Director Legal COE

Fresenius Medical Care is the premier health care company focused on delivering the highest quality of care to people with renal and other chronic conditions. Through our industry-leading global network of more than 3,400 dialysis clinics and acute care canters, outpatient cardiac and vascular labs, Fresenius Medical Care provides coordinated health care services at pivotal care points for hundreds of thousands of chronically ill patients. As the world’s only vertically integrated renal company, we also offer specialty pharmacy and laboratory services, as well as manufacturing and distributing the most comprehensive line of dialysis equipment, disposable products and renal pharmaceuticals.
Fresenius Medical Care is a people business. Our success depends on having the best and brightest employees and helping them attain their personal and professional goals while delivering excellence in patient care and business results. Our employees embody our culture which is based on core values supporting our promise to improve the quality of life of every patient every day. These core values are: We Care. We Connect. We Commit.
Director Legal COE
Role Summary
As the Director, CoE Tower Lead Legal, you will lead the Legal Tower in our GBS CoE organization, driving the CoE Legal Hub for Fresenius Medical Care's Global Legal Function, including transformation, optimization, and strategic enablement of the Legal organization. This leadership role is responsible for establishing a best-in-class GBS-level operating model that enhances legal service delivery, governance, operational excellence, technology adoption, compliance, financial stewardship and stakeholder engagement across multiple legal support groups.
You will serve as a trusted strategic partner to attorneys globally in the Global Legal Function, ensuring the Legal function operates as a highly efficient, data-driven, customer-focused and scalable organization. You will lead a GBS-based team and oversee Contract Management, Paralegal Services (including M&A Paralegal work), Patent Agents, Global Trade Operations Specialists, as well as OHS data collection and governance and PMO services.
Fresenius Medical Care is seeking a pragmatic leader who combines operational rigor and a continuous improvement mindset to build and sustain an innovative GBS Legal organization. You will champion India as a strategic base for legal operations talent, building the credibility of the GBS Legal CoE with global stakeholders through consistent, high-quality delivery rather than through mandate alone. This role suits a builder: someone comfortable defining structure in a still-maturing organization, translating global legal priorities into locally-led execution and growing the next generation of legal operations talent in India. Success depends as much on the relationships built with attorneys and business stakeholders worldwide as on the operating model itself
Key Responsibilities
Leadership & Organizational Effectiveness
Develop and execute the global Legal GBS strategy aligned with Fresenius Medical Care's corporate objectives and legal priorities
Establish and continuously evolve the GBS Legal Tower Operating Model to improve effectiveness, scalability, risk management and business partnership
Drive a culture of operational excellence, accountability, innovation and continuous improvement across the global Legal function
Lead and develop a high-performing GBS Legal organization team
Legal Service Delivery & Process Excellence
Design, standardize, optimize and govern non-core legal processes
Lead legal transformation and modernization initiatives to enhance service quality, efficiency, transparency and stakeholder experience
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Implement best practices, governance frameworks, operating procedures and service standards
Establish and monitor legal service delivery metrics and performance measures
Drive process automation and workflow optimization to improve productivity and reduce operational risk
Global Trade Operations
Lead delivery of Global Trade Governance & Operations (GTGO) project management, including project planning, timelines and stakeholder coordination for trade compliance initiatives
Govern sanctions-list screening processes (Level I and II) for business partners, leveraging risk assessment systems to safeguard FME's trade compliance posture
Oversee governance of globally rolled-out trade policies and Global Standard Operating Procedures (GSOPs) via the enterprise policy management platform
Manage budget planning and tracking for Global Trade Operations projects and initiatives
Project Management Office
Lead the Legal PMO function, including project governance, portfolio management and delivery oversight for Global Legal Function initiatives
Own Global Guideline Management, including the policy lifecycle (drafting, review, approval, publication) via the enterprise guideline management platform
Establish and maintain a Legal KPI and reporting framework for the PMO function, including dashboards tracking portfolio health, milestone adherence and guideline compliance
Directly manage the Legal PMO & Guideline Management Manager and their team of Legal PMO Coordinators and Senior Legal PMO Specialists
Contract Management
Establish a centralized library of pre-approved templates, clauses and playbooks to standardize contract terms and reduce legal risk across the organization
Own governance and administration of the CLM/contract repository
Partner with Procurement, Sales and business stakeholders to embed self-service contracting capabilities where appropriate, escalating higher-risk or non-standard terms to legal counsel
Monitor contract compliance, obligations tracking and spend-linked contract analytics to support business decision-making
Paralegal Services
Lead the GBS Paralegal Services function, spanning OHS regulatory and works council coordination, corporate housekeeping and entity governance, M&A/financing transaction support, and US corporate & litigation support
Directly manage the Paralegal Manager and their team of OHS, Corporate/M&A and US Corporate & Litigation Paralegals
Ensure consistent quality standards and service delivery across paralegal workstreams while respecting the distinct legal and regulatory requirements of each
Maintain clear escalation pathways between paralegal teams and supervising attorneys/counsel on matters requiring legal judgment
Patent Agents
Lead the GBS patent support function, providing white-label patent support, drafting, prosecution support, prior art and freedom-to-operate searches, technology landscaping, and docketing/portfolio support to FME's patent attorneys
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Ensure patent support work is properly scoped as attorney support rather than independent representation, consistent with jurisdictional restrictions on who may practice before the USPTO and EPO
Talent, Capability & Culture
Attract, hire and retain top legal operations, paralegal and patent support talent to build a high-performing GBS Legal CoE
Design career pathways and capability-development frameworks that support growth from entry-level to expert/leadership roles across the CoE's functions
Establish mentorship, coaching and succession-planning practices for the CoE's management layer and senior individual contributors
Champion India as a strategic hub for legal talent, building FME's employer brand within the local legal operations and GCC/GBS ecosystem
Foster an inclusive, engaged and continuous-learning culture aligned with FME's values, with regular feedback, recognition and engagement mechanisms
Partner with HR and Talent Acquisition to define competitive, locally benchmarked compensation and career frameworks for the CoE
Our Requirements
Education
Legal Bachelor's degree; Master's Degree in Legal an advantage
Legal Operations, Project Management, Lean Six Sigma, Change Management, or equivalent professional certifications are a desirable plus
Professional Experience
10+ years of progressive experience in Legal Advisory, Legal Operations, Legal Management, Shared Services, Corporate Functions, Consulting, or related operational leadership roles
7+ years of experience leading cross-functional teams in complex (matrix) organizations
Demonstrated success leading global transformation programs, operating model redesign, and technology implementation initiatives
Strong understanding of legal service delivery models, governance frameworks, and operational best practices
Experience working within highly regulated multinational organizations preferred
Healthcare, life sciences, medical technology, pharmaceutical, or related industry experience is advantageous
Functional & Technical Competencies
Legal Operations Expertise