Legal Counsel - IP & Product (12 month maternity cover)

Job Description

Life at Elvie; Meaningful work, Exceptional People

We're Elvie. We create smart products, new solutions, and a fair few taboo-busting conversations while we’re at it. Founded by Tania Boler in 2013, we develop extraordinary innovations designed to improve women’s lives. It's a fascinating and challenging area that requires us to solve problems that no one else has ever tackled before.

At Elvie, you’ll be surrounded by people who want to improve everything and everyone around them. People who are passionate about our mission. People who are driven to solve problems and constantly consider the best ways to improve the health and wellbeing of women.

Find out more about life at Elvie here.

We're deeply proud of our values, which are intrinsic to the way we behave every day. We take them seriously because we want our culture to thrive:

• We make an impact: We’re mission-driven and not afraid to break boundaries. We relentlessly focus on going the extra mile to solve problems.
• We’re fearless innovators: We are passionate, curious, and data-driven. We continuously embrace change and innovation.
• We’re in it together: we fail and learn fast — always as one team — and have fun along the way. We stay authentic and embrace our differences.

Did you know?

In some regions our amazing products are considered to be medical devices. This means we maintain our Medical Device quality management system in compliance with ISO 13485:2016, to support the development of our ground breaking products. Experience working in a medical device regulated manufacturing environment in compliance with ISO 13485 and ISO 14971 advantageous.

About the role:

Okay, we’ve waffled long enough. So let’s get to the good bit: You.

This is an exciting opportunity to join us as Legal Counsel for IP and Product (maternity cover). Reporting to the General Counsel, you will be responsible for executing on Elvie’s IP strategy and enforcement, the day-to-day management of the portfolio, primary legal support on all product development and new product launches, together with supporting our internal quality and compliance teams. As Legal Counsel at Elvie you will enjoy an extremely broad role, providing strategic legal advice on a wide variety of legal projects and challenges facing Elvie across all its countries of operation (US, Europe and beyond), with a particular focus on intellectual property matters. This is a highly visible and exciting role, offering exposure to all levels across the business, including C-suite. This is a great opportunity to make the role your own and get involved with exciting projects in a fast-paced, creative and fun environment.

Location: Hybrid working; a mix of working from our London or Bristol office & working remotely

Employment type: 12 month Fixed Term Contract (please note, you must have the right to work in the UK)

What you’ll be doing at Elvie:

• IP enforcement: Managing contentious IP disputes and claims, including actual or threatened litigation by or against the company in relation to its IP portfolio
• IP management: Ownership of Elvie’s IP strategy and day-to-day management of the IP portfolio globally, including trade mark and design registrations to protect the company’s brand assets and products, together with patent applications and prosecutions and unregistered rights as we continue to launch new products and expand into new territories
• Primary legal support for our product engineers on the product development process and providing all legal input for new product launches (including regulatory requirements, consumer facing information (IFU, warranty etc), IP protection and product research/user trials)
• Working closely with our quality team to support on product regulatory issues, including new country launches, regulatory filings, risk assessments, products warranty and any contentious product matters.
• International markets: As a global role, you will act as legal adviser to our international teams based in the US and Europe, as well as our UK based teams
• Strategic projects: Acting as a business partner to help structure and provide legal advice on new strategic initiatives launched by the company from time to time
• Providing legal support on a variety of other matters as required (e.g. advertising, marketing and consumer and other litigation/disputes).
• Managing external counsel and legal budgets relating to your areas of responsibility
• Preparing and conducting legal education and training for different teams across the business, particularly on IP matters

Requirements

What we are looking for:

• IP litigator
• At least 8 PQE qualified lawyer in England & Wales
• Significant contentious IP experience, preferably with some non-contentious experience; experience building, scaling and management of an international IP portfolio (trademarks, design rights and patents); experience in patent applications, prosecutions and infringement matters
• Preferably some working knowledge of medical devices and consumer product regulation
• Experience in US and/or other countries is a bonus
• Trained in a top-tier private practice firm, and ideally also had in-house experience, (preferably in a start-up, tech, e-commerce and/or consumer electronics in-house environment)
• Ability to work autonomously with little supervision
• Ability to deliver commercial and pragmatic solutions and concise advice, with strong influencing and negotiating skills
• Excellent organisational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to juggle and prioritise a large number of competing matters and work to deadlines
• Self-motivated, independent and results-focused; with a willingness to roll up your sleeves, undertake a wide variety of tasks and to take ownership
• Adaptable and be able cope with change quickly, and be enthused and excited about what’s around the corner for us
• Most importantly, you must be keen to support the Elvie mission, and like the idea of working in a fast-paced start-up environment where you can share your future

Benefits

We're on an exceptional journey. And we can offer you a genuinely purpose-led career with a culture built on trust, autonomy, and flexibility. In addition, we'll give you:

• Lots of flexibility: whether it’s working from home, doing the school run, or life admin, we understand that flexibility is essential, and we trust you to do the right thing for you and us
• 25 days’ annual leave, plus bank holidays
• 8 extra life leave days; getting married, moving house, menopause or just things that you can’t put a label on that matter to you
• £100 contribution to your home working set up to spend as you see fit
• An annual personal development allowance of £200 and unlimited access to our learning and development platform, Learnerbly
• Healthcare plans, life insurance, and an employee assistance program for you and your family
• A tax-efficient group pension scheme
• Group income protection; protect your salary if you get sick
• A free Elvie trainer for you to keep or give away when you join
• Generous employee and friends & family discounts on Elvie products
• Wellbeing support from YuLife and access to SmartHealth app with unlimited GP appointments for you and your family, plus various well-being initiatives throughout the year
• Lovely offices in great locations, with drinks and snacks provided, along with fun social events

What you can expect after you’ve applied:

A member of our recruitment team will reach out to you after they have reviewed your application. You must ensure your application is completed correctly, and we strongly encourage you to add a cover letter or note to let us know why Elvie’s the right fit for you.

We would like to get to know you through your background, attitude, experience and understand your motivation to work with us. Our interview process varies depending on the position, but it typically looks like this:

• 30-minute video call with one of our recruiters
• 30-45 minute video call with the hiring manager
• 45-60 minute video interview with the team (some positions may require you to complete a task/presentation)
• For some positions, there may be an additional interview with one of our senior leadership team

This is an exciting time to join Elvie. You’ll have a voice, make an impact, and have the opportunity to mould your role. So be ready to learn, have fun, and be inspired by our passionate, talented team — and having a sense of humour helps too. 😉

Belonging at Elvie

At Elvie, we believe having diverse teams in which everyone can be their authentic self is key to our success. We encourage people from all backgrounds to apply and we don't discriminate based on race, colour, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, marital status, disability or age.

If you need any support with your application, please get in contact with us: elvie@jobs.workablemail.com or 0203 884 7223.