Legal Staff Director - Commercial Counsel

Legal Staff Director

Would you like to be part of a team that provides essential legal guidance?

Would you like to help shape commercial and strategic direction?

Join our leading Legal Team

The Legal Staff Director will combine legal leadership, people management and direct matter ownership. The role will lead regional legal support and provide comprehensive legal and compliance support for OFSE business operations across multiple GeoZones and jurisdictions in the Middle East.

As a Legal Staff Director, you will be responsible for:

• Leading, coaching and developing a high-performing regional legal team, building capability, consistency and commercial judgment across countries, cultures and reporting lines.
• Partnering with regional business leadership to align legal support with business strategy, growth priorities and operational execution.
• Providing strategic and practical advice on complex commercial, regulatory, compliance, labor and employment, public procurement, HSE, competition and integrity matters.
• Reviewing, drafting and negotiating a broad range of commercial agreements, including customer contracts, vendor agreements, channel partner arrangements, nondisclosure agreements and memoranda of understanding.
• Strengthening legal operations by improving internal expertise, reducing unnecessary external legal spend, increasing contracting efficiency and supporting better use of legal technology.
• Partnering with Compliance and Integrity teams to support program execution, investigations, third-party diligence, risk mitigation and business enablement.
• Managing regional disputes and litigation matters in coordination with litigation counsel, including reserves, accruals, reporting and risk mitigation activities.
• Serving as a senior legal focal point for key customer relationships and engagement with customer legal departments across the Middle East.
• Supporting regional legal entity governance, channel partner risk management and cross-functional collaboration with corporate, product line, segment and regional legal teams.
• Monitoring legal and regulatory developments affecting OFSE operations and advising stakeholders on potential commercial and operational impacts.
• Helping ensure consistent legal support across the regional Geozone structure while remaining responsive to local business, customer and regulatory requirements

To be successful in this role, you will have:

• Law degree from an accredited law school.
• Active bar membership, license or equivalent authorization to practice law in a relevant jurisdiction.
• At least 12 years of legal experience, gained in-house, in private practice or through a combination of both, including significance experience based in or advising on matters in the Middle East.
• Strong commercial legal experience supporting oil and gas, energy services, industrial, infrastructure or similarly complex international businesses.
• Excellent drafting, negotiation and communication skills, including the ability to advise senior internal and external stakeholders clearly and effectively.
• Demonstrated experience advising on commercial, regulatory, compliance and operational legal matters across multiple jurisdictions and business environments.
• Be based in the UAE.

Desired Characteristics:

• Business-oriented legal leader with the ability to balance risk, speed, integrity and commercial objectives.
• Proven ability to lead, develop and motivate legal professionals across countries, cultures and reporting lines.
• Strong executive presence, sound judgment and ability to influence effectively across functions, regions and leadership levels.
• Hands-on experience supporting commercial negotiations, major customer relationships, public procurement matters and complex regional transactions.
• Experience advising on compliance, anti-bribery and anti-corruption, regulatory, channel partner and third-party risk matters.
• Oilfield services, energy technology or broader energy sector experience, preferably with exposure to oilfield services operations, customers and commercial models.
• Ability to operate with confidence in a complex, diverse and matrixed international organization.
• A commitment to integrity, inclusion, professionalism, continuous improvement and ethical decision-making.
• Strong digital literacy, including proficiency with Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, redlining tools and legal technology platforms.

Work in a way that works for you

We recognize that everyone is different and that the way in which people want to work and deliver at their best is different for everyone too. In this role, we can offer the following flexible working patterns:

• Working flexible hours - flexing the times when you work in the day to help you fit everything in and work when you are the most productive

Working with us

Our people are at the heart of what we do at Baker Hughes. We know we are better when all of our people are developed, engaged and able to bring their whole authentic selves to work. We invest in the health and well-being of our workforce, train and reward talent and develop leaders at all levels to bring out the best in each other.

Working for you

Our inventions have revolutionized energy for over a century. But to keep going forward tomorrow, we know we have to push the boundaries today. We prioritize rewarding those who embrace challenge with a package that reflects how much we value their input. Join us, and you can expect:

• Contemporary work-life balance policies and wellbeing activities

• Comprehensive private medical care options

• Safety net of life insurance and disability programs

• Tailored financial programs

• Additional elected or voluntary benefits

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