Assistant General Counsel

Job description

About KPMG International

Together with more than 273,000 colleagues in 143 countries throughout our member firms, people at KPMG imagine big ideas and bring solutions to life for clients both big and small. A role with KPMG International will open a world of opportunity in your career.

KPMG International helps set the strategy and protects the reputation of this global organization of independent professional services firms providing Audit, Tax and Advisory services. We deliver value to our member firms and drive positive change in the communities we serve. By joining us you will gain a unique understanding of how a global organization operates and work on projects that impact the whole organization. From setting standards and best practices to developing innovative tech- enabled solutions for clients, you'll be part of a global team changing the way our business operates. We look forward to welcoming you to our team.

About this Global Group

The International Office of the General Counsel (IOGC) is a growing and high-performing in-house legal team with personnel based in five countries. The team provides legal advice on a wide variety of key strategic matters and legal, regulatory and reputational issues and risks, and also supports the execution of critical business decisions made by KPMGI.

Role summary

KPMG is a digital business, and as a result, technology enables everything it does and requires KPMG to continue to transform with technology in support of its Growth and Trust agenda. This role, which is focused on Intellectual Property (IP), Technology and Data, is an important part of IOGC. It involves the provision of legal advice  to KPMG International leaders and their teams on: (i) complex, strategic technology procurement and supply chain matters, especially technology leveraging data and analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies, (ii) strategic alliances and partnering with technology providers, (iii) complex strategic, change management and legal remediation projects, and (iv) the amalgamation of supplier-developed technology and IP into AI-enabled platforms developed and managed by KPMG International. This role also involves driving the development and on-going management of procurement and alliance templates, playbooks, guidance and best practice principles, and developing and providing training to IOGC and procurement professionals on the use of them.   

This role requires a person to influence, collaborate with, and provide significant value-add to business and technology development teams (particularly those in the Global Business Functions, Global Procurement, Global Alliances and Global Technology & Knowledge) by enabling and supporting a diverse range of IP, technology and data matters that support KPMG’s Collective Strategy, the Global Business Functions’ strategic goals, and our “Artificial Intelligence First” mindset, all while supporting IOGC’s senior leadership team in managing, mitigating and preventing legal, commercial and reputational risk.

The person performing this role is expected to drive substantial cost savings by performing complex matters internally without reliance on external counsel.

The person in this role is expected to execute their responsibilities under the overall supervision of the Partner-equivalent co-leads of the IP, Technology and Data group (the Legal Head of IP, Technology and Data and a Principal/Associate General Counsel) or, where delegated by one of them, the most senior Global Director lawyer with respect to the commercial technology transactions, and:

(a)          with a significant degree of autonomy while exercising appropriate judgment on when to consult/escalate; and

(b)          using their substantial legal skills and experience in the areas of commercial technology transactions as well as IP and technology law as part of executing these responsibilities.

Key Accountabilities

Complex Commercial Technology Matters that promote and support KPMG’s Growth and/or Trust priorities

Providing legal advice and support on complex technology procurement matters which are essential to the successful execution of KPMG’s Collective Strategy. This work will include:

• advising on, drafting, and negotiating various technology agreements with leading technology providers, including AI-enabled technology services agreements, complex cross-border services agreements, software license agreements, cloud services agreements (i.e., SaaS, PaaS, IaaS), and commercial data licenses.
• Providing legal advice and support on commercial technology agreements with suppliers and alliance partners that support, or are a part of KPMG’s AI-enabled platforms which are essential to the successful execution of KPMG’s Collective Strategy. This work also includes the drafting of new KPMG International policies to support the implementation of such AI-enabled platforms to be considered by the relevant KPMG International Governance Body.
• Leading the provision of legal advice and supporting alliance initiatives and partnering with leading technology providers, including enablement of Agentic AI and LLMs, exchanges of confidential information and know-how, the development of technology and managed services offerings on or in connection with leading technology providers’ platforms (which may include the digitization of KPMG International know-how and expertise), and the use of low-code, no-code development platforms offered by such technology providers.

Supporting complex strategic, change management and legal remediation projects

• Supporting complex, strategic change management projects required due to new laws and regulations (e.g., contract projects related to Schrems II, the UK’s payment practices reporting requirements, etc.).
• This work will involve liaising and coordination with other KPMG International professionals as appropriate (including in tax, finance and procurement), developing and updating templates, playbooks and guidance, and providing training.

Driving day-to-day activities of the commercial technology procurement practice

This work involves:

• prioritizing assigned agreements and projects to ensure their on-time completion;
• creating day-to-day solutions to legal issues and recognizing when to escalate or consult with more senior IOGC lawyers
• contributing to the development of procurements templates, playbooks, guidance and best practices 
• contributing to the deepening of IOGC’s relationship with global procurement through developing and providing training and the participation in workshops to improve processes and ways of working.

People management, development and motivation

•            Leading by example by proactively contributing to a culture where wellbeing is a top priority

•            Leading by example in helping others navigate performance or knowledge gaps or opportunities

•            Encouraging and recognizing achievements of, and innovation by, others

•            Contributing to recruiting, onboarding and training programs

Experience / Knowledge / Qualification

• Significant experience  advising on IP, technology and data law
• Must possess a strong understanding of AI models from a technical, functional and legal perspective.  This knowledge must span from the model's development to its deployment and use.
• Must possess a strong working knowledge of both on-premises and cloud-based information technology businesses, services and products.
• Must possess a strong working knowledge of IP, technology and data law issues that arise in IP portfolios, technology solutions and business operations that span multiple jurisdictions with varied IP laws and levels of enforcement.
• (Lead) Experience in taking the day-to-day lead on managing the details of more complex/strategically significant matters
• (Drive) Experience in driving forward the implementation of solutions to complex issues and matters, with an international/cross-border dimension
• (Analyze) Ability to quickly absorb, process and analyse a large amount of information in respect of complex issues, which may be provided by stakeholders orally and/or in written form across multiple documents
• (Prioritize) Ability to manage and prioritize a large volume of complex matters with competing deadlines and different internal stakeholders
• (Regulatory and professional awareness) Knowledge and awareness of global business, geopolitical, legal, regulatory and technology issues/trends which may be relevant to KPMG and the Audit & Accounting profession more broadly
• (External Counsel management) Experience in, and proficient at, instructing and managing external counsel on matters, as appropriate (other than the most significant matters, on which the individual in this role will work alongside a Partner or Director level lawyer within IOGC)
• (Cultural awareness) Experience in working on cross border matters and well-developed cultural sensitivity to enable engagement with people at all levels and with diverse backgrounds

 (People management) Able to manage and supervise more junior personnel, as required

• UK qualified lawyer (or equivalent if qualified outside of the UK)
• Advanced legal drafting skills
• Advanced communication skills to enable the translation of complex legal and regulatory issues, within the context of complex technical and business issues, into easily understandable advice
• Strong negotiation and analytical skills
• Ability to advise based on first principles

IP, Technology and Data

• Advanced technical legal skills in the areas of IP and technology law, with a focus on complex technology procurement matters (for both cloud services and on-premises software), particularly those driven by the inherent risks in AI’s lifecycle and the data used by AI, and open source software
• Strong negotiation and drafting skills across a wide variety of technology, IP and data agreements and transaction structures across various jurisdictions, as well as addressing complex legal, business and technical issues

Agile/Flexible Working

At KPMG International, we are supportive of helping you to achieve a balance between your home and work demands. We are happy to discuss individual requirements and our range of flexible working arrangements could be of interest. Please ask to find out more.

KPMG International's commitment to inclusion & diversity

At KPMG International, we recognise that we need inclusion and diversity to be successful. We want to attract, retain and develop diverse talent at all levels. This means recruiting from the widest pool of talent across our network and beyond, removing barriers that can prevent our people from reaching their full potential, and fostering a fully inclusive environment which empowers everyone to bring their whole selves to work.

Applying with a disability

KPMG International is proud to be an inclusive place to work and we are committed to ensuring that you are treated fairly throughout our recruitment process. Should you be successful after the initial application stage, please discuss any reasonable adjustments that you may require with your recruitment contact.