Head Legal - Abu Dhabi

Mark Williams is exclusively partnering with a leading financial services entity in the appointment of a Head Legal

This is a senior leadership opportunity for an accomplished legal professional to lead complex corporate transactions and provide strategic legal guidance across the organization’s growth and investment activities. The role will be responsible for advising on mergers and acquisitions, deal structuring, joint ventures, corporate governance, and a broad range of commercial and corporate law matters.

The Opportunity

Reporting directly to the Group General Counsel, the successful candidate will take overall responsibility for leading the organisation’s corporate legal function, providing strategic oversight of mergers and acquisitions, deal structuring, corporate governance, and complex commercial transactions. They will play a pivotal role in supporting growth initiatives, managing legal risk, negotiating high-value deals, and ensuring the organisation’s business activities are aligned with applicable legal and regulatory requirements.

Key responsibilities

- Lead all legal aspects of acquisitions, divestments, mergers, strategic investments, private equity transactions, and joint ventures.
- Structure and execute complex domestic and cross-border transactions in alignment with commercial and strategic objectives.
- Manage transaction lifecycle activities including due diligence, negotiations, transaction documentation, signing, completion, and post-closing integration.
- Draft, review, and negotiate key transaction documents
- Coordinate external counsel, financial advisers, and specialist consultants on transactional matters.
- Advise senior management on legal structures for investments, acquisitions, restructurings, partnerships, holding companies, and expansion initiatives.
- Partner with finance, tax, investment, and business teams to develop efficient and commercially effective transaction structures.
- Provide legal input on business strategy, investment opportunities, and corporate development initiatives.
- Support capital deployment strategies and the establishment of new business entities and investment vehicles.
- Advise the Board, Executive Management, and key stakeholders on governance, directors' duties, and corporate compliance matters.
- Oversee corporate governance frameworks and ensure alignment with UAE regulatory requirements and international best practices.
- Manage board resolutions, shareholder matters, constitutional documents, and delegated authority frameworks.
- Ensure proper governance and oversight across subsidiaries, portfolio companies, and joint venture entities.

Candidate Profile

- 12+ years of post-qualification experience.
- Strong experience gained within a leading international law firm and/or a major corporate legal function.
- Proven track record advising on high-value M&A transactions, investments, and complex corporate matters.
- Experience across the UAE and broader GCC region is highly desirable.
- Demonstrated capability in managing cross-border transactions involving multiple jurisdictions.
- Experience advising executive committees, boards, family offices, investment companies, sovereign entities, or large corporate groups is preferred