Summary
NEOM is hiring a Senior Legal Counsel for contracting law in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The role oversees contract frameworks, templates, risk positions, and review of complex, high-risk commercial agreements, while advising on disputes and translating legal requirements into operational guidance. It also involves leading teams, managing performance and resources, and improving policies and controls. Applicants need an LLB, 10 years of post-qualification legal experience including 4–5 years in a leadership role, relevant KSA or equivalent bar admission, and fluency in Arabic and English.
The posting
As published on neom.com. Pulled from the employer's site and shown as they wrote it.
Contracting Frameworks & Risk Positions Oversee development of contracting templates, structures, and approval frameworks to ensure enforceability and alignment with NEOM's risk positions. Define legal positions for remedies, liabilities, and risk allocation to ensure consistency across all commercial contracts. Review large-scale and high-risk contracts to confirm legal protections and alignment with strategic commercial outcomes. Translate contracting requirements into clear operational instructions that reduce inconsistency and contractual leakage. Guide early legal involvement in commercial planning to prevent agreements that compromise enforceability or institutional protections. Coordinate with transactions, technology, and employment teams to ensure unified legal positions. Support NEOM's vision of creating a sustainable, digitally enabled, and future-focused organization. Manage execution of departmental plans and contribute operational insights to strategic and functional planning. Manage teams, resources, performance tracking, and corrective actions to support departmental priorities and KPIs. Manage implementation and continuous improvement of policies, procedures, controls, and risk-management protocols. Manage collaboration with internal functions and external stakeholders, and support capability development and succession readiness. Commercial Contracting: Ability to structure, review, and negotiate complex and high-risk commercial contracts. Legal Risk Management: Ability to define defensible risk positions and advise on liabilities, remedies, and contractual exposure. Stakeholder Management: Ability to collaborate across commercial, technology, employment, and program teams. Dispute Strategy: Ability to advise on contracting disputes, breaches, settlement positions, and risk mitigation. Leadership: Ability to lead teams, allocate resources, monitor performance, and build organizational capability. Communication Skills: Ability to translate complex legal requirements into clear operational guidance. Continuous Improvement: Ability to identify recurring contracting risks and strengthen templates, frameworks, and controls. Bachelor's Degree in Law (LLB) from an accredited university. Master's Degree (LLM) in Commercial, Contract, or Construction Law is preferred. 10 years of post-qualification legal experience in commercial contracting, including at least 4-5 years in a leadership role. Experience from giga-projects, real estate and infrastructure development, construction/EPC, energy and utilities, or top-tier law firms in KSA/GCC. Licensed to practice law in KSA or holds an equivalent bar admission, such as UK, US, UAE, or Egypt. Membership of the Saudi Bar Association is preferred. Strong knowledge of the Saudi Civil Transactions Law, Government Tenders & Procurement Law, and FIDIC/NEC contract suites. A contract-management certification, such as WorldCC CCCM or CIPS, is preferred. Fluent in Arabic and English, written and spoken.