
Thales
Senior Legal, Contracts & Compliance Manager
- Permanent
- Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Experience 5 - 10 yrs
- Urgent
Job expiry date: 02/04/2026
Job overview
Date posted
16/02/2026
Location
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Salary
SAR 40,000 - 50,000 per month
Compensation
Job description
The Senior Legal, Contracts & Compliance Manager, based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, supports the Director Legal, Contracts & Compliance in delivering high-quality legal, contractual, governance, and compliance services across Thales entities in Saudi Arabia and Central Asia. Operating within a multinational environment active in aerospace, transportation, defence, security and space, the role provides proactive legal advice on Saudi and regional laws, regulations, and corporate requirements while strengthening legal risk management, compliance maturity, corporate governance excellence, and contract lifecycle support. The position covers comprehensive legal advisory on commercial operations, projects, bids, tenders and contractual arrangements, dispute and litigation coordination with external counsel, and legal risk assessment and mitigation strategies. The role supports full contract lifecycle management including drafting, review, negotiation and interpretation of commercial contracts, contractual risk analysis, claims and dispute avoidance, and ensuring alignment with internal policies and delegation of authority. A core responsibility includes active support of the compliance framework across four pillars: Antitrust & Competition Law, Anti-Corruption & Integrity, Data Protection & Privacy, and Third-Party Risk / Ethics & Compliance Controls, including compliance risk assessments, investigations, internal reviews, remediation actions, compliance reporting, dashboards, regulatory submissions, and training programs. The role further supports corporate governance frameworks, corporate secretarial activities such as board and shareholder resolutions, powers of attorney, Articles of Association updates, regulatory filings and statutory registers, and ensures compliance with Saudi Companies Law and local regulatory requirements. The position contributes to mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, joint ventures and strategic transactions, including due diligence, transaction documentation, regulatory approvals and post-transaction integration. The manager acts as a key legal interface with Saudi authorities, regulators and government entities, supports inspections and official communications, manages external law firms, and represents the Legal & Compliance function internally and externally. The role requires 8β10 years of progressive experience in legal, contracts and compliance, strong knowledge of Saudi laws and regulatory framework, exposure to international legal standards, and experience within regulated sectors such as defense, infrastructure, energy or industrial environments. HSE responsibilities include compliance with local HSE laws and legislation, adherence to HSE Thales Policy, use of safety equipment including PPE, and promoting water and energy conservation and waste minimisation.
Required skills
Key responsibilities
- Provide proactive legal advice on Saudi and regional laws, regulations and corporate requirements, and support commercial operations, projects, bids, tenders and contractual arrangements in coordination with contracts and commercial teams
- Oversee and support full contract lifecycle management including drafting, review, negotiation and interpretation of commercial contracts, contractual risk analysis, claims management and dispute avoidance while ensuring alignment with internal policies and delegation of authority
- Support implementation, monitoring and continuous improvement of the compliance framework across Antitrust & Competition Law, Anti-Corruption & Integrity, Data Protection & Privacy and Third-Party Risk, including compliance risk assessments, investigations, remediation actions, reporting and training initiatives
- Manage and coordinate corporate governance frameworks and corporate secretarial activities including board and shareholder resolutions, powers of attorney, Articles of Association updates, regulatory filings and statutory registers in compliance with Saudi Companies Law
- Support mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, joint ventures and strategic transactions by conducting due diligence, preparing transaction documentation, securing regulatory approvals and contributing to post-transaction integration
- Act as key legal interface with Saudi authorities, regulators and government entities, support regulatory inspections and official communications, and manage relationships with external law firms and advisors
- Lead and promote ethical behavior, compliance culture and governance excellence, support capability building within the Legal & Compliance team, and contribute to continuous improvement, process optimization and digitalization initiatives
- Ensure adherence to HSE Thales Policy, comply with local HSE laws and legislation, use safety equipment including PPE, and promote water and energy conservation and waste minimisation across departments
Experience & skills
- Possess 8β10 years of progressive experience in legal, contracts and compliance roles within multinational or complex regulated environments in Saudi Arabia
- Hold a Masterβs Degree in Law (LL.M) in Commercial Law, Corporate Law or equivalent and be a fully qualified lawyer with strong knowledge of Saudi laws and regulatory framework
- Demonstrate experience in corporate governance and corporate secretarial activities including board resolutions, powers of attorney, Articles of Association, regulatory filings and statutory registers under Saudi Companies Law
- Show extensive experience in commercial contracts, project-based environments, contract lifecycle management, legal risk assessment, dispute management and regulatory and governmental interface
- Exhibit hands-on experience supporting compliance programs covering Antitrust & Competition Law, Anti-Corruption & Integrity, Data Protection & Privacy and Third-Party Risk including compliance investigations and reporting
- Demonstrate exposure to mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, restructurings, due diligence processes, transaction documentation and regulatory approvals
- Possess fluency in Arabic and English, strong legal judgment, ability to manage complexity and multiple stakeholders, and experience working with Saudi authorities and external advisors
- Comply with HSE responsibilities including adherence to local HSE laws, HSE Thales Policy, use of PPE, and commitment to safety, environmental protection and right-to-stop-work principles