Senior Legal Manager

Senior Manager – Legal
Legal | Zolo
Protect the business. Enable decisions. Own legal outcomes.
Why this role exists
As Zolo scales across multiple businesses, properties, partnerships, and geographies, legal decisions increasingly sit at the centre of how the business grows.
Every new property, commercial relationship, vendor arrangement, customer commitment, business partnership, and strategic initiative creates contractual obligations and potential legal exposure.
At this scale, the Legal function cannot operate only as a reviewer of documents.
The business needs a senior legal professional who can understand the commercial objective, identify what genuinely creates risk, structure practical solutions, and help business leaders move forward without exposing the organisation unnecessarily.
The Senior Manager – Legal will take ownership of complex commercial and property-related legal matters while partnering closely with business leaders and senior stakeholders across Zolo.
Your mandate is clear
Own complex commercial contracting and negotiations
Partner with business leaders on legal and commercial decisions
Identify, evaluate, and mitigate legal risks
Support property acquisition, leasing, and real-estate-related legal matters
Strengthen compliance and legal governance
Manage disputes, notices, and external legal counsel
Build stronger legal processes as the organisation scales
Enable business growth without compromising legal protection
This is not a legal documentation role.
It is a business-facing legal leadership role where you are expected to protect the organisation while helping the business find practical ways to move forward.
About Zolo
Finding dependable accommodation has historically been fragmented and inconsistent.
People settled for compromises because the system offered few trustworthy options.
Zolo reimagined living and hospitality as a connected journey.
Zolo Coliving simplifies urban living.
Z Hotels serves the modern traveler with consistency, warmth, and operational discipline.
Zeassetz enables structured real estate ownership and asset-backed growth opportunities.
Today, over 100,000 people trust Zolo across different phases of life.
Our ambition is to build the most trusted living and hospitality ecosystem for the new generation by partnering deeply with property owners, business partners, and stakeholders who think long term.
What you will be responsible for
1. Own Commercial Contracting & Negotiations
Draft, review, structure, and negotiate complex commercial agreements
Handle property agreements, leases, management agreements, vendor contracts, service agreements, partnership agreements, NDAs, amendments, and other business contracts
Lead contractual negotiations with property owners, partners, vendors, and other external stakeholders
Identify commercial and legal implications beyond individual clauses
Protect Zolo's interests while finding practical structures that allow transactions to move forward
Ensure contractual positions reflect business realities and acceptable levels of risk
Drive agreements from initial discussion through negotiation, execution, and closure
2. Partner with Business Leaders
Work closely with Business Heads, Operations, Finance, Procurement, HR, Expansion, and other leadership teams
Understand the commercial objective behind a transaction before providing legal advice
Translate legal complexity into clear business implications and choices
Help stakeholders understand what can be accepted, what should be negotiated, and what creates material risk
Provide practical recommendations rather than limiting legal advice to identifying problems
Participate in important commercial and strategic discussions where legal judgment is required
3. Own Property & Real Estate Legal Matters
Support legal aspects of property acquisition, leasing, management, and operational arrangements
Review ownership documents, property documentation, commercial terms, and contractual structures
Identify risks relating to property rights, obligations, tenure, termination, liability, and other material provisions
Coordinate legal due diligence for new property opportunities wherever required
Work with internal teams and external counsel to resolve property-related legal issues
Ensure appropriate legal safeguards are established before significant commitments are made
4. Drive Legal Risk Assessment & Mitigation
Identify legal and contractual risks before they become business issues
Evaluate risks based on likelihood, impact, commercial importance, and business context
Recommend practical mitigation strategies
Distinguish between manageable commercial risk and unacceptable legal exposure
Escalate material risks to leadership with clear context and recommendations
Build preventive mechanisms for recurring legal issues
Ensure key contractual obligations and exposures remain visible after agreements are signed
5. Own Compliance & Legal Governance
Monitor relevant legal and regulatory requirements affecting the business
Work with internal stakeholders to ensure appropriate compliance
Support statutory, regulatory, and governance requirements across business units
Review existing processes and identify compliance gaps
Establish appropriate documentation and controls
Support audits, inspections, regulatory requirements, and other compliance matters
Ensure important legal and regulatory obligations have clear ownership and closure
6. Manage Disputes, Notices & Legal Matters
Review and respond to legal notices, claims, disputes, and other legal communications
Assess the commercial and legal implications of disputes
Work with business teams to establish facts and determine appropriate action
Coordinate litigation and dispute matters with external counsel where required
Track ongoing matters and ensure timely action
Recommend settlement, negotiation, escalation, or litigation strategies based on business circumstances
Maintain leadership visibility into material legal matters and exposure
7. Manage External Counsel & Stakeholders
Engage and manage external lawyers, consultants, and specialists where required
Define clear scope and expected outcomes for external counsel
Review advice received and translate it into actionable business recommendations
Maintain discipline around timelines, quality, and legal costs
Ensure external counsel supplements internal capability rather than becoming a substitute for ownership
8. Build Legal Processes That Scale
Strengthen contracting workflows, approval mechanisms, templates, and legal repositories
Standardise frequently used agreements and legal positions
Improve contract turnaround time without compromising quality
Build clear escalation frameworks for material contractual risks
Maintain visibility into renewals, expiries, obligations, and critical legal commitments
Identify opportunities to simplify or automate recurring legal processes
Support and mentor junior members of the Legal team
What success looks like after 6–12 months
Business leaders view Legal as a trusted decision partner rather than only an approval function
Complex contracts are negotiated and closed with stronger commercial and legal protection
Material risks are identified before commitments are made
Property and commercial transactions move with greater legal clarity
Contract turnaround improves without compromising the quality of review
Recurring contractual and compliance risks reduce
Legal notices and disputes have clear strategies, ownership, and closure
Leadership receives clear recommendations on material legal matters
Contractual obligations and critical legal commitments are systematically tracked
Legal processes become more structured, scalable, and business-friendly
Junior Legal team members operate with stronger standards and independence
The Legal function enables the business to move faster because risks are understood, decisions are clearer, and legal ownership is stronger.
Who this role is for
You will likely thrive here if:
You understand that strong in-house Legal teams must enable business, not simply say “no”
You enjoy negotiating complex commercial agreements
You can understand the business objective behind a legal request
You are comfortable advising senior stakeholders
You can explain complicated legal risks in simple business language
You know when a contractual point is worth fighting for and when it is commercially acceptable to move forward
You can take an ambiguous legal problem and create a clear path towards resolution
You are comfortable taking independent ownership of important legal matters
You combine attention to detail with strong commercial judgment

Work arrangement
No