Head of Trademarks & Brand Protection

Job Title: Head of Trademarks and Brand Protection

Location: 100VE

Company Overview:

Established over 100 years ago, we are one of the world's largest consumer goods companies. We are known for our great brands and our belief that doing business the right way drives superior performance. Our products are sold in over 190 countries, and, on any given day, 3.4 billion consumers worldwide use them. We own some of the best known and best loved brands, including Dove, Persil, Axe, Cif, Comfort, Dermalogica, Hellmann's, Knorr TRESemmé and Vaseline.

In order to unlock our full potential and accelerate business performance, Unilever has set out a Growth Action Plan. It outlines the steps we are taking to deliver faster growth, drive productivity and simplicity, and dial up our performance culture. Our 30 Power Brands are front and centre of our Growth Action Plan, as is unmissable brand superiority across the 6Ps, as well as science and technology.

Unilever's legal team has recently been awarded Most Innovative In-House Legal Team in Europe and In-House Legal Team using GenerativeAI. We are at the forefront of innovation and digitilisation with GenAI tools, data and Powerhouses (in-sourced hubs in Barcelona, Mexico City and Bangalore) shaping the future of how we work.

JOB PURPOSE

The role of the Legal Group is to protect Unilever and help it to win. This role reports into the Chief Intellectual Property Officer and is a newly created role that will have global responsibility for trade marks and brand protection.

This is a unique and exciting opportunity to join Unilever at a pivotal moment for the company. The role will suit someone who is entrepreneurial, has proven experience of change management on a global scale and is highly collaborative. You will be part of a senior leadership team, and will business partner senior leaders within Legal and other functions such as Marketing and R&D.

You will be responsible for ensuring the implementation of the Corporate IP strategy and will develop the trade mark and brand protection strategy to support Unilever's goals. You will lead and work closely with all our trade mark and Legal teams around the world to set and drive strategies for our brands, design optimal ways of working, including how we integrate TM team members located in our Powerhouses, lead the selection of external legal vendors, set and manage budgets and business partner key leaders across Unilever to optimise our protection and enforcement strategies.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Strategy: developing and implementing global and regional trade mark strategies for brands to enhance Unilever brand value across all areas of IP - ensuring alignment to our commercial priorities and Growth Action Plan (GAP).
• Trade Mark Portfolio Management: setting and implementing processes and ways of working, as well as best practice for the clearance, protection, and maintenance of our intellectual property rights worldwide, including how we support smaller brands and regions, including managing your own trade mark portfolio.
• Brand Protection: setting strategic principles and implementing operating frameworks around brand protection and enforcement, including liaising with other functional experts.
• Data & Technology: accelerating the use of technology to drive speed and automation, as well as the use of data to drive insights and data driven decision making.
• Powerhouses: setting and defining the role of our team members in the Powerhouses and implementing ways of working.
• Litigation: leading on major litigation, setting strategy, selecting external counsel, and collaborating and supervising other team members, including in relation to complex settlement negotiations.
• Commercial Agreements: negotiating and drafting key vendor contracts and commercial agreements, as well as supervising and training team members on commercial drafting and negotiation skills, including collaborating with functional experts where there are inter-dependencies with IP.
• Business Partnering: acting as a trusted business partner to senior leaders, providing pro-active IP counselling on all innovation areas, whilst identifying wider legal issues and notify legal colleagues, e.g. claims, competition risk, design rights, tax, compliance, marketing / regulatory / advertising law.
• Budget: setting, forecasting, tracking, and controlling TM/BP legal spend.
• Team Leadership: leading a team of global trade mark and brand protection professionals and fostering a performance culture. You will have a proven track record in developing and supporting talent growth.
• IP Culture: raising IP awareness across the business and ensuring compliance with our Code of Business Principles, as well as global standards and policies, including setting new policies as needed.
• Policy & Advocacy: driving internal and external policy on emerging areas (e.g. GenAI) advising on global changes in legislation and identifying opportunities for Unilever to shape and influence emerging trends.

ALL ABOUT YOU

• Qualified Solicitor and/or trade mark lawyer with relevant PQE in an FMCG company or other comparable matrix organisation.
• Demonstrated experience in managing significant global brand portfolios across all areas of strategy, brand protection, litigation, enforcement and policy.
• Pro-active and collaborative leadership style with a proven track record in managing a global team and nurturing and building talent.
• Exceptional stakeholder management skills, a proven track record in winning the trust of business partners and legal colleagues.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and ability to distil complex issues simply.
• Strong organisational and prioritisation skills to cope with multiple stakeholders, competing deadlines and priorities, with requests often at very short notice.
• Financial acumen and proven experience in budget management.

What we offer

Whilst the role is advertised on a full-time basis, we would be happy to discuss possible flexible working options and what this may look like for you. We strive to achieve a family-friendly and inclusive workplace and to, above all, create possibilities for all.

Diversity at Unilever is about inclusion, embracing differences, creating possibilities and growing together for better business performance. We embrace diversity in our workforce. This means giving full and fair consideration to all applicants and continuing development of all employees regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity. We are also more than happy to provide reasonable adjustments during our application and interview process to enable you to be present your best self.

Location

In 2020, Unilever announced the intention to build a new sustainable campus site in Kingston, London to house the employees who currently work in 100 Victoria Embankment in Blackfriars. The build is due to be complete in early 2025. Most recently, in August 2024, we announced our intention to retain our premises in 100VE until our lease expires in 2027.