Position Summary

Working closely with the SVP, Business & Legal Affairs (“BLA”), this role is responsible for managing and supervising an experienced Business & Legal Affairs team based in London handling the commercial negotiation and drafting of documentation for programming acquisition, co-production and commission, talent and other commercial programming agreements for Discovery’s International Networks-linear and digital with focus on CEEMEA markets. Additionally, this role will have input to strategic and commercial decisions within the business generally and support the analysis and review of acquisition targets for the company. POC and oversight of CEEMCA (Central Eastern Europe, Mediterranean, Central Asia) and MEA, admin support team

Responsibilities

• Assume oversight responsibility for all project negotiations, and preparation of documentation for, acquiring television product and other rights on an acquisition, a co-production, and commission basis, talent agreements, reversioning and languaging agreements amongst others.
• Manage acquisition activity across key DNI regions to ensure consistent and joined up approach to deal making and maximize rights available for DNI including leading deal making on key US studio deals.
• Supervise the negotiation of all business terms, including back-end participation and ancillary deal components for programming projects.
• Work with local lawyers in regions to establish consistent commissioning terms, ensure HIVE entry, visibility and consistency of approach across DNI (where commercially appropriate).
• Draft and/or review programming development and production, co-production and acquisition agreements for DNI transactions when required.
• Provide on-going business and legal advice to internal and external clients concerning production, broadcast clearance and other issues as needed across regions
• Develop and maintain relationships with programming and senior management / GM’s for business units and work as key business partner for Heads of Programming.
• Work closely with other VP’s and senior lawyers in the team to ensure consistency of approach to key suppliers on acquisition and commission issues across DNI
• Music liaison = interface with Footprint, local regional music queries as required  
• POC for all content related EU legislation working with legal team eg the copyright directive, the AVMS directive, remuneration for directors
• Contract and deal support for languaging and reversionning team-agreements and general BLA queries.
• Provide BLA and legal/contract support on  digital projects such as the DKids App (now localised to Latam), Motortrend dplay etc
• Support specific projects such as 4k channel launch (Discovery Ultra), Next Gen VOD content commissioning.
• Liaison with Poland = collaboration with the new teams at TVN and managing information sharing and processes
• Channel launches in region – content related
• General liaison with other business units including corp legal, rights management (Tom Darke), finance (Warsaw, tax), compliance, content ops, channel teams to gather and share information, trouble shoot
• Process and policy working with SVP on issues such as:  title searches, product placement, AFP structures, tax incentives and deputize for SVP as required

Requirements

• Solicitor with at least 10 years PQE - intellectual property and copyright specialist.
• Applicants must have extensive experience working in-house in the business affairs and legal department of UK/European terrestrial network or production company with multiple years of experience of responsibility for managing other business affairs executives and/or lawyers.
• Strong experience handling business negotiations for programming transactions, particularly in the area of television programme production, financing and licensing;
• Extensive negotiating skills required for the acquisition of rights and the negotiation of complex rights deals;
• Background in deal making and structuring including programme output deals, complex programme supply agreements, development first looks;
• Ability to assess key commercial objectives in programming deals and devise the appropriate deal structure and strategy to achieve these objectives.
• Proven ability to motivate, manage and support a team and to encourage personal and professional growth in others.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• A demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced environment with a very high-volume workload.
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to operate and interact at all levels of the organization and influence senior business leaders.