Head of Trademarks & Brand Protection

• Strategy: developing and implementing global and regional trade mark strategies for brands to enhance Unilever brand value across all areas of IP – ensuring alignment to our commercial priorities and Growth Action Plan (GAP).

• Trade Mark Portfolio Management: setting and implementing processes and ways of working, as well as best practice for the clearance, protection, and maintenance of our intellectual property rights worldwide, including how we support smaller brands and regions, including managing your own trade mark portfolio.

• Brand Protection: setting strategic principles and implementing operating frameworks around brand protection and enforcement, including liaising with other functional experts.

• Data & Technology: accelerating the use of technology to drive speed and automation, as well as the use of data to drive insights and data driven decision making.

• Powerhouses: setting and defining the role of our team members in the Powerhouses and implementing ways of working.

• Litigation: leading on major litigation, setting strategy, selecting external counsel, and collaborating and supervising other team members, including in relation to complex settlement negotiations.

• Commercial Agreements: negotiating and drafting key vendor contracts and commercial agreements, as well as supervising and training team members on commercial drafting and negotiation skills, including collaborating with functional experts where there are inter-dependencies with IP.

• Business Partnering: acting as a trusted business partner to senior leaders, providing pro-active IP counselling on all innovation areas, whilst identifying wider legal issues and notify legal colleagues, e.g. claims, competition risk, design rights, tax, compliance, marketing / regulatory / advertising law.

• Budget: setting, forecasting, tracking, and controlling TM/BP legal spend

• Team Leadership: leading a team of global trade mark and brand protection professionals and fostering a performance culture. You will have a proven track record in developing and supporting  talent growth.

• IP Culture: raising IP awareness across the business and ensuring compliance with our Code of Business Principles, as well as global standards and policies, including setting new policies as needed.

• Policy & Advocacy: driving internal and external policy on emerging areas (e.g. GenAI) advising on global changes in legislation and identifying opportunities for Unilever to shape and influence emerging trends.

ALL ABOUT YOU

• Qualified Solicitor and/or trade mark lawyer with relevant PQE in an FMCG company or other comparable matrix organisation.

• Demonstrated experience in managing significant global brand portfolios across all areas of strategy, brand protection, litigation, enforcement and policy.

• Pro-active and collaborative leadership style with a proven track record in managing a global team and nurturing and building talent.

• Exceptional stakeholder management skills, a proven track record in winning the trust of business partners and legal colleagues.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and ability to distil complex issues simply.

• Strong organisational and prioritisation skills to cope with multiple stakeholders, competing deadlines and priorities, with requests often at very short notice.

• Financial acumen and proven experience in budget management.