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Lead, Legal and IP Business Operations

Do you want to be part of an inclusive team that works to develop innovative therapies for patients? Every day, we are driven to develop and deliver innovative and effective new medicines to patients and physicians. If you want to be part of this exciting work, you belong at Astellas!

Astellas Pharma Inc. is a pharmaceutical company conducting business in more than 70 countries around the world. We are committed to turning innovative science into medical solutions that bring value and hope to patients and their families. Keeping our focus on addressing unmet medical needs and conducting our business with ethics and integrity enables us to improve the health of people throughout the world. For more information on Astellas, please visit our website at www.astellas.com .

Purpose and Scope:

The Lead, Legal & IP Business Operations position is a senior leadership role within the GC&CECO Chief of Staff (CoS) Office. This position serves as the senior operational lead for the Legal and IP functions, with primary accountability for strategic execution, operational planning, cross-functional coordination, and vendor and financial oversight.

As the designated operational business partner to Legal and IP leadership, this role ensures alignment between functional strategies and enterprise-level processes, including those owned by Finance, HR, and Procurement. The role is critical to driving transparency, fiscal discipline, vendor management effectiveness, and business process optimization across the Legal and IP Divisions. It also plays a key role in promoting standardization, efficiency, cost control, and continuous improvement in how Legal and IP operate globally. Additionally, the role oversees the use and performance of legal operations technologies, ensuring Legal and IP are supported by an effective, scalable, and cost-efficient technology toolset, including matter management and spend systems that support business needs.

Essential Job Responsibilities:

Strategic & Operational Leadership

+ Serve as the operational lead and execution partner to Legal and IP leadership, translating strategic priorities into coordinated business operations.

+ Align Legal and IP operating plans with CoS Office goals supporting Legal, IP, Ethics & Compliance, and Quality Assurance.

+ Drive process standardization, efficiency improvements, and enterprise-level operational consistency across legal support functions.

+ Develop and monitor operational KPIs that support performance transparency and continuous improvement.

Outside Counsel & Vendor Program Management

+ Lead global outside counsel and vendor operations, including firm onboarding/offboarding, scope and rate negotiation, and adherence to outside counsel guidelines.

+ Manage preferred provider governance, performance metrics, and firm-level compliance.

+ Implement operational frameworks that optimize law firm engagement, enhance value, and reduce variability in spend and process.

+ Collaborate with Procurement, Legal and IP to enforce vendor governance and automate key workflows.

Financial Oversight & Workforce Planning

+ Oversee Legal and IP headcount planning, including FTE tracking, hiring plan alignment, and payroll budget management.

+ Own the Legal and IP financial planning cycle, including budget development, quarterly forecasting, variance tracking, and cost performance analysis.

+ Conduct deep analysis of spend at the matter, firm, and category level to inform cost control, forecasting accuracy, and strategic resource allocation.

+ Partner with Finance to ensure clear reporting, forecast reliability, and alignment to corporate financial governance.

Program & Project Execution

+ Lead the execution of cross-functional initiatives focused on operational transformation, tooling implementation, and department-wide efficiencies.

+ Define objectives, timelines, and outcomes; manage stakeholder engagement; ensure sustainable adoption and measurable value.

+ Support strategic planning cycles, road mapping, and OKR/goal development in partnership with Legal and IP leadership.

+ Ensure Legal and IP are supported by an effective, scalable, and cost-efficient technology toolset, including matter management and spend systems that support business needs.

+ Cross-Functional Business Partnering

+ Coordinate with CoS solutions team leads and, as needed, with Finance, HR, and Procurement to ensure alignment of Legal and IP budgets, workforce planning, and vendor operations with enterprise processes and standards.

+ Represent Legal and IP in governance forums focused on financial performance, operational risk, and enterprise alignment.

+ Support organizational design, workforce planning, and operational oversight in collaboration with internal and enterprise stakeholders.

Qualifications

Required:

+ Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience

+ Strong analytical, strategic, and project management capabilities.

+ Experience in Legal Operations in an in-house legal department with a focus on resource management.

+ Deep knowledge and experience with law department matter management and e-billing technologies

+ Solid understanding of different types of legal matters

+ Strong data analytic skills and proficient use of Excel & other Microsoft applications

+ Excellent communication (written and oral) skills, including strong presentation and executive presence

+ Strong leadership and planning skills

+ Ability to manage large workload, focus on critical priorities and effectively meet client needs.

+ Ability to produce high quality work under deadline pressures

+ Team player and able to build relationships both internally and externally

+ Detail oriented, self-motivated and able to motivate others

+ A strong commitment to integrity and professionalism and demonstrated passion for excellence

Preferred:

+ Experience working in a major law firm.

Working Environment:

+ At Astellas we recognize the importance of work/life balance, and we are proud to offer a hybrid working solution allowing time to connect with colleagues at the office with the flexibility to also work from home. We believe this will optimize the most productive work environment for all employees to succeed and deliver. Hybrid work from certain locations may be permitted in accordance with Astellas’ Responsible Flexibility Guidelines.

**Salary Range:** $141,400 - $202,000 (NOTE: Final salary could be more or less, based on experience)

Benefits:

+ Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance

+ Generous Paid Time Off options, including Vacation, Sick time, plus national holidays including Heritage Days, and Summer and Winter Breaks

+ 401(k) match and annual company contribution

+ Company paid life insurance

+ Annual Corporate Bonus and Quarterly Sales Incentive for eligible positions

+ Long Term Incentive Plan for eligible positions

+ Referral bonus program

\#LI-CH1

Category GC & CECO Office

Astellas is committed to equality of opportunity in all aspects of employment.

EOE including Disability/Protected Veterans