Legal Counsel

Legal Counsel

Job title:                         Legal Counsel

Reports to:                    Head of Legal, Group HQ

Location:                      Leeks, Foods UK  

Salary:                          Generous salary depending on experience

Hours:                           36.25 hours per week   

Benefits:                     Bonus Scheme, Matched Pension Scheme, 33 days Annual Leave, Hybrid Working, Annual Salary Review, Discount on Bikes & Tech Scheme, Confidential Employee Assist Programme                  

Ornua (meaning “new gold”) is Ireland’s largest exporter of Irish dairy products, proudly bringing the unique taste of Irish dairy to the world for over 55 years.

Are you a commercially minded, qualified lawyer with extensive Post Qualified Experience,  looking for the challenge of taking a mission driven organisation to its next level of success?

Ornua is actively seeking a proactive and strategic Legal Counsel  to join our Group Legal department as we continue our growth trajectory.

This is a high-impact role at the centre of our UK and global business. You will act as the lead legal partner to Ornua Foods UK and Ornua Food Solutions International —working closely with senior stakeholders to shape strategy, enable innovation and support commercial growth.

 This role goes beyond traditional legal support. You will be expected to anticipate risk, influence decision-making and deliver pragmatic, solution-focused advice that helps the business move forward with confidence.

 You’ll operate with a high degree of autonomy, embedding yourself in the business and building trusted relationships across functions. In doing so, you’ll play a key role in helping Ornua navigate an evolving legal and regulatory landscape while continuing to grow. 

You will report to the Head of Legal for Ornua in Dublin. 

Why Ornua?

• Ornua operates as a commercial organisation from 10 business units worldwide, including 12 production facilities located in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Africa.
• The commercial organisation is responsible for the marketing and sales of Ornua’s consumer brands including Ireland’s most successful food export: Kerrygold.
• It also manages the procurement of Irish and non-Irish dairy products, the sale of dairy ingredients to food manufacturing and foodservice customers globally, and the implementation of de-risking and trading strategies to manage market volatility.
• Our co-operative ethos lies at the heart of how we do business as a purpose and values-led organisation, creating value for Irish dairy farming families.
• Our Values lie at the core of everything we do. Our five values encourage us to Seek and Embrace New Ideas, Make It Happen, Be Our True Selves, Show You Care, and Achieve Great Things Together.
• Dynamic Working policy in place which facilitates flexible hours and hybrid working
• We invest in our people and foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement.
• Career Progression including Global Mobility opportunities.
• Comprehensive Benefits with regional specific offerings.

Why This Role Is Valuable:

As our Legal Counsel you will be responsible for leading on;

• Business Partnering & Advisory
• Act as a trusted legal advisor to senior stakeholders across Ornua Foods UK and Ornua Food Solutions International.
• Embed yourself within commercial teams (marketing, innovation, procurement, sales) to anticipate needs and provide timely, practical advice.
• Enable innovation and marketing teams to deliver campaigns and product launches confidently and compliantly.
• Manage external legal advisors efficiently, particularly outside the UK.

• Commercial & Contracting
• Lead the drafting, negotiation and execution of a wide range of commercial agreements (sales, distribution, procurement, media, digital and professional services).
• Drive efficiencies in contracting processes and identify opportunities to improve templates and ways of working.
• Support complex negotiations, balancing legal risk with commercial objectives.

• Risk & Compliance
• Proactively identify emerging legal and regulatory risks, particularly in areas impacting FMCG, marketing and sustainability.
• Translate legal developments into clear, actionable guidance for the business.
• Partner cross-functionally to implement practical, risk-based policies and governance frameworks
• Support and enhance compliance programmes (e.g. data privacy, competition law, ESG, anti-bribery, cyber security).

• Disputes & Issue Management
• Manage disputes, litigation and settlement negotiations, working with external counsel where required.
• Take a proactive approach to issue resolution, minimising risk and business disruption.

What You Bring To The Role:

Experience

• Qualified lawyer with a minimum of 8 - 10 years’ PQE.
• Strong experience in commercial contracts.
• In-house experience, ideally within FMCG, food or beverage, and/or experience in marketing/advertising compliance is preferred.

Mindset & Approach

• A proactive self-starter who anticipates issues rather than reacting to them.
• Demonstrated ability to operate autonomously and manage a diverse, fast-moving workload.
• Commercially astute, with the ability to balance legal risk and business opportunity.
• Comfortable working in a dynamic environment where priorities evolve.

Skills

• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the confidence to challenge constructively.
• Ability to communicate complex legal concepts in a clear, practical and business-friendly way.
• Collaborative and solutions-focused, with a natural ability to build trust across teams.
• Curious and adaptable, with an appetite to learn new areas of law quickly.

Our interview process is designed to be thorough yet supportive. This process includes a first stage via Teams to allow us to get to know you better and to understand your skills and experiences and, if successful, a second stage face-to-face interview that will build upon the first stage and give you the opportunity to get a feel for Ornua and the environment in which you will be working.

Ornua has ambitious growth plans and we’re building a team to help enable and accelerate that growth. We are looking for people who share our values, are curious, forward-looking, take ownership and work together to build a future for themselves and Ornua.

Would you like to make an impact?

To learn more, please visit Ornua at www.ornua.com

Ornua values diversity and inclusion and welcomes applications from candidates with diverse backgrounds. We also strongly encourage women and other underrepresented groups in the manufacturing industry to apply. Your unique perspectives and experiences are highly valued and will be instrumental in driving our company’s continued success. Join us in shaping a more innovative, inclusive, and sustainable future.

Ornua is committed to creating an inclusive and accessible workplace. We will make every effort to provide for any reasonable accessibility needs you may have during your employment with us. If you require accommodations at any stage of the recruitment process or in your role, please let us know — we’re here to support you.