Head Counsel, Global Transactions & Contracts Legal – Commercial

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Job Description

About the Role

Takeda is seeking a legal leader to join our Global Transactions & Contracts Legal (GTC Legal) team. As Head Counsel, GTC Legal – Commercial and a valuable member of the GTC Legal leadership team, you will lead a team of attorneys and legal professionals supporting global transactions and contracts that enable commercialization and related activities across Takeda business units, including U.S., Oncology, Plasma-Derived Therapies, Japan, and International Business Units.

This is a highly visible leadership role where you will lead novel, complex, high‑impact, high‑risk transactions while empowering Procurement and the business on routine contracting matters. You and your team will partner closely with Procurement and business stakeholders to drive business objectives and priorities through pragmatic, business-tailored legal advice, disciplined contracting, sound risk judgment, and scalable legal contracting infrastructure.

This role operates across multiple global time zones and legal jurisdictions. Success requires experience navigating regional legal nuances and evolving regulatory frameworks.

This position may be based in Cambridge, MA or Exton, PA. Employees must be located within a reasonable commuting distance of their assigned office. A minimum of five (5) in‑office days per month is required; remaining days are remote.

How you will contribute

Strategic transactions and enterprise contracts

• Lead the team to provide pragmatic, business-tailored legal advice and support for in-scope strategic transactions and enterprise contracts for Takeda’s Business Units globally. Examples include agreements for marketing and advertising services; market research; HCP/HCO engagements; speaker/advisory engagements; business insights and analytics, call centers and sales operations; distributor, wholesaler, and channel services; local distribution and related managed markets engagements; events, sponsorships, and congress-related activities; and outsourcing arrangements.

• Directly lead in-scope transactions and contracts where complexity, legal risk, business impact / priorities require senior leadership and judgment.

• Serve as primary legal escalation point for issues of material risk, complexity, or deviation from standard positions.

• Lead and oversee the team’s legal advice on pre‑contract activities, including due diligence, sourcing models, deal structures, and risk assessments.

• Lead and oversee the team’s post‑signing legal support and advice on contract interpretation, disputes, amendments, renewals, and terminations.

• Work in close collaboration with adjacent Takeda legal teams, including U.S. Business Unit Legal and International Business Unit Legal, to ensure integrated legal advice and support to business clients.

Global contracting infrastructure & enablement

• Partner with Legal Operations, Procurement and business stakeholders to design, develop, implement, and maintain contracting infrastructure, including

  • Templates, playbooks, fallback positions, and legal guidance

  • Escalation frameworks and risk thresholds

  • Training, office hours, and best‑practice resources

• Lead and oversee the team’s substantive legal input and advice on contracting infrastructure, which supports both Legal and Procurement/business‑led contracting.

Global risk awareness & continuous improvement

• Collaborate with legal colleagues and other Takeda subject matter experts to maintain ongoing awareness of internal and external factors and trends that impact contracting risk and strategy, including:

  • Changes in laws, regulations, and internal policies

  • Geopolitical, economic, and public‑health developments

  • Market trends and supplier business models

  • Evolving negotiation norms and “market” positions for key contract terms

• Incorporate these insights into transactional advice, negotiation strategies, and contracting infrastructure to improve quality, speed, risk mitigation, and business outcomes.

Leadership & team development

• Lead and develop a team of transactions & contracts legal professionals aligned to Takeda’s Business Units.

• Strategically allocate internal / external team resources based on risk, complexity, business priorities, and enterprise impact.

• Partner with GTC Legal leaders to ensure consistency, alignment, and best‑practice sharing across the team.

• Serve as a senior representative of GTC Legal with relevant executive‑level stakeholders.

What you bring

Qualifications

• J.D. or equivalent legal degree is required.

• Strong preference for candidates with at least 5 years of experience as in-house counsel leading a team of attorneys and legal professionals located and qualified in and outside of the U.S. in support of contracts and strategic transactions that are subject to various local / regional laws, regulations, customs, languages, and commercial norms across the globe.

• At least 10 years of experience is required as in-house or external counsel supporting contracts and strategic transactions within the global biopharmaceutical industry.

• Deep experience required advising under U.S. and OUS laws and regulations on key business, legal, and compliance risks associated with in-scope contracts and transactions, such as promotional and advertising compliance, anti-bribery, anti-kickback, false claims, reference pricing, pricing transparency requirements, HCP/HCO engagement risks, financial transparency, personal data/data privacy/HIPAA/GDPR, anti-trust/competition, sanctions, trade controls, cybersecurity, risk allocation, A.I. risks, intellectual property rights, pharmacovigilance, co-employment, and other relevant risks.

• Experience implementing and working within strategic legal support models that empower business stakeholders and Procurement to independently prepare, negotiate and execute high-volume and routine contracts.

• Experience collaborating productively and efficiently with subject matter experts within and outside the Law Department in support of in-scope contracts and transactions.

Key capabilities

• Strong judgment and business acumen in balancing legal risk, business objectives, and execution speed.

• Demonstrated ability to design, structure, and build an effective global team of attorneys and legal professionals, with both internal and external resources.

• Demonstrated ability to lead teams, influence senior stakeholders, and operate effectively in ambiguous, fast‑moving environments.

• Ability to operate effectively across cultures, time zones, and regulatory environments.

• Ability to translate complex legal concepts into clear, practical, and business-aligned advice and solutions.

• Technology‑forward mindset, including the ability to identify, adopt, and scale use of artificial intelligence and other digital tools.

• Collaborative and influential leadership style.

Takeda Compensation and Benefits Summary

We understand compensation is an important factor as you consider the next step in your career. We are committed to equitable pay for all employees, and we strive to be more transparent with our pay practices. 

For Location:

Cambridge, MA

U.S. Base Salary Range:

$229,600.00 - $360,800.00

The estimated salary range reflects an anticipated range for this position. The actual base salary offered may depend on a variety of factors, including the qualifications of the individual applicant for the position, years of relevant experience, specific and unique skills, level of education attained, certifications or other professional licenses held, and the location in which the applicant lives and/or from which they will be performing the job. The actual base salary offered will be in accordance with state or local minimum wage requirements for the job location. 

U.S. based employees may be eligible for short-term and/ or long-term incentives. U.S. based employees may be eligible to participate in medical, dental, vision insurance, a 401(k) plan and company match, short-term and long-term disability coverage, basic life insurance, a tuition reimbursement program, paid volunteer time off, company holidays, and well-being benefits, among others. U.S. based employees are also eligible to receive, per calendar year, up to 80 hours of sick time, and new hires are eligible to accrue up to 120 hours of paid vacation. 

EEO Statement

Takeda is proud in its commitment to creating a diverse workforce and providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, parental status, national origin, age, disability, citizenship status, genetic information or characteristics, marital status, status as a Vietnam era veteran, special disabled veteran, or other protected veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws, and any other characteristic protected by law.

Locations

Cambridge, MAExton, PA

Worker Type

Employee

Worker Sub-Type

Regular

Time Type

Full time

Job Exempt

Yes

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.