About the Role

The Business Commercial Counsel is responsible for providing legal and/or business support to the Automotive business division Customer Account Management (“CAM”) Groups and its Strategic Business Units (“SBU”) and will interface with the related business functions including but not limited to sales, engineering, product, customer service, finance, procurement, and/or supply chain function. This position will report directly to and work closely and strategically with ​the Director, Corporate Counsel for the Automotive Division, North America and/or legal leadership to support with senior operational, functional and/or division clients on significant matters impacting the global enterprise. The successful candidate must be able to handle complex negotiations and establish/maintain systems or structures to deliver necessary legal support and successfully and timely complete critical assignments with little to no supervision. The Business Commercial Counsel must also have a broad understanding of Harman’s business objectives, products, and the impact of external factors on the division and its CAMs and SBUs.

Managing Legal and Business Risk Across the functions for the division and its CAMs and SBUs:

Sales: strategic business partner reviewing, drafting, and negotiating a wide variety of commercial agreements and amendments, including terms and conditions, master services, delivery, cooperation, licensing, professional services, and vendor agreements. Advise business team members on　automotive RFQ process, including updating and maintaining RFQ offer templates used by the Automotive Division. Support resolution of commercial disputes with customers and suppliers, including management of automotive-related litigation, arbitration and mediation proceedings and guidance of external counsel
Prepare and conduct trainings for managers and employees on relevant legal topics.
Compliance: Identifying legal and regulatory issues in product initiatives and customer agreements, including awareness of privacy and data security issues, and working cross-functionally with the appropriate teams to create solutions and minimize risk. Interface with the various compliance teams on regulatory issues and workstreams that arise from the CAM & SBU. This includes working with global trade compliance on global automotive trade issues. Partner with the product certification teams working on regional regulatory requirements for product certifications.
Engaging strategically in risk assessment/mitigation and developing innovative approaches to legal issues in support of business objectives.
Engage with legal procurement, and supply chain management to address global supply chain issues.
Promptly and effectively addresses unforeseen legal risks if they arise and communicates to legal leadership within the legal department and/or to the CAM & SBU leaders within the division or function in a timely manner; process complex, uncertain, or incomplete information quickly to identify potential implications for the business.
Advise the Automotive warranty and quality teams on recall campaigns, customer disputes, claims, and settlements.
Works with business divisions, SBU, or functional teams and helps them understand, assess, and appropriately address business risks and implications and helps to influence business decisions.
Directs and/or collaborates with other legal and compliance staff and organizational partners to develop, update, and maintain templates, negotiation resources and playbooks.