TALENTFORCE JOB DESCRIPTION

Accenture is an equal opportunity employer. We have an unwavering commitment to equality for all. Together, we are acting, we are leading, and we will drive change across the globe.

At Accenture, we believe that greatness comes from the collective effort of exceptional individuals. Our company culture fosters creativity, encourages collaboration, and rewards excellence. We are committed to providing our employees with an inspiring work environment where they can thrive and make a meaningful impact.

We put innovation at the heart of everything we do, coupled with our core values of client value creation, one global network, respect for the individual, best people, integrity and stewardship.  We offer careers that provide unparalleled opportunities for career growth and job satisfaction.

Accenture Legal is in the business of experience and we are transforming ourselves to be our best credential and are focused on developing power skills across our entire organization for the future intelligent enterprise.

Global Legal Network (GLN) 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 centres 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.

Accenture Legal TalentForce

You have been selected to be part of Accenture Legal TalentForce team as a talented legal professional with valued subject matter expertise across several disciplines who is seeking a new challenge and a unique career development proposition.  We believe Accenture Legal TalentForce team offers the opportunity to thrive in an agile and pioneering global environment and innovate our approach to legal support for our business.   

Through participation in this programme, you will be given opportunity to hone your capabilities in high-impact and complex legal areas based on your skills and experience. You will work closely and collaboratively with other legal colleagues and business teams in providing strategic advice and guidance that support the growth of our business.

Accordingly, you will be assigned to support one or more of our teams in Accenture Legal, consistent with your skills, abilities and experience.   Dependent on demand, capacity to support the programme and your specific pre-existing skill mix, it is anticipated that you would either:

• rotate to different specialist teams within Accenture Legal consecutively; or
• be assigned to one or more of such specialist teams concurrently. 

Whichever approach, you will be expected to enhance your knowledge and skills in the areas supported by these teams, deepen and broaden your experience of these functional areas within Accenture and demonstrate a global mindset. In so doing, our intent is to build greater resilience and breadth of capabilities for our more specialised teams. 

Through the programme, you will receive support on your learning journey from your relevant functional supervisor associated with your assignment, as you progress through the Legal TalentForce programme.   Such functional supervisor and your People Lead will be notified to you by the overall TalentForce Lead and updated periodically, dependent on your functional alignment in the programme and any rotational changes.

It is anticipated that participation in the programme would be between 12 – 18 months duration (which we may extend depending on the business need), with final selection of your functional alignment confirmed, commensurate with your skills, capabilities and experience, at the conclusion of your participation in the programme. We may also provide a confirmed functional alignment ahead of completion of the programme, dependent on business need.

Knowledge Skills and Experience

• Minimum 7 - 10 yrs. relevant experience in a dynamic in-house/corporate legal or law firm environment, with familiarity of working across different jurisdictions and with multi-national clients.
• Additional certifications and experience, including compliance related global professional certification(s) (e.g. data privacy, data governance, Information Security) and/or corporate law and/or company experience, considered a plus.

Behaviours and Attributes

• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English (and at least one other language, depending on geography supported – French, German, Arabic and/or Mandarin).
• Enthusiasm for continuous learning and exemplifying a growth mindset.
• Detail orientated, sound judgement, organized and adaptable.
• Able to present innovative, original solutions which understand our business, and to act as a strategic thinker.
• Strong ability to identify, understand and assess trends and developments in functional areas of expertise and to explain issues in a practical, results-focused manner.
• Highly skilled in research, including due-diligence, reporting, drafting and presentation skills and proven ability to contextual business need, and embodies a client-centric approach.
• Demonstrate autonomy, take ownership and leadership to drive tasks to closure.
• Strong time management, ability to work under pressure and display positive approach.
• Ability to prioritize and make decisions which have a major day to day impact on area of responsibility.
• Pragmatic and practical, future-looking and identifying and addressing risks before they materialize.
• Strong influencing skills, able to persuade senior leadership, present alternative options, drive collaboration, establish credibility and build trusted relationships within a fast-paced and dynamic environment.
• Proven leadership, people development and/or management experience, managing team and/or work efforts (if in an individual contributor role).
• Manage the enablement of our designated locations teams to undertake work of increased complexity, including through industrialization of processes.
• Stewardship and commitment to a creative, inclusive, and diverse workplace and recognize the strengths that unique styles, innovative perspectives and experiences bring to Accenture.
• Strong inter-personal skills and ability to build a sense of belonging in a team and establish a sense of common purpose across Accenture Legal.
• Established ability to work in a multi-jurisdictional environment, promote understanding of different cultures and able to navigate within a global organization.
• Proficiency using Microsoft Office applications (e.g., Excel, Word, PowerPoint) and online communication tools.
• Proactive approach, comfortable with technology and use of tools and databases.
• Advocate of change, lead efforts to explore and use new and emerging technologies and assess new areas of risk, leverage industry best practices, and turn insights to action.
• Effective management of external counsel, often in multi-jurisdictional context.

Education and Qualifications

Education: JD /bachelor’s degree in law (LLB) (or equivalent) or higher from a recognized institution and admission in good standing with applicable bar association(s) (or local equivalents).

Key Responsibilities for all Functional alignments in the TalentForce programme

• Possess a thorough understanding of the relevant functional area and of relevant company policies and procedures.
• Be a credible business advisor through familiarity with Accenture’s strategic priorities, target areas for growth and its business and operations and adopting a proactive learning approach, effective stakeholder engagement and cross-functional networking.
• Collaborate with colleagues across Legal, relevant Corporate Functions stakeholders, Accenture Leadership and business teams to identify and manage legal, regulatory, compliance risks and develop mitigation strategies, with due regard to ethical and reputational considerations.
• Review and manage (where applicable) internal and client facing projects and initiatives to ensure compliance with law, regulations and voluntary commitments and standards, and provide required guidance to other teams.
• Demonstrate functional subject matter expertise in the concerned support area and act as POC for such area and provide credible and efficient operational and strategic support.
• Be efficient and effective in the discharge of specific responsibilities associated with the relevant functional area to which assigned during the programme duration, consistent with your skills and prior experience.  (Illustrative functional summaries provided in the Appendix.)
• Stay abreast of and demonstrate thought leadership on legal developments and wider governmental policy or regulatory change affecting the company, its clients, people and communities and synthesize the information to incorporate it into legal assessments, drive recommendations and guidance on any adaptations to company practices, services, offerings, projects, products and initiatives.
• Drive and oversee the creation, development and maintenance of enablement materials, trainings, presentations, templates, guidance and checklists and other materials, ensuring completeness, accuracy and accessibility, and having due regard to Accenture Legal’s Technology strategy and enterprise tool adoption.
• Direct and manage local and global teams on legal projects, including strategic initiatives and support implementation of new initiatives within functional scope area.
• Supervise resources and assist GLN Global and Area Function lead in people management, as required.
• Provide coaching and mentoring to junior members of the team, lead people programmes (as appropriate) and support development feedback activities for team members.
• Demonstrate leadership mindset and behaviours, exemplifying Accenture’s Core Values and modelling behaviors consistent with our Code of Business Ethics, being an ambassador for change and client centric approach.
• Expectations and responsibilities during participation in the Legal TalentForce programme will be supplied by the Legal TalentForce programme Lead (or relevant designee), and will include some or all the key responsibilities detailed in the Appendix section of this document

Work Requirements

• Hybrid work model – part office based; part remote.
• Must have ability to effectively work with others remotely and manage a schedule with global stakeholders.

Appendix – Functional Responsibilities

Key Responsibilities for Corporate Investigations

Our small, global group of investigators work closely with other legal and business teams to conduct and oversee corporate compliance investigations arising out of alleged misconduct raised through Accenture’s various reporting channels.  Our team is responsible for protecting Accenture from legal, financial and reputational risk by using an independent and objective investigative process to investigate matters arising out of reported misconduct.

• Work with senior company leadership to assess and address significant legal risks associated with such investigations.
• Manage teams of investigative personnel assembled to address reported allegations.
• Manage notification, recording and reporting processes related to investigations.

Specifically, responsibilities include:

• Oversight and conduct of legally privileged investigations of allegations of misconduct related to financial and regulatory matters received through Accenture’s various reporting channels.
• Working with and providing legal advice concerning risk and appropriate remedial measures to senior business and HR leadership.
• Managing teams of internal and external resources.
• Overseeing, training and supporting attorneys and other investigative personnel assembled to conduct investigations.
• Staying abreast of legal developments affecting investigations, rights of reporting individuals, rights of accused and compliance related standards.

Key Responsibilities for Ethics & Compliance

Our Ethics & Compliance professionals work closely with other Legal teams, Corporate Functions and business functions to ensure we do business in a responsible and compliant way, and help bring our values to life, every day, with a focus on building and maintaining trust of our people, clients, suppliers and partners.

• Counsel, advise and educate company employees regarding legal, business and commercial risk management issues.
• Strategize with Accenture executives regarding legal issues that affect the company.
• Resolve issues and disputes and minimize potential for litigation.
• Develop internal guidelines, toolkits, and packaged knowledge on various legal and business issues to promulgate legal and ethical behaviour and drive compliance.
• Design, oversee and maintain global compliance programs, including drafting and maintaining Accenture standards and controls reflecting legal, regulatory and policy requirements as well as best practices.
• Support client facing work to ensure that compliance considerations are addressed, and appropriate controls are incorporated – including in client bids, contracting, development of new services, offerings, projects, products and initiatives.
• Design, develop and deliver training and guidance on global compliance and Ethics & Compliance topics – both for global audiences and with regard to specific jurisdictions.
• Develop action plans and strategies to remediate compliance issues associated with ventures and acquisitions and post-merger integration.
• Build and maintain strong and trusted relationships with internal stakeholders, in particular with Legal, Information Security, Responsible AI and business teams.

Key Responsibilities for Geographic Legal Counsel – Entity Matters

• Support the management of more than 700 Accenture entities in more than 70 countries by tracking entity information such as shareholders, directors, officers, subsidiaries and changes thereto.
• Demonstrate strong understanding of corporate governance and relevant companies’ legislation and regulation, relevant corporate concepts and transactions such as share transfer, liquidations, mergers, etc.
• Manage accuracy and completion of related company records and entity data such as constituent documents, shareholder/board minutes, powers of attorney, registrations, etc. including ensure accurate and timely drafting and filing of corporate documents such as minutes, powers of attorneys, etc.
• Draft and implement corporate documentation for entities within region (Articles of Associations and By-Laws; Minutes of Board and Shareholders Meetings; Powers of Attorney and Proxies; Recapitalization documentation) and ensure signature coordination and authentication coordination of same.
• Using the foregoing information to produce reports, organizational charts and other material needed to comply with local and global regulatory requirements.
• Assist with all relevant corporate secretarial activity such as approval of annual accounts, changes to directors and officers and management of powers of attorney, holding of Annual General Meetings etc.
• Assisting, advising and performing legal due diligences for geographic expansions and for work in countries considered "high risk" under AP55.
• Assist with AP67 coordination process.
• Developing and maintaining trusted working relationships with key individuals and SME's regionally e.g., Treasury, Tax, Controllership, GAP, Local Legal Groups, and External Counsel from all countries.
• Manage various projects related to entity maintenance; and work with and maintain our main state of the art technologies and solutions including Global Entity Management System (GEMS), SharePoint, etc.
• Coordinate review, approval and implementation of changes in entity information and corporate structure.
• Identify and lead process improvements in Entity Matters or Corporate Functions domains and process standardization and automation.

Key Responsibilities for Geographic Legal Counsel - Geographic Corporate & Compliance

• Deliver and coordinate legal advice in support of Accenture’s business, managing and mitigating risk, and drive ethical behaviour and compliance with laws and company policies.  The GCC team protects the company, enables the operation of the business, and helps the business grow, and GCC professionals focus on the following key activities:
  • Legal Leadership Advisor – acting as a legal advisor to local leadership on CORE matters together with the broader GCC team and the Market Unit Legal Director (“MULD”) including educating and guiding local leadership on sound corporate governance principles and best practices in line with Accenture’s Code of Business Ethics (‘COBE’).
  • Business Advisor – collaborating, reviewing and/or overseeing its CORE responsibilities in advising the business on various matters together with other areas of Legal.  Understanding the strategy and priorities of the Market Unit Lead and Country Managing Director in the country, and assisting in related company initiatives relevant for the country in line with the global legal programs. Working with the Government Relations team on potential issues (e.g. reputational) that may not be illegal, but have sensitivity due to the geo-political climate and local sensitivities.
  • Compliance – implementing global compliance programmes locally and aligning local compliance with global compliance programmes.  Monitoring regulatory developments and ensure compliance with all applicable laws, including any requisite updates to address new and updated laws.  Ensuring that compliance issues/concerns are being appropriately evaluated, investigated and resolved. Monitoring the performance of compliance programes and related activities on a continuing basis, taking appropriate steps to improve effectiveness.
  • Corporate Functions Advisor – advising and supporting Accenture’s corporate function teams on legal matters that arise in performance of their functions, serving as a trusted advisor, with a focus on early intervention and proactive shaping of solutions. Providing local corporate and regulatory advice in relation to the restructuring and business activities of local entities, and managing company secretarial matters and overall management of local entities with Controllership and external advisors.

Key Responsibilities for Geographic Legal Counsel - Regulatory Compliance

• Regulatory support to key industry areas including financial services (banking and capital markets, insurance, debt-collection, private equity, intelligent finance & accounting), blockchain, health, life sciences, medical devices, talent, HR and payroll, telecommunications, aerospace, Defense, security, engineering services (infrastructure, manufacturing), strategy & consulting, Industry X, M&A advisory, gambling, supply chain and other business areas.
• Support to ensure that our organization complies with global regulatory requirements and standards.
• Collaborating and working seamlessly with cross-functional teams to maintain adherence to business and industry-specific regulations, monitor changes in compliance laws, and support the development of strategies for regulatory compliance.

Specific Responsibilities:

• Contract Risk Assessment: Evaluate potential regulatory compliance risks at deal, solution development and V&A levels, and provide recommendations for risk mitigation strategies.
• Regulatory Compliance Monitoring: Stay current with evolving regulatory guidelines and standards pertinent to the relevant Industry domain and Accenture actual and anticipated service offering(s), including, those applicable to highly-regulated industries (such as Aviation and Defense, and others).
• Documentation Management: Assist in the creation, organization, and maintenance of regulatory guidance documents, presentations, playbooks, and other compliance material, ensuring completeness, accuracy, and accessibility.
• Regulatory Reporting: Respond to stakeholder inquiries relating to regulatory requirements and reporting, accurately and within specified deadlines.
• Quality Assurance: Collaborate with quality assurance teams to develop and implement compliance-related quality systems and processes.
• Regulatory Strategy: Support the development of regulatory strategies for new solutions.
• Regulatory Documentation Submission: Prepare and submit regulatory documents, such as applications, submissions, and registrations, to regulatory authorities as required.
• Continuous Improvement: Participate in ongoing process improvement initiatives to enhance regulatory compliance practices and streamline operations.

Key Responsibilities for Legal Buyside

• Comprehensive support to Procurement and Business teams which includes:
  • Drafting, reviewing, negotiation and execution of high-value and complex supplier/buyside agreements and related documentation with Accenture suppliers relevant to procurement support, to procure various goods and services, including but not limited to Contractors, Human Resources Support, IT& Telecom, Marketing & Communications, Workplace Support (Facilities & Services), Software as a Service, in accordance with Accenture’s supplier contracting standards, applicable laws and business requirements.
  • Advisory support through creation of templates, standardization of templates, maintaining and continuous improvement of standard contract templates and procedures for complex buyside deals.
  • Specialized SME expertise in support area to address potential risks and issues, including strategizing with company executives prior to vendor negotiations and representing the company’s interests, and direct liaison with vendor negotiating teams on complex contract reviews with high stakes for the company.
  • Conducting gap analysis and create legal risk assessments by identifying and flagging potential risks and/or clauses which are non-negotiable, and provide risk mitigation recommendations and solutions.
  • Structuring legal transactions to be most advantageous from a contracting and business perspective and manage escalations.
  • Supporting navigation of company approval processes in the context of the services being procured and ensure that all stakeholders are engaged in a timely manner and compliance processes are observed.

Key Responsibilities for Litigation & Disputes

Litigation professionals support Accenture’s business, minimize risk and engage in dispute resolution related to compliance with laws and company policies.

Key responsibilities include:

• Management of Legal professionals that provide support to the Litigation  and Disputes Management teams in the Markets.
• Establish strong working relationships with key Accenture litigation stakeholders.
• Excellent understanding of Accenture services, contracting and contract management policies, problem solving attitude, excellent communication skills; mentoring and coaching team members.
• Apply the internal GLN reporting process through the Function and Area Head.
• Work effectively with teams dispersed across geographies.
• Deliver value in supporting capacity for the complex dispute resolution matters.
• Understand stakeholder interests/pain points, ensuring pragmatic/impactful solution.
• Effectively listen to stakeholders, respond in context, shift focus/topics/agenda as needed.

Key Responsibilities for Global Services Legal

The mission statement of Global Services Legal is to “drive sustainable business growth for Accenture by providing deep legal expertise at the intersection of business strategy, industry and technology in a highly dynamic environment”.  The Global Services Legal team functions as an integrator between various other parts of the Legal team, coordinating between the multidisciplinary areas of deep expertise across the wider Legal team, to deliver one holistic Legal perspective to the business.

Key responsibilities include:

• Support to business teams in shaping offerings and solutions by conducting assessments of new service and product offerings, providing recommendations and tools that mitigate risks and preparing those offerings for market.
• Collaborating with colleagues across Legal, Enterprise Risk Management, and Quality & Risk to identify legal and regulatory risks and develop mitigation strategies.
• Enabling Accenture’s Sales & Delivery Legal team to efficiently handle day-to-day contracting, including developing contracting templates and guidance and providing SME support to deal teams.
• Supporting business leadership, in collaboration with Accenture’s Ventures & Acquisitions Legal team, in the evaluation of prospective acquisition targets and development and implementation of post-merger integration strategy.
• Shape new strategic alliances and partnerships, including capability sourcing via vendor and resale/agency transactions, support negotiations of strategic partnership agreements; review of assets, and conduct of ad hoc licensing arrangements for tools and software used by the business, while providing recommendations regarding the same.
• Managing global teams on legal projects, including strategic initiatives to create frameworks relating to cutting edge, cross-industry topics and process industrialization projects.

Key Responsibilities for Merger & Acquisitions

Accenture’s M&A Legal Team supports Accenture’s Mergers & Acquisitions programme, which includes the deployment of $10billion in capital in connection with the acquisition of more than 130 targets over the last 3 years.  Accenture is recognized as one of the most active strategic acquirors and the program is known for its C-suite support and strong governance.

The M&A Legal team supports complex M&A and strategic investment transactions within a fast paced-corporate environment, advising senior company leadership on legal issues, including risk management and mitigation.

Key responsibilities include:

• Leading legal support in complex M&A and strategic investment transactions.
• Strategizing with senior company executives regarding the negotiation of such transactions and leading negotiations together with Accenture’s corporate development team.
• Managing in-house and outside legal resources, including in cross-border transactions.
• Independently managing and drafting and reviewing transactional documents and correspondence.
• Advising with wider stakeholders and non-legal professionals supporting M&A.
• Co-ordinating and managing the legal due diligence process.
• Educating and advising senior company executives with respect to legal issues, including risk management and mitigation.
• Working with tax and other advisors to structure transactions to be most advantageous from a legal and business perspective.
• Handling post-closing matters, including working capital true-up payments and disputes, earn-out disputes, indemnification claims etc.

About Accenture

Accenture is a leading global professional services company that helps the world’s leading businesses, governments and other organizations build their digital core, optimize their operations, accelerate revenue growth and enhance citizen services—creating tangible value at speed and scale. We are a talent- and innovation-led company with 750,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Technology is at the core of change today, and we are one of the world’s leaders in helping drive that change, with strong ecosystem relationships. We combine our strength in technology and leadership in cloud, data and AI with unmatched industry experience, functional expertise and global delivery capability. We are uniquely able to deliver tangible outcomes because of our broad range of services, solutions and assets across Strategy & Consulting, Technology, Operations, Industry X and Song. These capabilities, together with our culture of shared success and commitment to creating 360° value, enable us to help our clients reinvent and build trusted, lasting relationships. We measure our success by the 360° value we create for our clients, each other, our shareholders, partners and communities. Visit us at www.accenture.com

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