Senior Legal Manager

The Opportunity

Merlin is seeking a highly motivated and commercially aware Senior Manager, Business and Legal Affairs, to join our team. The successful candidate will join a dynamic and experienced Business & Legal Affairs team negotiating high value content agreements with the world’s leading digital platforms. This is an opportunity for a commercially minded lawyer with the desire to take on a challenging in-house role, to work within a relaxed culture that also demands technical excellence.

Position Status, Location, and Reporting

This is a full-time, hybrid role based in London reporting to the VP, Business & Legal Affairs.

Key Responsibilities

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• Provide drafting, administrative, and internal project management support to the VP on high-value and complex digital licensing deals.
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• Manage the deal making process for smaller global digital licensing deals, including negotiating and drafting the agreement and communicating with internal stakeholders
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• Act as a project manager and primary point of contact across internal cross-functional teams, including Commercial Partnerships, Partnership Operations, Reporting & Insights, Member Relations, Content Integrity and Finance.
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• Support VP on broader corporate matters (including board governance and resolution, litigation management (day-day liaison with external counsel) and matters relating to Merlin’s membership (the labels, distributors and other rightsholders whose rights it represents).
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• Managing and optimising the documentation and processes used by the Business & Legal Affairs team, with support from team paralegals.
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Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

The successful candidate will:

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• have 3–6 years PQE, with in-house experience
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• have experience working in copyright law in a music licensing environment
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• have strong drafting skills with the ability to produce first drafts of complex agreements and amendments.
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• be comfortable communicating with and directing internal and external stakeholders at different levels of seniority, both lawyers and non-lawyers.
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• have the ability to manage complex projects and know when to escalate issues
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• enjoy a fast-paced environment where priorities often need to shift
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• be highly organised, and be comfortable taking ownership of and managing projects
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• have strong attention to detail
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• Self-starter who enjoys taking initiative to improve processes
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Compensation

A competitive salary, incentive, and benefits package will be offered, commensurate with the role and the relevant experience of the final hire.

The Company

Merlin is the digital music licensing partner for the world’s leading independent labels and distributors. Merlin has negotiated premium deals with Apple, Canva, ElevenLabs, Meta, Spotify, Udio, YouTube, and 40 other innovative platforms around the world. Our global membership is from 70+ countries, representing 15% of the global recorded music market. Merlin operates for the benefit of its members and is funded entirely by our low 1.5% admin fee. Merlin helps the world’s leading independent music companies own their digital business through world-class deals and a range of member benefits.

Merlin’s membership includes independents such as: Absolute Label Services, anjunabeats, Amuse, Armada Music, AudioSalad, Better Noise Music, Casete Agricultura Digital, Cinq Music Group, Curb Records, Domino, Epitaph, Exceleration Music, Fluxus, GYROstream, Hopeless Records, IDJDigital, IDOL, Innercat Music, K7, Kontor New Media, Mad Decent, Measurable Accurate Digital Solutions, Mills Records, MNRK, Mushroom Music, Nettwerk, Ninja Tune, Phonographic Digital Limited, Polyvinyl Records, Pony Canyon, Random Sounds, Secretly, Secret City, Sound Republica, Starbase, Stones Throw, Strm, Sub Pop, Symphonic Distribution, Wagram Music, Warp Records, Zebralution, and hundreds more.

Merlin has resources in London, New York, and Tokyo.

Find out more at www.merlinnetwork.org

We are committed to inclusion and diversity; are proud to provide equal opportunity workplaces; and we will evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, religion or belief, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or gender assignment, marital or civil partnership status, disability, pregnancy, childbirth or any other characteristic protected by law.

Application Details: Please send a CV to our retained agent Nick Wasserman of Handle Recruitment using the link provided. Please note that any direct applications will be forwarded to Handle for their consideration on our behalf.

No Agencies.

All successful candidates will be contacted within 5 working days of application. Due to the high volume of applications we receive, though, we are not always able to respond directly to everyone, but we will try our very best.