Legal Counsel (Colombia and Caribbean)

Position Overview:

(This position is based in Bogotá, Colombia, and follows a hybrid work model).

The holder of this position reports to the Head of Legal CE LatAm and acts as legal business support for legal matters for Colombia and the Caribbean. Legal Counsel - Colombia & Caribbean Region will provide legal support to Fresenius Medical Care’s operations in Colombia and designated Caribbean jurisdictions. The role serves as a key legal business partner to local and regional stakeholders, providing practical and commercially focused legal advice across a broad range of matters, including commercial contracting, corporate governance, data privacy, employment, disputes, regulatory matters, and strategic business initiatives.

The position is expected to independently manage a substantial volume of day-to-day legal matters for Colombia and support legal matters across the Caribbean region. The successful candidate will exercise sound legal judgment, proactively identifying, flagging and mitigating risks while enabling business objectives. Strategic, high-risk, precedent-setting, or highly business-critical matters will be handled in coordination with the Head of Legal LATAM.

This role requires a lawyer who is comfortable operating independently, managing multiple stakeholders, and serving as a trusted advisor to the business, while remaining closely integrated with the broader LATAM Legal team and also acting as gatekeeper for the company.

Key Responsabilities:

Commercial Legal Support

• Draft, review, negotiate, and advise on a wide range of commercial agreements, including:
• Distribution agreements
• Supply and procurement contracts
• Service agreements
• Consulting agreements
• Logistics and warehousing agreements
• Marketing and promotional agreements
• Technology and digital services agreements
• Confidentiality agreements
• Vendor and customer contracts
• Provide clear, practical, and business-oriented legal advice to commercial and operational teams.
• Identify legal risks and propose pragmatic solutions that support business objectives.
• Develop, update, maintain and roll out contract templates, negotiation guidelines, and legal playbooks, as applicable.
• Support contracting process improvements and legal operational excellence initiatives focused in automation of processes.

Corporate Governance and Corporate Matters

• Support corporate governance activities and legal entity management for Colombian entities.
• Coordinate corporate secretarial matters, filings, powers of attorney, and corporate records maintenance in close collaboration with the Global team.
• Assist with strategic transactions, integrations, reorganizations, and other corporate projects as required.
• Ensure compliance with local corporate legal requirements and internal governance standards.

Caribbean Regional Support

• Provide legal support to designated Caribbean jurisdictions.
• Advise business stakeholders on commercial, corporate, compliance, regulatory, and operational matters affecting supported jurisdictions.
• Support regional business initiatives and cross-border projects.
• Promote consistency in legal standards, contracting practices, and risk management approaches across the region.
• Coordinate and manage external counsel across multiple countries whenever necessary.

Regulatory and Healthcare Industry Support

• Provide legal support on regulatory matters affecting Fresenius' business operations.
• Partner with Regulatory Affairs, Medical Affairs, Market Access, Quality, and Commercial teams on legal and regulatory issues.
• Assist in assessing legal implications of new business models, products, services, and market initiatives.
• Support interactions with government authorities and regulatory agencies, as required.

General Matters

• Provide legal guidance on matters, including:
• Data privacy and information governance
• Competition and antitrust matters
• Advise on internal legal policies and usage of the contract system used by the company
• Partner with Compliance, Internal Audit, Human Resources, and business stakeholders on investigations and risk assessments.
• Support implementation of regional and global legal initiatives.
• Deliver regular legal training to business stakeholders when necessary.
• Foster automation of processes focusing in enchancement of capacities.

Employment and Labor Law Support

• Advise Human Resources and management on employment and labor-related legal matters.
• Support employee relations issues, disciplinary actions, sensitive terminations, and workforce restructuring initiatives.
• Coordinate employment litigation and specialized labor law matters through external counsel, where appropriate.
• Assist in managing employment-related legal risks and disputes.

Disputes and Risk Management

• Support the management of commercial disputes, litigation, arbitration, administrative proceedings, and legal claims.
• Coordinate with external counsel regarding litigation strategy, case management, and budgets.
• Assess legal risks and recommend mitigation measures.
• Maintain appropriate reporting and visibility regarding significant legal matters and trends.

Business Partnership and Cross-Functional Support

• Build strong working relationships with stakeholders across Commercial, Finance, Human Resources, Procurement, Regulatory Affairs, Compliance, Quality, and other business functions.
• Provide timely and effective legal support aligned with business priorities and legal standards.
• Participate in regional and global projects, including process improvements and supporting company initiatives.
• Contribute to the development of practical legal solutions that support sustainable business growth.
• Promote a culture of compliance, integrity, and ethical decision-making.

Requirements:

• Juris Doctor Degree.
• Admitted to practice Law in Colombia.
• LL.M. degree not mandatory but desirable.
• 8+ years of experience practicing law, either at a law firm or inhouse attorney in multinationals or international companies.
• Attention to detail yet ability to see the big picture (Global perspective)
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills and sense of humor.
• Self-motivated by nature.
• Collaborative work style and excellent communication skills within and across teams.
• Strong intellect and business acumen.
• Strong drive for results and sense of ownership and accountability
• Extremely responsive, organized and a strong communicator
• Proficient in English (technical legal English, if possible).
• Experience in Public Procurement Law (revision of Request of Proposals, drafting documentation to public officials and any other related matters).
• This position is based in Bogotá, Colombia, and follows a hybrid work model.