Senior Legal Counsel, Middle East

We are Reckitt

Home to the world's best loved and trusted hygiene, health, and nutrition brands. Our purpose defines why we exist: to protect, heal and nurture in the relentless pursuit of a cleaner, healthier world. We are a global team united by this purpose.

Join us in our fight to make access to the highest quality hygiene, wellness, and nourishment a right and not a privilege.

Legal

Step into the world of our Legal and Compliance Function and prepare to be challenged and stretched with a combination of impact, innovation, and excellence. Our Legal team is at the forefront of shaping the corporate landscape and redefining the boundaries of what is possible.

We go beyond the traditional realms of a legal and compliance function. Transforming ourselves into strategic partners who help drive business growth, mitigating risks, and championing ethical and sustainable practices. Every day, our team deliver on groundbreaking transactions and navigate complex regulatory landscapes that help our organisation make a positive societal impact.

Join us, and you'll be collaborating towards shared goals, solving complex challenges, and leaving an enduring legacy.

About The Role

Reckitt is seeking a proactive and commercially astute Senior Legal Counsel to join its Middle East legal team, based in Dubai. This is a dynamic, hands-on role offering exposure to a broad spectrum of legal and strategic matters across the region.The successful candidate will serve as a key legal advisor to the business, supporting commercial operations across Reckitt’s hygiene, health, and nutrition portfolios. The role involves providing legal guidance on contracts, compliance, governance, and strategic initiatives, while working closely with cross-functional teams. This opportunity is ideal for a lawyer ready to take on greater responsibility and contribute meaningfully to a high-performing legal function within a fast-paced, consumer-focused organisation.

Your responsibilities

• Provide strategic legal advice across a broad range of commercial and operational matters, including supply chain, procurement, marketing, distribution, digital, and e-commerce, with a strong understanding of Reckitt’s product portfolio and regional business dynamics.
• Draft, review, and negotiate complex commercial agreements, ensuring alignment with Reckitt’s business objectives and effective legal risk management.
• Support regulatory compliance across key areas such as advertising standards, data protection (including GDPR and local laws), competition/antitrust, and sustainability, with a focus on GCC jurisdictions.
• Advise on corporate governance, risk mitigation, and internal policy development tailored to Reckitt’s operations in the Middle East.
• Support governance and legal oversight of joint ventures across the Middle East, ensuring compliance with corporate and regulatory frameworks.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with marketing, finance, HR, regulatory, and commercial teams to deliver timely, pragmatic legal support that enables business growth.
• Assist with strategic initiatives including M&A, distributor transitions, internal investigations, and market entry assessments.
• Work closely with the department head, and provide guidance to other team members where appropriate.
• Liaise with external counsel and regulatory authorities across the region to support business-critical matters.
  
  

The experience we're looking for

• Qualified solicitor (UK or US) with 8–10 years’ PQE, ideally gained in a reputable law firm and/or in-house legal team within the FMCG or regulated consumer goods sector.
• Proven experience working in the Middle East is essential, with strong familiarity with local legal and regulatory frameworks (for external purpose only).
• Strong experience in commercial contracts and regulatory advisory work, with exposure to Middle East.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to simplify complex legal issues and influence senior stakeholders across functions.
• Commercially minded, pragmatic, and solutions-oriented, with a strong understanding of balancing legal risk with business priorities.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and adapting to evolving business needs.
• A collaborative team player who values team work, integrity, innovation, and impact.
• Growth mindset with ambition to take on broader responsibilities and progress within Reckitt’s legal function.
  
  

The skills for success

Integrity, Corporate Governance, Compliance Management, Solutions Focused, Excellent Communication Skills, Risk management, Intellectual property, Patents, Commercial contracts, Marketing, Teamwork, Fact-based Decision Making, Ability to manage and prioritize workload, Continuous Improvement Mindset, Legal Services, Process Optimisation, Qualified Lawyer.

What we offer

With inclusion at the heart of everything we do, working alongside our four global Employee Resource Groups, we support our people at every step of their career journey, helping them to succeed in their own individual way.

We invest in the wellbeing of our people through parental benefits, an Employee Assistance Program to promote mental health, and life insurance for all employees globally. We have a range of other benefits in line with the local market. Through our global share plans we offer the opportunity to save and share in Reckitt's potential future successes. For eligible roles, we also offer short-term incentives to recognise, appreciate and reward your work for delivering outstanding results. You will be rewarded in line with Reckitt's pay for performance philosophy.

Equality

We recognise that in real life, great people don't always 'tick all the boxes'. That's why we hire for potential as well as experience. Even if you don't meet every point on the job description, if this role and our company feels like a good fit for you, we still want to hear from you.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, disability or medical condition; colour, ethnicity, race, citizenship, and national origin; religion, faith; pregnancy, family status and caring responsibilities; sexual orientation; sex, gender identity, gender expression, and transgender identity; protected veteran status; size or any other basis protected by appropriate law.