but not limited to commercial agreements, vendor contracts, partnership agreements, and potentially leases or construction agreements as relevant to the business.
• Provide dedicated and specialized legal support for key strategic projects and initiatives within Germany, advising on all related legal and regulatory aspects from inception to completion

Legal Risk Management & Compliance (Germany Focus):

• Conduct legal research and manage legal risks in relation to the company's operations in Germany (both offline and online).
• Independently manage and handle comprehensive legal projects and advisory related to German regulatory requirements, including but not limited to importation/exportation compliance, product labeling/marking, advertising compliance, data protection, employment law, and consumer protection requirements.
• Develop, implement, and monitor compliance programs and policies for the German entity, ensuring adherence to local laws and Group-level compliance standards.
• Manage corporate secretarial matters for the German entity, ensuring good corporate governance in line with German corporate law.

Intellectual Property Protection:

• Oversee the protection of the company's intellectual property rights in Germany and support regional IP strategies.
• Review and negotiate IP licensing and related contracts and agreem.ents to ensure compliance with applicable laws and in the best interest of the company

Stakeholder & External Counsel Management:

• Liaise effectively with external legal counsel in Germany and government agencies to ensure smooth operations and compliance with legal obligations.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to understand business needs and provide practical, commercially-sound legal solutions

Headquarters & Group Legal Liaison:

• Assist the headquarters (HQ) legal team with legal affairs in relation to auditor's reviews, adjustments of shareholding structure, M&A activities affecting Germany, and other legal matters as assigned by the HQ legal team from time to time

Knowledge Sharing & Development:

• Participate in and, where appropriate, conduct legal training sessions to enhance the legal knowledge and compliance awareness of internal teams in Germany.

Required Qualifications

• Fully qualified German lawyer; successfully completed First and Second German State Examinations in Law is highly preferred.
• Admission to the German Bar is a significant advantage, especially as an in-house counsel. Alternatively, qualification in another civil law jurisdiction with substantial experience in German law will be considered.
• Minimum of 5 years of relevant legal experience, ideally with a combination of law firm and in-house counsel experience, preferably within a multinational corporation. Experience in retail is a plus.
• Strong legal research and analytical skills, with the ability to independently manage projects, interpret, and apply complex German legal provisions.
• Solid understanding of German contract law, commercial law, corporate law, data privacy, and relevant industry regulations.
• Excellent command of German and English (both written and spoken) is a must.

Desirable but Not Essential

• Experience working in a transnational corporation and familiarity with navigating matrix organizations.
• Proven ability to work independently, take ownership of assigned tasks, and manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Creative and pragmatic thinker with the ability to provide innovative yet practical legal solutions to complex business challenges.
• Positive attitude, commercially astute, and results-oriented approach, with a strong commitment to the company's values and mission.
• Proficient in legal software and technology tools, as well as Microsoft Office suite.

Have we sparked your interest? Would you like to help us build POP MART in Germany? Then apply now, we look forward to hearing from you!