Job Description

Job Title: Contracting Counsel Associate Manager

Career Level:  8           

Workforce:  Operations

Skill Track:  Legal

Team: Global Legal Network    

Global Legal Network 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 centers of excellence related to Legal services; and through our size, geographic spread and language diversity, the Global Legal Network is able to drive quality, agility and speed in our services, aligned to Accenture’s relentless focus on maximum efficiency and operational effectiveness.

Contracting Legal Professionals (CLP) in Accenture’s Corporate Functions organization coordinate and deliver legal, contract and commercial counsel in support of Accenture's business. CLPs identify and help manage and mitigate risk and ensure ethical behavior and compliance with laws and company policies, while providing guidance and negotiating contracts leveraging commercial and market relevant positions.

Job Summary:

Lead, structure, draft and negotiate complex client transactions in a fast-paced corporate environment including: master services agreements, outsourcing agreements, statements of work, service level agreements, licensing agreements, SaaS agreements, data transfer agreements, requests for proposals and agreements involving cloud, blockchain security, automation, systems integration and agile development. Advise senior company leadership on legal risks associated with transactions and understanding of the larger market. Act, and continuously evolve as, a knowledgeable and relevant advisor on legal and commercial risks associated with transactions while supporting Legal, Business and Sales Leadership in shaping and executing Accenture’s market-facing strategies.

You will support Avanade, a joint venture between Accenture and Microsoft, which is a leader in cloud services, AI, and sustainable industry solutions within the Microsoft ecosystem. Avanade focuses on mid-market clients with revenues ranging from $500 million to $5 billion, providing agile and high-value IT services. In this role, you will advise business leadership on legal risks and guide clients through contracting processes. You will drive growth by winning clients with creativity and innovative legal strategies, even in smaller deals. High agility and urgency are essential to manage a high volume of deals with shorter cycles and shifting priorities. You will make informed decisions and take calculated risks to propel the business forward. Your role will involve balancing ease of collaboration with the need to avoid undue risk to Avanade. You will also balance the aggressive expansion of Avanade’s recurring platform business with providing customized, high-touch legal services for select clients who prefer traditional contract negotiations. As an independent advisor on legal and commercial risks, you will support Legal, Business, and Sales Leadership in shaping Avanade’s mid-market strategies. We achieve this by being bold, fresh, passionate, and optimistic.

Key Responsibilities: 

• Lead, structure, negotiate and close Accenture’s complex client transactions to be most advantageous from a legal and business perspective
• Stay abreast of developments affecting the company, its clients, and industries and synthesize the information to incorporate it into company’s transactional practices
• Educate and advise company executives with respect to legal and risk management issues
• Develop subject matter expertise in one of more areas that benefit Legal and/or our business
• Participate in developing internal guidelines, toolkits, and packaged knowledge capital on various legal and business issues
• Support, promote and implement Legal Group initiatives
• Embrace and evolve to gain expertise in seven Contracting attributes, including becoming a pathfinder, architect, business-minded, nonconformist, inspired, relevant and technology enabled contracting professional

Job Requirements

Relationships:

Reports to: Contracting Lead for the MU

Supervises: As per designated role
External Relationships: Accenture client executives and negotiating teams; Outside Counsel

Qualifications:

• Law Degree
• Authorized and licensed to practice law in at least one jurisdiction
• Minimum 4 years of transactional experience in digital, consulting, systems integration, and/or outsourcing areas in roles with increasing responsibility, such experience should be in a law firm or in a fast-paced corporate legal/transaction group in a relevant industry
• Minimum of 1 year of experience negotiating Intellectual Property and Data Privacy issues preferred

Knowledge and Skill Requirements:

• Accomplished negotiator with an understanding of principle-based negotiation strategy and tactics including the ability to present alternatives with proposed solutions
• Proven ability to efficiently manage a large volume of transactions independently
• Experience negotiating and drafting technology-based agreements
• Understand basic principles of Finance, Accounting, Marketing, and Management
• Good understanding of contracting/risk issues, including IP, as they apply to digital, consulting, systems integration, and outsourcing transactions
• Excellent oral and written communication skills  

Additional Desirable Criteria:

• 8-12 years of experience in legal services

Work Requirements:

• Candidates who are currently employed by a client of Accenture or an affiliated Accenture business may not be eligible for consideration.

Permanent Transfer Requirements [For Internal Applicants]:

When applying to an open internal position, all employees must meet the Permanent Transfers Requirements in Policy 500 - Permanent Position and Career Model Transfers. A summary of the employee requirements is listed below. See the policy for full information (link to policy is highlighted below).

• Employees must meet the requirements for the position, including the minimum and/or basic qualifications and performance requirements.  
• Employees are expected to be in their current position for a minimum of 12 months before applying to a new position.
• If considering a cross-border position, please pay particular attention to the visa and/or work permit requirements. In most cases, employees must already possess the appropriate work authorization for the country where the position is located.
• Employees participating in a group program for temporary international transfers, including those in the Global Careers Program (GCP), who are interested in applying to a posted internal position outside of their home location, need to comply with Policy 750 International Temporary Transfers for Groups (link to policy is highlighted below).
• Employees applying concurrently for more than one position must make the recruiter aware of the other applications during their first interview.

Policy 500 - Permanent Position and Career Model Transfers

Policy 750 - International Temporary Transfers for Groups