Legal Counsel

Job Description

Sika is seeking an experienced, commercially minded legal leader to head its legal function in Türkiye. Based in Istanbul, the Head Legal Türkiye will serve as the principal legal advisor to the local leadership team and as a key point of contact for Regional and Group Legal & Compliance. This newly created role offers broad responsibility across commercial, regulatory, compliance, litigation, corporate governance and employment law matters in a dynamic industrial environment.

The position is suited to a pragmatic, hands-on and solution-oriented lawyer who combines strong technical capability with sound judgment and a business-oriented mindset. It offers a broad and visible mandate within a dynamic industrial environment and close collaboration with local, regional and Group stakeholders.
 

1. Legal Advisory and Business Support

• Lead the legal support for Sika’s legal entities in Türkiye and ensure high-quality, timely and pragmatic legal advice to the business across all relevant areas of law.
• Advise management on a broad range of legal matters, including commercial contracts, corporate law, employment law, competition law, regulatory matters, environmental law, restructuring and dispute management.
• Identify, assess and proactively manage legal and compliance risks associated with business operations, manufacturing activities and strategic initiatives.
• Act as a trusted legal advisor to the business, providing commercially sound guidance that supports growth while safeguarding Sika’s interests.
• Draft, review and negotiate a broad range of commercial agreements and legal documents, including supply, procurement, distribution, lease, financing and employment-related documentation.
• Partner closely with Human Resources on employment law matters, employee relations, disciplinary actions, labor disputes and workplace policies.
• Oversee legal support relating to regulatory certifications, permits, industrial licenses and statutory requirements applicable to manufacturing operations.
• Coordinate and support trademark, patent and intellectual property protection activities.
• Ensure appropriate legal reporting and documentation processes for contracts, disputes and other significant legal matters.
• Escalate material legal and compliance matters in a timely and transparent manner.
• Collaborate closely with Regional and Group Legal & Compliance functions and ensure alignment with global legal and compliance standards, policies and reporting requirements.

1. Litigation & Dispute Management

• Manage all litigation and dispute matters, including civil, labor, consumer, environmental, criminal and regulatory disputes.
• Coordinate and supervise litigation strategy, court proceedings, filings and interactions with regulatory authorities and governmental bodies in Türkiye.
• Select, engage and manage external counsel panels and legal service providers in Türkiye.
• Monitor litigation exposure and oversee development of litigation provisions, reporting mechanisms and legal risk assessments.
• Provide regular updates to management and relevant Regional and Group Legal stakeholders on material disputes and litigation developments.
• Support dispute resolution strategies, settlement negotiations and pre-litigation risk mitigation initiatives.

1. Corporate Governance

• Ensure implementation and adherence to corporate governance principles, delegations of authority, internal approval frameworks and matrix governance requirements.
• Support corporate secretarial matters, including governance documentation, statutory filings, powers of attorney and organizational documentation.
• Ensure compliance with applicable corporate governance requirements and internal policies across Sika’s legal entities in Türkiye.
• Support legal aspects of restructuring projects, corporate changes and intercompany governance matters.

1. Compliance

• Lead and support compliance activities across Sika’s legal entities in Türkiye, including in the following areas:
• Anti-corruption and anti-bribery compliance

• Competition/antitrust compliance
• Data privacy and data protection compliance
• Trade compliance and regulatory compliance
• Internal investigations, whistleblower matters and ethics-related matters

• Support implementation, monitoring and continuous improvement of compliance policies, procedures, internal controls and governance frameworks.
• Conduct and coordinate legal and compliance training programs, awareness initiatives and guidance sessions for employees and management to strengthen legal and ethical compliance culture.   
• Partner with Regional and Group Legal & Compliance functions on compliance programs, investigations, audits, reporting obligations and implementation of global compliance initiatives.
• Drive a proactive culture of ethics, integrity and compliance across the organization and support effective identification, escalation and mitigation of legal and compliance risks.

 

Qualifications

Education & Professional Qualification

• Master’s degree in Law and successful completion of the bar examination.
• Good command of English, both written and spoken.

Professional Experience

• At least 12 years of post-qualification legal experience, including time spent in a reputable law firm and in senior in-house legal roles, with substantial exposure to legal matters relevant to industrial and manufacturing businesses.
• Strong knowledge of the Turkish legal and regulatory framework applicable to industrial and manufacturing businesses.

Leadership & Personal Attributes

• Proven experience advising senior management and building strong relationships across the business, with the ability to influence outcomes in a pragmatic and constructive manner.
• Experience managing external counsel and working effectively with cross-functional stakeholders across a matrix organization.
• People leadership experience, including managing small legal teams and direct reports.
• Experience with compliance programs and internal investigations is preferred.
• Experience supporting transactions, legal entity integrations or post-merger integration workstreams is an advantage.
• High integrity, sound judgment and strong ethical standards.