Senior Legal Counsel Neuroscience & Gene Therapies, International

Novartis seeks a Senior Legal Counsel for International Neuroscience & Gene Therapies in Basel. This hybrid role combines strategic legal guidance with business leadership to support global innovation and compliance.

This position acts as a primary legal partner for senior leadership within the International Neuroscience & Gene Therapies Therapeutic Area. The role merges high-level legal expertise with business acumen to shape global strategies across commercial, medical, and development functions, ensuring that bold innovations are supported by sound legal frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Act as the lead legal advisor for a portfolio of innovative products and key strategic initiatives.
• Deliver strategic legal counsel to commercial, medical, value-and-access, and development teams.
• Identify, evaluate, and reduce legal, regulatory, and compliance risks in core business operations.
• Manage the end-to-end process of drafting, negotiating, and overseeing complex research and commercial agreements.
• Assist in business development, alliance management, and the integration of new assets and partnerships.
• Ensure that promotional materials, congress content, investor relations, and other external communications adhere to compliance standards.
• Foster innovation by enabling new business models and supporting successful product launch strategies.
• Enhance organizational legal capability through training, cross-functional teamwork, and knowledge sharing.
• Collaborate closely with global, regional, and country legal teams to provide consistent support across the product portfolio.

Requirements

• A law degree and active bar admission, accompanied by strong commercial legal expertise.
• Substantial post-qualification experience, ideally within the healthcare or pharmaceutical industry or at a top-tier law firm advising these sectors.
• Deep understanding of pharmaceutical legal structures, compliance mandates, and risk management principles.
• Demonstrated ability to influence senior stakeholders and provide proactive, pragmatic advice in complex global settings.
• Exceptional negotiation, communication, and relationship-building abilities across diverse teams.
• Proven track record of managing competing priorities and delivering high-quality results under tight deadlines.
• Fluency in English.

Nice to have

• Previous in-house legal experience within a global pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or healthcare organization.
• Experience supporting international business operations.

What the company offers

• Competitive benefits including insurance plans, retirement savings options, wellbeing resources, and global recognition programs.
• Flexible hybrid working arrangements where feasible.
• Minimum 14 weeks of paid parental leave.
• Eligibility for a performance-based bonus linked to specific performance metrics.
• Potential inclusion of long-term equity awards granted at the group level.

About the company

Novartis is dedicated to reimagining medicine together. The company strives to build an outstanding, inclusive work environment with diverse teams that reflect the patients and communities it serves.

• Commitment to reimagining medicine together.
• Focus on building an outstanding, inclusive work environment.
• Diverse teams representative of patients and communities.