Legal Counsel - Latin America and Caribbean

About the role

Legal Counsel for the Latin America & Caribbean region, providing strategic counsel and legal leadership to enable business growth while protecting the company's interests. From time to time, this role also provides similar support to the EU and UK markets. You will partner closely with regional and global leadership to navigate complex commercial, regulatory, corporate governance, employment, franchise, and compliance matters across a diverse portfolio of markets.

As the region's lead legal advisor, you will be responsible for structuring and negotiating commercial agreements, supporting franchise development and market transactions, managing legal risk, ensuring compliance with applicable laws and company policies, and driving effective governance. The role also involves overseeing external legal counsel, developing practical legal solutions that balance risk with business objectives, and fostering strong cross-functional partnerships to support sustainable growth, operational excellence, and long-term value creation.

While the core of the role is supporting the LAC market from Dallas, you will occasionally support the EU and UK markets remotely. You will operate with significant autonomy, with senior legal support needed only for particularly complex or strategic matters.

Responsibilities

• Act as a reliable and trusted thought partner and legal advisor to key business stakeholders, including management.
• Provide strategic, practical, and commercial legal advice to enable and drive positive business outcomes.
• Take full ownership of the quality and timeliness of your legal deliverables and those of other legal team members as appropriate.
• Coach members of the legal team and provide flexible legal support as demand requires.
• Develop and retain legal talent and drive a positive team culture.
• Seek and coordinate training opportunities for the legal team and business stakeholders.
• Manage the legal budget and spend for the business unit, specific projects, specialisms, or firms.
• Oversee relationships with and costs of external legal advisors.
• Proactively identify and drive improvements across the legal team.
• Work with senior leaders to shape and deliver legal, risk, and compliance strategy, vision, and goals.
• Build and maintain relationships with global legal peers, external networks, and key business stakeholders.

Competencies

• Demonstrate autonomy and sound judgment, knowing when to escalate.
• Act as a cultural role model by leading company values, showing smart, heart, and courage.
• Drive a positive, high-performing team culture and hold others accountable.
• Recognize and care for others, showing vulnerability and understanding.
• Stand firm in the face of uncertainty and empower others to do the same.
• Take ownership of your professional development and contribute proactively to areas of interest.
• Develop bold ideas and make critical decisions with confidence.

Requirements

• Juris Doctor (JD) Degree from an ABA-accredited law school in the U.S. or qualification as a solicitor in England and Wales or similar common law jurisdictions.
• 8+ years of legal experience, preferably in commercial or corporate law within a leading law firm or in-house legal team.
• Ability to assess and weigh risks against operational needs to develop reasoned recommendations, including risk mitigation strategies.
• Ability to work quickly and competently to prioritize, manage, and multi-task in a fast-paced and dynamic environment.
• Ability to deliver sound, clear, and practical legal advice, both verbally and in writing.
• Ability to develop strong working relationships with colleagues and internal clients.
• Self-starter with the ability to work proactively to advance business objectives to completion.
• Solution-oriented and collaborative mindset, including the ability to work successfully in a team environment.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to listen and effectively explain complex legal issues to non-lawyers in one-on-one and large presentation formats.
• High personal and professional integrity, including the ability to establish personal credibility within the department and company.

Pay

Salary Range: $125,200 to $147,200 annually + bonus eligibility. This is the expected salary range for this position. Ultimately, pay will consider the successful candidate’s location, experience, and other job-related factors.