Legal Director, Americas | Offshore Energy & Subsea

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Legal Director, Americas | Offshore Energy & Subsea

Offshore Marine

Legal Director, Americas | Offshore Energy & Subsea

Ref#: J024763_1793822589

Type of work

Permanent

Country

United States

Start date

January 12th, 2027

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Job description

Legal Director, Americas

Location: Houston, TX (Hybrid, 3 days in office)
Position: Full-Time, Permanent

We are partnering with an established international subsea services and technology provider supporting the global offshore energy industry to appoint a Legal Director, Americas .
This is a senior, hands-on legal position for an experienced commercial lawyer who will take ownership of regional legal matters, with a particular focus on commercial contracts , while working closely with senior business leadership and the global Legal team.
The successful candidate will serve as the sole dedicated in-house legal representative for the Americas , acting as the principal legal advisor to the regional business. The role requires a commercially minded lawyer who can operate autonomously, manage complex commercial contracts and provide pragmatic legal guidance across project execution and wider business operations.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as the principal legal advisor to the Americas business, supporting senior leadership and operational teams on a broad range of commercial and legal matters.
• Draft, review, negotiate and manage complex commercial contracts , including EPC/EPCI agreements, offshore services agreements, master service agreements and vessel chartering contracts.
• Advise on commercial contract structures, contractual risk allocation, liability, indemnities, insurance, guarantees and dispute resolution.
• Support tendering activities, project execution and commercial negotiations, ensuring appropriate legal and contractual risk management.
• Advise on the interpretation, negotiation and administration of commercial contracts throughout the project lifecycle.
• Provide legal support on corporate, regulatory, compliance and governance matters across the region.
• Support joint ventures, transactions and other strategic business initiatives.
• Manage external legal counsel where specialist expertise or additional capacity is required.
• Collaborate with the global Legal team on specialist matters, including shipping, finance, insurance and transactions.

Candidate Profile

• Approximately 10-15 years of legal experience , including law firm training and/or in-house experience.
• Qualified lawyer with a strong background in commercial contracts , complex commercial negotiations and contractual risk management.
• Demonstrable hands-on experience drafting, reviewing and negotiating commercial contracts within the energy, offshore, subsea, maritime, oil and gas or broader industrial sectors.
• Strong understanding of EPC/EPCI contracts, project agreements, offshore services contracts and contractual risk allocation.
• Exposure to vessel chartering and maritime-related commercial contracts would be advantageous.
• Experience advising on contractual disputes, claims, liability, indemnities and commercial risk.
• Commercially minded and pragmatic, with the ability to balance legal risk against operational and business priorities.
• Comfortable operating autonomously as the sole dedicated in-house legal representative for the Americas , taking ownership of regional legal matters and advising senior business stakeholders.
• Able to work collaboratively with an international Legal function and effectively manage external legal counsel when required.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.

The Opportunity

This is an opportunity to take ownership of regional legal matters for the Americas within an established international business.

The successful candidate will act as the senior regional legal representative, with significant autonomy, direct exposure to senior leadership and responsibility for a diverse range of commercial contracts and operational legal matters.

Although this is the sole dedicated in-house legal position in the Americas, the successful candidate will work closely with an established global Legal team and have access to external counsel when specialist expertise or additional support is required.