Director - Legal

About Zinnov

Zinnov is a global management consulting firm that helps organizations make decisions that actually get used — and deliver results that matter. For over two decades, we’ve partnered with leading enterprises, high-growth technology companies, and investors to answer some of the toughest questions they face:

• Where should we invest?

• How do we scale globally?

• What capabilities will win in the next decade?

Our work shapes market entry strategies, global operating models, M&A decisions, and long-term growth bets. We’re known for being data-led, execution-focused, and outcome-driven — not opinion-heavy slideware.

At Zinnov, how you work matters as much as what you deliver. We value independent thinking, crisp communication, and early ownership. With 450+ professionals across 10 global offices, we work across industries including Digital Services, ER&D, Enterprise Software, Semiconductors, Healthcare, BFSI, Automotive, Media & Telecom, and Private Equity.

Zinnov isn’t for everyone. It’s for people who want steep learning curves, honest feedback, and the chance to see their work influence real business decisions — not just presentations.

Why Corporate Functions?

Zinnov’s Corporate Functions teams power how the firm delivers at scale—building the internal engine behind high-growth, high-impact work. You’ll get:

• Hands-on ownership in running and scaling core operations (including Legal, Compliance, Risk, and Governance).
• Exposure to end-to-end enablement models that strengthen operating engines, employee experience, and scalable processes.
• A highly cross-functional environment with close collaboration across delivery/PMO and domain teams to drive consistent execution.

About the Role

As the Director / General Counsel – Legal, you will lead Zinnov’s in-house legal function and act as a strategic advisor to senior leadership and key stakeholders. You will own end-to-end legal and compliance outcomes for a global professional services business—balancing legal rigor with pragmatic business enablement.

This role is critical in supporting consulting and GCC setup offerings, including providing legal advisory inputs on India entry, entity setup, employment, contracting, and compliance. You’ll drive scalable legal frameworks, strengthen governance, and ensure risk is identified early—without slowing down growth.

What You’ll Do

Strategic Legal Leadership

• Act as a trusted legal advisor to the CEO, CFO, and leadership team.
• Enable growth by providing pragmatic legal solutions aligned to consulting and GCC setup services.
• Support go-to-market motions, engagement structures, and commercial models from a legal lens.
• Build scalable legal frameworks to support a growing global services business.

Commercial Contracts, Drafting & Negotiation

• Lead drafting, review, negotiation, and execution of high-impact commercial agreements, including:
  • Customer consulting / professional services agreements
  • GCC setup and managed services contracts
  • MSAs, SOWs, SLAs, NDAs
  • Vendor/procurement agreements
  • Technology, SaaS, licensing, and data processing agreements
• Support customer-facing deal negotiations, structuring, and risk assessment.
• Partner closely with Sales and Delivery to close deals efficiently while protecting Zinnov’s position.
• Build contract playbooks, standard templates, fallback positions, approval matrices, and negotiation guardrails.

Customer Legal Advisory (GCC & India Entry Support)

• Provide legal advisory support to customers as part of GCC and India entry engagements, including:
  • Entity structuring and incorporation options
  • Employment and labour law considerations
  • Contracting models and regulatory compliance
  • Data protection and cross-border data transfer considerations
• Coordinate with external law firms where specialized advice is required.
• Ensure crisp demarcation between in-house advisory support and third-party legal opinions, where applicable.

Global Regulatory, Compliance & Risk Oversight

• Ensure compliance with applicable laws across multiple jurisdictions (India, US, UK, France/EU), including:
  • India: Companies Act, labour laws, DPDP Act, FEMA (as applicable)
  • Cross-border contracting and data protection requirements
• Track and interpret regulatory changes impacting professional services and GCC operations.
• Strengthen internal and client-facing compliance frameworks and routines.

Corporate Governance & Secretarial Matters

• Support Board and Committee governance—processes, resolutions, filings, and statutory compliance.
• Drive strong governance practices, disclosures, and policy adherence.
• Advise leadership on ethics, compliance, and governance standards.

Litigation, Dispute Management & External Counsel

• Manage disputes, claims, and litigation involving customers, vendors, or employees.
• Engage and manage external counsel across jurisdictions with speed, clarity, and control on outcomes/cost.
• Push early dispute resolution and commercial risk mitigation wherever possible.

Team Leadership & Stakeholder Management

• Lead and mentor the in-house legal team; allocate work across internal legal and client advisory needs.
• Act as a key interface with Sales, Consulting, HR, Finance, IT, and Delivery teams.
• Improve legal operations—standardization, turnaround time, and predictability of outputs.

Policy, Process & Enablement

• Identify legal and regulatory risks across service offerings; strengthen preventive controls.
• Build SOPs, internal policies, and scalable legal playbooks.
• Drive legal awareness/training for consulting, sales, and delivery teams to reduce friction and escalations.

What You Bring

Qualifications & Experience

• LL.B from a recognized university (LL.M preferred).
• Enrolled with the Bar Council of India.
• 12–18+ years of post-qualification experience.
• Experience in professional services/consulting/GCC advisory and/or multinational environments.
• Strong track record leading commercial contracting and client-facing negotiations.
• Prior experience leading an in-house legal team is strongly preferred.

Key Skills

• Commercial and client advisory mindset with strong judgement under ambiguity.
• Deep contracting fundamentals: structuring, negotiation, risk assessment, and closure discipline.
• Working knowledge of GCC/India entry considerations and global delivery models.
• Ability to balance legal rigor with business enablement—protecting the firm without slowing execution.
• Clear, confident stakeholder communication across senior leadership, internal teams, and customers.

What Success Looks Like – Corporate Functions

• High-value deals close faster with stronger legal predictability—clear templates, playbooks, and escalation paths.
• Contract risk is identified early, negotiated cleanly, and documented crisply—fewer downstream disputes and surprises.
• Leadership and business teams get pragmatic, decision-ready legal guidance that enables growth, not blockers.
• Governance and compliance routines become clearer, scalable, and consistently followed across teams and geographies.
• Disputes are managed early with commercial resolution focus; external counsel engagement is tight and outcome-driven.

If you enjoy leading a global legal function, enabling high-velocity customer contracting, and building governance that scales with the business—this role offers meaningful impact and executive-level ownership.

Zinnov is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to building an inclusive workplace. We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds, communities, and experiences.