Versant International is seeking an experienced mid-level commercial transaction lawyer to provide legal support for content licensing for CNBC and MS NOW and draft production and sponsorship arrangements for global News events. The lawyer will be the point person for Ofcom and other Europe regulator queries and work with the Versant Media Law team with day to day support of journalists around the world.  

This is a fixed-term contract role for up to 12 months.

Key requirements include:

• Excellent drafting and commercial negotiation skills
• Experience with content licensing, production and sponsorship agreements
• Familiarity with broadcast regulation and compliance
• Private-practice experience within a TMT team is preferred
• Experience advising on the Ofcom Broadcasting Code would be highly desirable

The role includes line-management responsibility for one direct report and involves close collaboration with a team of three lawyers in London and two in Singapore.

Key Responsibilities

Events and Marketing: The candidate would work closely with the News Events teams in London and New York to draft and negotiate venue, vendor and sponsorship agreements for MS NOW and CNBC events and marketing activities globally.  The candidate will also support the CNBC and MS NOW Marketing teams advising on marketing messages, Consumer Protection Regs including for the International rollout of CNBC direct to consumer products, and overseeing the branded partnership agreements.

Licensing: The role includes work on both inbound content and programming licenses with agencies, rights holders and individuals, and outbound deals with third parties who wish to obtain a license to display Versant News content. The role oversees the programme acquisitions for CNBC International and the work of the Compliance Officer viewing the shows.

Media Law and Regulatory Advice; Working with the News Legal team in New York, provide ad hoc media law support, fair dealing advice, and be the point person for Ofcom queries IMDA (Singapore) and other European broadcasting regulatory queries.

Business transformation: The candidate will help the team as we transition to more AI solutions for drafting and pivot to new platforms for contract life management.

General: Practical legal advice to the business across multiple disciplines, supported by the US team leads in Data privacy, IP, Compliance, Standards, Risk/Insurance and Litigation.