VP, General Counsel, North America

Azurity Pharmaceuticals is a privately held, specialty pharmaceutical company that focuses on innovative products that meet the needs of underserved patients. As an industry leader in providing unique, accessible, and high-quality medications, Azurity leverages its integrated capabilities and vast partner network to continually expand its broad commercial product portfolio and robust late-stage pipeline. The company’s patient-centric products span the cardiovascular, neurology, endocrinology, gastro-intestinal, institutional, and orphan markets, and have benefited millions of patients. For more information, visit www.azurity.com.

Azurity Pharmaceuticals is proud to be an inclusive workplace and an Equal Opportunity Employer. Azurity's success is attributable to our incredibly talented, dedicated team that focuses on benefiting the lives of patients by bringing the best science and commitment to quality into everything that we do. We seek highly motivated individuals with the dedication, integrity, and creative spirit needed to thrive in our organization.

Azurity is seeking a highly qualified and experienced General Counsel to be the Company’s lead legal counsel in North America.  Reporting to the Company’s Chief Legal Officer, based in Boston, MA, this individual will play a key role in enabling and supporting Azurity’s growth and strategic initiatives in North America. 

This role will provide key legal oversight of each of Azurity’s entities in North America, working with global and regional leadership teams to formulate, guide, and implement key initiatives, while also navigating complex regulatory, legal, litigation, and commercial challenges. This role will work closely with counterpart GCs in Europe, Asia, and other regions that Azurity plans to expand to.  Supporting this role will be a small team of attorneys and legal staff.

Working closely with Azurity’s Compliance team, this role will be expected to establish company policies, procedures, and guidelines in U.S & Canada, and play a key role in championing a shared culture of excellence.

The ideal candidate will have strong experience in pharmaceuticals, serving as a key advisor to a variety of business teams, particularly the Commercial, Regulatory, Finance, Operations, and People organizations.  Experience working on a broad variety of subject matters is a must.  As a fast-growing company, the attorney will oversee a variety of global business development and strategic transactions. Strong corporate law experience and experience with complex business transactions is required.

The role will also provide support to Azurity’s HR team and address employment law matters, as necessary. As necessary, oversight of litigation matters and Azurity’s risk program will be necessary – this will be primarily overseen by Azurity’s head of litigation, who will report into this role. Nonetheless, a strong understanding of pharmaceutical IP litigation and Hatch-Waxman law is required. 

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Entity Management
  • Oversight of Azurity’s North American entities
  • Establish policies, procedures, and guidelines for compliant operations in applicable jurisdictions
  • Oversight and fiduciary obligations; establish necessary checks and balances.
  • Enable and support business initiatives of each of the North America entities
  • Work closely with counterparts in other Azurity regions to manage Azurity’s intercompany relationships
• Strategic Transaction
  • Manage all legal implications of proposed strategic transactions and ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and industry standards and identify risks with mitigation plans
  • Conduct legal due diligence to identify any legal obstacles or risks associated with the strategic transaction, such as contractual obligations, intellectual property rights, regulatory compliance, and litigation risks
• Contract Negotiation and Management
  • Lead draft, review, and negotiate a wide range contracts and agreements
  • Ensure contract terms and conditions comply with legal requirements, protect the company's interests, and promote efficient operations
• Compliance
  • Stay updated on relevant laws, regulations, and industry standards impacting the Company
  • Provide legal guidance and support on compliance matters
  • Support Compliance team to develop and implement compliance programs and training initiatives to ensure adherence to legal and regulatory obligations across support functions
• Risk Mitigation
  • Identify and assess legal risks associated with functional operations, including contract risks, intellectual property risks, data privacy risks, quality, and regulatory risks
  • Collaborate with internal teams to implement risk mitigation strategies and develop appropriate policies and procedures

• Dispute Resolution and Claims Management
  • Handle and resolve all regional disputes, including contract disputes, employment disputes, etc.
  • Work closely with internal stakeholders, external counsel, and business partners to negotiate and settle disputes in a timely and cost-effective manner
  • Assist in the development and implementation of strategies to minimize future disputes and improve claims management processes

QUALIFICATIONS

• Juris Doctor (J.D.) from an accredited law school; admission to the state bar of Massachusetts or North Carolina (clean disciplinary record required)
• Minimum 10 years of related experience, preferably with at least 5 years in-house pharma legal experience
• Demonstration of solid organizational skills, ability to think strategically, and sound judgment in the analysis of complex business issues and deriving conclusions
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills
• Ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously and maintain a sense of humor in a fast-paced environment
• Ability to work independently as well as part of cross-functional team
• Willingness to take on any task—no task too big or too small—as the circumstances may dictate
• Position is likely to require travel on a monthly or quarterly basis, based on business or team need

#LI-Hybrid

Physical & Mental Requirements:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Must be able to sit for long periods of time
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to stand; walk; sit; talk and/or hear
• May occasionally climb stairs and/or ride elevators
• The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds
• Employee must be able to manipulate keyboard, operate a telephone and hand-held devices
• Other miscellaneous job duties as required

Benefits We Offer:

• Unlock Your Earning Potential: Join our team and be rewarded with a competitive compensation package, including an annual bonus based on company performance, that recognizes your exceptional talent.
  • Sales - In lieu of annual bonuses, we offer an Incentive compensation program that allows you to earn more - even over plan.
  • Fuel Your Success: *Sales Only* - We understand the value of your hard work and provide a car reimbursement program and gas card for both business and personal use as part of our commitment to supporting you. 
• Comprehensive Health Coverage: We value your well-being and offer excellent medical, dental, vision, and prescription coverage to ensure you and your family are always taken care of.
• Flexibility for Your Lifestyle: Achieve work-life balance with our hybrid work model, allowing you to work two days from home and three days in the office. *Excludes Sales, Manufacturing, and some Operations positions*
• Start Your Week on a High Note: Indulge in our “Bagel Tuesday” perk, where you can enjoy a fresh bagel on us every Tuesday morning. **Only for On-site/Hybrid colleagues**
• Invest in Your Future: Our Retirement Savings Plan (401K) is designed to help you secure a comfortable retirement by matching dollar for dollar up to 5%.
• Time Off That Counts: Take advantage of our generous time off policy, which offers up to 15 vacation days annually + rollover (up to 40 hours) as well as five sick/wellness days. For new employees, vacation accrual will be prorated based on your start date.
• Meaningful Time with Your Loved Ones: We close between Christmas and New Year’s to give you an extra week off to spend quality time with your family and recharge.
• Enjoy the Holidays: Over the course of the year, Azurity recognizes 13 holidays.
• Invest in Your Education: We support your professional growth with tuition reimbursement for undergraduate and graduate level courses or certifications.
• Recognize and Be Recognized: Our Azurity High Five peer recognition platform allows you to celebrate your colleagues' accomplishments and receive recognition for your own outstanding work.

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