As Senior Legal Counsel for Sweden, you will act as the primary legal partner to the Swedish business, providing pragmatic, commercially focused legal advice to enable and accelerate the achievement of business objectives. You will be a member of the Swedish leadership team and contribute to the strategic development and execution of sustainable, integrated business strategies aligned with BAT’s overall objectives.
You will set the standard for the End Market lawyers by demonstrating what it means to be a strategic legal advisor, while supporting the Head of Legal Nordics in the continued development of the Nordic legal function. Additionally, the role involves exploring relevant technology to enhance performance and cost-effectiveness as part of the legal strategy.
The role is an integral part of the Nordic Legal team and reports directly to the Head of Legal, Nordics. You will proactively provide the business with high-quality commercial and legal advice, guidance, leadership and support; manage commercial matters and minimise legal risks; ensure compliance with applicable legislation as well as internal standards and principles; and provide legislative guidance and support in relation to BAT’s regulatory activities.
In addition, you will identify and develop strategic initiatives and actively participate in problem-solving and decision-making across all areas of the Swedish business, enabling the End Market / Cluster (Nordics) to achieve its strategic and company objectives.
The role requires providing strategic legal advice across a broad range of legal matters in a market where the Nordics are at the forefront of delivering BAT’s strategy of building “A Better Tomorrow” by reducing the health impact of the business. You will work across a wide range of legal areas, including commercial contracts, marketing and activation strategies across multiple touchpoints (including e-commerce, digital marketing and retail), as well as strategic litigation, regulatory matters, product development and manufacturing compliance.
BAT Nordics have commercial offices in Copenhagen, Oslo, Malmö and Stockholm, with its Nordic headquarters in Copenhagen, as well as production in Malmö. The position is based in Malmö, Sweden, and you will work closely with colleagues at BAT’s Nordic head office in central Copenhagen (Bernstorffsgade).
The role will require limited travel, approximately 5–10 days per year, primarily to Copenhagen, Denmark.
LEGAL TEAM
You will join a well-established and collaborative Nordic legal team consisting of five team members, including the Head of Legal Nordics, Alexandra Iskandar. The team operates across the Nordic markets and plays a central role in supporting BAT’s commercial and regulatory agenda in the region.
AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY
BAT is looking for a business-minded lawyer with experience in corporate and commercial law, as well as compliance. As Senior Legal Counsel, Sweden, you will among other be handling the following tasks:
- Serve as the primary legal partner to the Swedish business, enabling and accelerating delivery of business objectives through pragmatic, commercially focused legal advice.
- Support and assist the Head of Legal Nordics in transforming the legal department to align with business objectives and strategy, including providing strategic legal advice and support across commercial and compliance matters to ensure alignment with the company’s goals.
- Provide strategic legal advice and proactively identify and manage legal and compliance risks across areas such as competition law, anti-bribery, AML, sanctions, data privacy (GDPR), marketing law, product regulation and corporate governance.
- Provide legislative guidance and support to BAT’s regulatory efforts, including engagement with relevant authorities as needed.
- Develop and implement efficient ways of working in Sweden (including playbooks, templates and workflows), and support BAT’s transformation initiatives across the Nordics.
- Draft, negotiate and review local contracts and contractual documents (including sales, distribution, services and local procurement contracts), as well as support the local implementation of global partnerships and global framework agreements.
- Engage with key stakeholders across the organisation to understand their needs and ensure the legal department’s services are aligned with business requirements. This includes regular communication and collaboration with other regional and global stakeholders, e.g. Regional Legal, Regional Compliance, GBI and other Nordic functions (such as Trade, Brand, Finance, HR and CORA).
- Champion BAT’s values and commitment to creating “A Better Tomorrow” through responsible business practices and innovation, while actively contributing to the Nordic Legal team and the delivery of the Legal Strategy.
- Maintain, develop and implement corporate policies, procedures and systems.
REPORTING AND TITLE
Reporting to: Head of Legal Nordics, Alexandra Iskandar.
Title: Senior Legal Counsel, Sweden.
IDEAL EXPERIENCE
Education: You have a Master of Laws (cand.jur. or cand.merc.jur.) from Sweden.
Work experience: At least 8 years of relevant post-qualification experience in corporate and commercial law as well as compliance, gained in an in-house legal role, potentially complemented by experience from an established law firm. Experience within an FMCG business or a highly regulated industry is an advantage, but not a requirement.
Legal specialization: You have broad experience across corporate and commercial law, including commercial contracts and marketing law, as well as solid experience in competition law. You also have experience with compliance matters such as GDPR, AML, sanctions or corporate governance, and may have exposure to product-related regulations.
Process optimisation: You have experience with creating processes, structures, and policies that support the organisation’s objectives (e.g. playbooks, templates and workflows).
Language skills: You must be fluent in English and in one of the Nordic languages (Danish, Swedish or Norwegian), both written and spoken.
PERSONAL CAPABILITIES
Stakeholder management: You have a strong ability to build and maintain relationships with internal and external stakeholders at all levels, including senior executives. You also demonstrate excellent stakeholder management skills, with the ability to plan, anticipate and prioritise effectively to optimise output and enhance the effectiveness of commercial solutions.
Commercial judgement: You constructively balance legal and commercial interests and are comfortable flagging and challenging processes and decisions that present regulatory compliance risks. You are able to influence and secure buy-in across senior management, peers and junior stakeholders.
Communication: You are a clear communicator with the ability to convey complex matters in a simple and compelling way. You are highly articulate and confident, with excellent written communication, presentation and drafting skills.
Working style: You are structured and forward-thinking, with a strong ability to plan, anticipate needs and manage shifting priorities. You focus on optimizing output and contributing to effective, commercially minded legal solutions.
Hands-on & proactive: You are hands-on, proactive and adaptable, with a sound sense of commercial judgement. You stay calm under pressure and can handle shifting or unexpected demands without losing focus.
Innovative & agile: You think strategically and act with a commercial mindset, contributing to the development and delivery of legal strategies. You learn quickly and are agile, and you bring an innovative approach to how legal services are delivered. You work well with others, influence constructively, and value collaboration as a key to creating effective, forward-thinking solutions.
BAT’S VALUE PROPOSITION TO YOU
When you join BAT, you become part of an international organisation shaped by people whose passion, commitment and capabilities help build A Better Tomorrow™. Tomorrow Can’t Wait, and BAT looks for individuals who learn quickly, respond to opportunities and take responsibility for delivering results in a fast-moving environment.
BAT offers purposeful careers supported by mentorship, international assignments, innovative work methods, leading Learning & Development programmes and cross functional collaboration. They develop talent from within while bringing in people who contribute new knowledge and capabilities that strengthen their teams.
BAT’s Total Rewards approach is competitive and fair, recognised globally by Living Wage and Pay Equity, and supported by their focus on wellbeing, safety and listening to their employees. BAT values diversity and believes that when people with different backgrounds and perspectives work together, they bring forward the best ideas and help BAT achieve A Better Tomorrow™.
ABOUT BAT
British American Tobacco (BAT) is a leading global multi-category consumer goods business, founded in 1902 and headquartered in London, United Kingdom. With around 47,000 employees worldwide, BAT is one of the most international companies within its industry. BAT operates through three regions: the United States; Americas & Europe (AME); and Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa (APMEA). The company’s core business is the development, manufacture and sale of tobacco and nicotine products.
At the heart of BAT’s strategy is its purpose to create A Better Tomorrow™ by Building a Smokeless World, which is brought to life through the development and scaling of its new categories. By accelerating the shift away from combustible products towards non-combustible alternatives, BAT aims to transform its portfolio and deliver tangible progress towards this ambition. Through significant investment in science, innovation and sustainability, the company is working to have 50 million adult consumers using its non-combustible products by 2030 and to become a predominantly smokeless business by 2035.
BAT’s corporate culture is defined by its core values: Truly inclusive; Do the right thing; Love our consumer; Passion to win; Empowered through trust; and Stronger together. The six values are built on the foundations of BAT’s corporate culture and underpin how the company drives progress. Developed with significant input from employees, they run through everything the organisation does, with a clear connection to its strategy and purpose.
To learn more about BAT, please visit www.bat.com.
APPLICATION AND CONTACT
If you believe this position is a good fit for you, we look forward to receiving your application. Please attach your CV and any relevant documentation. Should you have any questions regarding the position, please don’t hesitate to contact Camilla Krogh at (+45 51261264) or Mikkel Falkenberg at (+45 29993065) from the team at RESOLVA.