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 8–10 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.