Commercial Counsel

Who We Are

Founded in 2018 by beauty mogul and fragrance fanatic Mona Kattan, KAYALI (Arabic for “my imagination”) offers a modern fragrance wardrobe inspired by Middle Eastern scent rituals and the art of layering. Working with world‑renowned perfumers and the finest ingredients, we create cruelty‑free fragrances that are memorable, long‑lasting, and designed to help you set the mood. Every launch celebrates craftsmanship - from the addictive compositions to the jewel‑like bottles - each telling its own story.

Our Mission

To help everyone feel like the diamond they are - building a global community of fragrance lovers through innovative, luxurious scents and sharing Middle Eastern layering rituals with the world.

Summary

The Legal & Compliance (L&C) function at KAYALI enables global growth through commercially pragmatic advice and scalable legal operations. As we expand internationally, L&C supports go‑to‑market execution with fast, consistent contracting; proactive risk management across the supply chain and customer journey; and fit‑for‑purpose templates, processes, and controls that help teams move quickly and responsibly.

We are seeking an experienced Commercial Lawyer with Legal Operations & Employment experience to partner with Marketing, Sales, e‑commerce, Retail, Supply Chain, Finance, and People & Culture. The role leads the end‑to‑end contracting lifecycle - from intake and drafting through negotiation, signature, and obligations management - supports key commercial models (distributors, retailers, marketplaces, and DTC), and builds scalable legal operations (playbooks, templates, training, matter management, and reporting) to improve speed, consistency, and risk visibility.

You will be a trusted advisor and process‑builder, combining strong commercial judgement with practical risk management and creating repeatable ways of working that enable high‑quality decisions at scale. The role also manages external counsel and supports cross‑functional governance for higher‑risk initiatives - ensuring alignment with KAYALI’s brand standards, growth priorities, and internal controls.

This role is grounded in KAYALI’s values and champions kindness, accountability, responsibility, and collaboration across the organization.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities (Commercial & Legal Operations)

Commercial (Global Operations)

1.     Draft, review, and negotiate core commercial agreements for global operations (distribution, retail/wholesale, marketplace, agency/representation, logistics, warehousing, 3PL, and other supply chain agreements).

2.     Support regional go‑to‑market by advising on commercial models, pricing/discounting, and risk allocation (liability, indemnities, limitation of liability, termination, and remedies).

3.     Advise on e‑commerce and digital operations (website terms, consumer law, promotions, payments/chargebacks as applicable) and partner with stakeholders on privacy and data handling.

4.     Provide day‑to‑day legal support on operational matters (vendor onboarding, SOWs/change orders, service credits, delivery/quality disputes, and contract interpretation).

5.     Partner with Marketing/Brand to review campaigns, influencer and agency agreements, content usage, claims/substantiation (as applicable), and brand partnerships, aligned with law and platform/partner requirements.

6.     Support IP‑related commercial matters (trademark use in contracts, licensing/consents) and coordinate filings/enforcement with specialists as needed.

7.     Manage commercial disputes and escalations (distributors, vendors, logistics partners) through early assessment, documentation, and external counsel coordination where required.

Legal Operations (Processes, Tools & Governance)

1.     Own and improve the intake‑to‑signature workflow (triage, SLAs/turnaround targets, approvals, signature routing, and storage/retention).

2.     Build and maintain templates, clause libraries, and playbooks to enable faster, consistent contracting across regions.

3.     Implement practical governance controls (delegations/approval matrix, exceptions process, and risk thresholds) aligned to KAYALI’s risk appetite.

4.     Deliver training for key stakeholders (Commercial, Marketing, Procurement) on core terms, key clauses, and escalation triggers.

5.     Build dashboards and metrics (volume, cycle time, bottlenecks, risk themes, external counsel spend) and share insights with leadership.

6.     Manage external counsel and legal providers (scope, instructions, budgets) and ensure pragmatic, business‑ready outputs.

Employment

1.     Provide day‑to‑day employment law advice across the UAE, US, and UK (hiring, performance, discipline, terminations, restructurings, and investigations).

2.     Advise on cross‑border employment topics, including expatriate arrangements and remote‑work compliance.

3.     Draft and update HR policies, handbooks, and employment contracts, aligned with statutory requirements (working time, leave, wage and hour, and data privacy).

4.     Support employment compliance audits and drive corrective actions.

5.     Lead or oversee investigations (misconduct, discrimination, harassment, code‑of‑conduct) and advise on risk mitigation and remediation.

6.     Handle sensitive employee‑relations matters with discretion and cultural awareness.

7.     Manage employment disputes (strategy, pleadings, budgets, settlements/ADR) and coordinate external counsel.

8.     Advise on restructurings, redundancies, workforce planning, and the employment aspects of M&A.

9.     Deliver training on employment law, workplace conduct, and compliance.