Head of Legal, East Mediterranean

Job Description

APM Terminals

Head of Legal, East Mediterranean Area

You've seen us everywhere, from a road trip, passing over one of our trucks, to the biggest ports in the planet where we touch land to continue our journey All The Way to your front door. Now it's your chance to get to know us from within a workplace full of warmth, friendship and support. We invite you to join our wonderful team and be part of our purpose: Improving life for all by integrating the world. Join us and play an important role on our team lifting global trade every day!

We are seeking an experienced Head of Legal, East Mediterranean Area (EME) to advise Area Leadership Team, manage legal risk, and support business growth across multiple jurisdictions in the Area for Maersk entities and APM Terminals.

This role provides legal support for maritime, logistics, and terminal operations and is based in Istanbul, Türkiye at the Area’s headquarters. Working at hybrid working structure (minimum 3 days at the office), you will require to travel as needed, to support operations and initiatives.

* EME: Bulgaria, Egypt, Georgia, Israel, Lebanon, Romania, Ukraine, Türkiye and selected Central Asian markets.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide legal advice on commercial, regulatory, and operational matters.
• Draft, review, and negotiate commercial and growth agreements (service contracts, joint ventures, concession agreements).
• Ensure compliance with local laws, including competition, sanctions, export controls, and environmental regulations.
• Support corporate governance and legal entity management across the Area.
• Lead the legal workstream of growth projects including warehousing, port operations, joint ventures and other investments.
• Collaborate with business teams to align legal strategy with commercial goals.
• Improve legal processes and deliver training initiatives.
• Lead the team of lawyers in the Area team with passion and compassion.
• Manage external counsel, disputes, and regulatory investigations.

We’re Looking For

• Degree in Law (LL.B or equivalent; LL.M. is a plus), with minimum 10 years’ of relevant experience.
• Background in maritime, logistics, or port operations is highly preferred although not mandatory.
• Strong contract drafting and negotiation skills.
• Transactional experience (M&A, Joint Ventures, Infrastructure/Construction projects) is highly preferred although not mandatory.
• Experience with corporate governance and cross-border legal entity management is a must.
• Strong interpersonal and cross-cultural communication skills towards internal and external senior stakeholders at all levels.
• Proactive, solution-oriented mindset in an international, fast-paced environment.
• Capability to manage competing priorities and stakeholder expectations within a matrix environment.
• English language proficiency is a must, other relevant languages to the Area such as Turkish are preferred.

What we offer

At Maersk, you’ll be part of a global team motivated by bringing the world closer. We do this through close partnerships with our valued customers, who trade everything from seafood and fruits, to clothes, electronics and cars! No matter our role in the Region our end goal is to simplify the lives of our customers. This is done through seamless processes, best in class digital solutions, and great customer service!

The personal data provided to our company within the scope of job applications will be processed by Maersk Denizcilik Anonim Şirketi (“Maersk Denizcilik”) for the purpose of conducting the application process for candidates. As part of the A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S (APMM) group, we use a global web-based application with servers located abroad to collect and evaluate job applications by our international recruitment teams. To ensure the protection of your personal data in the context of cross-border transfers, we implement the Standard Contractual Clauses issued by the Turkish Personal Data Protection Board and submit the required filings to the Authority. For detailed information regarding our data processing activities, as well as your rights and the relevant privacy notice, you may refer to our Global Data Privacy Statement for Recruiting at https://www.maersk.com/careers/recruitment-process/privacy-statement. Under Article 11 of the Law, you can submit your requests regarding your rights to us via kvkk@maersk.com. For the protection of your personal data, we kindly request that you do not include any special categories of personal data or any personal data unrelated to the evaluation of your job application.

#LI-Hybrid

Maersk is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace, and we embrace different styles of thinking. Maersk is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applicants without regard to race, colour, gender, sex, age, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, marital status, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy or parental leave, veteran status, gender identity, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with all legal requirements.

We are happy to support your need for any adjustments during the application and hiring process. If you need special assistance or an accommodation to use our website, apply for a position, or to perform a job, please contact us by emailing accommodationrequests@maersk.com.