Welcome to Haleon. We’re a purpose-driven, world-class consumer company putting everyday health in the hands of millions. In just three years since our launch, we’ve grown, evolved and are now entering an exciting new chapter – one filled with bold ambitions and enormous opportunity.

Our trusted portfolio of brands – including Sensodyne®, Panadol®, Advil®, Voltaren®, Theraflu®, Otrivin®, and Centrum® – lead in resilient and growing categories. What sets us apart is our unique blend of deep human understanding and trusted science.

Now it’s time to fully realise the full potential of our business and our people. We do this through our Win as One strategy. It puts our purpose – to deliver better everyday health with humanity – at the heart of everything we do. It unites us, inspires us, and challenges us to be better every day, driven by our agile, performance-focused culture.

About the role

• Job Title: Senior Manager - Legal Counsel
• Location: Bengaluru, India
• Employment Type: Permanent
• Department: Hub, Group Legal
• Reports To: Head of Legal – Haleon Business Services
• Work Model: Hybrid

The Lead Counsel will lead and manage the end-to-end operations of the intellectual property (IP) portfolio, with a primary focus on trademarks and copyright, and supportive oversight of patents. This role ensures robust IP asset protection, operational excellence in docketing and renewals, and compliance with global legal standards. The Lead Counsel will drive process rigor, data integrity, and effective collaboration with internal stakeholders and external counsel, supporting the company’s brand and business objectives through proactive risk management and people leadership.

Key responsibilities

• Lead, manage, and develop a team of IP professionals, fostering a high-performance, inclusive, and collaborative culture aligned with organizational goals
• Oversee the ongoing maintenance of trademark and copyright portfolios, including renewals, recordals, and filings.
• Lead the administration of IP docketing systems, ensuring data accuracy, deadline compliance, and robust reporting.
• Support IP data integrity, invoicing processes, and the administration of asset records for trademarks and patents.
• Coordinate with external counsel on data, billing, and matter management; monitor the quality of external data entry and ensure timely follow-up.
• Monitor renewals, deadlines, and asset lifecycles, implementing controls and dashboards to ensure audit readiness.
• Maintain and organize IP files and documents within the document management system.
• Draft, negotiate, and finalize trademark licenses and assignments in coordination with legal and business teams.
• Manage patent renewals, oppositions, and defenses, escalating complex matters to patent counsel as appropriate.
• Conduct regular quality assurance reviews for filings and portfolio audits to ensure compliance and data integrity.
• Foster strong relationships with internal stakeholders and external partners.
• Allocate and monitor work to meet SLAs, quality standards, and stakeholder expectations.
• Provide coaching, performance feedback, and development support to build a high-performing, inclusive culture.
• Serve as the escalation point for complex or non-standard matters.
• Partner with Legal Operations and functional leaders to implement process improvements, automation, and standardization.
• Drive best practices in IP Operations and support reporting and analytics on performance.
• Participate in new service line design, pilot programs, and technology implementations.

Qualifications and skills

Essential

Education

Bachelor of Law (LL.B) or equivalent legal qualification.

Experience

• 8-14 years’ post-qualification experience in IP operations, with a primary focus on trademarks and copyright, and hands-on expertise with IP docketing systems.
• Prior experience in legal operations, legal shared services, or an in-house legal function.
• Proven people management experience, including hiring, coaching, and performance management.

Technical Skills

• Expertise in trademark and copyright maintenance, filings, and recordals.
• Strong command of IP docketing tools, data management, and reporting.
• Familiarity with multi-jurisdictional IP portfolios and anti-counterfeiting workflows.
• Working knowledge of patent renewals, oppositions, and defenses.
• Proficiency in drafting and negotiating trademark licenses and assignments.
• Experience building new processes and continuously refining existing workflows to drive efficiency and best practices.

Soft Skills

• Strong leadership, stakeholder management, and influencing skills across geographies.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities in a dynamic environment.
• Analytical, data-driven approach to performance management.
• Adaptability, initiative, and a continuous improvement mindset.

Working Model & Hours

Hybrid role based in Bengaluru. Primary coverage during India business hours with occasional alignment to early US business hours for critical legal support.

 Job Posting End Date

Equal Opportunities

Haleon are committed to mobilising our purpose in a way that represents the diverse consumers and communities who rely on our brands every day. It guides us in creating an inclusive culture, where different backgrounds and views are valued and respected – all in support of understanding and best serving the needs of our consumers and unleashing the full potential of our people. It’s important to us that Haleon is a place where all our employees feel they truly belong.

During the application process, we may ask you to share some personal information, which is entirely voluntary. This information ensures we meet certain regulatory and reporting obligations and supports the development, refinement, and execution of our inclusion and belonging programmes that are open to all Haleon employees. 

The personal information you provide will be kept confidential, used only for legitimate business purposes, and will never be used in making any employment decisions, including hiring decisions.

Adjustment or Accommodations Request

If you require a reasonable adjustment or accommodation or other assistance to apply for a job at Haleon at any stage of the application process, please let your recruiter know by providing them with a description of specific adjustments you are requesting. We’ll provide all reasonable adjustments to support you throughout the recruitment process and treat all information you provide us in confidence. 

Note to candidates

The Haleon recruitment team will contact you using a Haleon email account (@haleon.com). If you are not sure whether the email you received is from Haleon, please get in touch.