Senior Legal Director - Portfolio and Product Strategy

Novo Nordisk is looking for an experienced, ambitious people manager to lead a legal team that will be a strategic business partner to our global Obesity and Diabetes, and Cardiovascular and Emerging Therapy Areas business units. 

Do you have a track record in providing pragmatic, clear legal advice to the pharmaceutical industry? Do you have experience and find motivation in leading and developing your team members? Do you want to play an instrumental part in finding new ways to improve the lives of people living with obesity, diabetes and other serious chronic diseases?

If so, apply today and join us for a life-changing career.

The position

In this role, you and your team will advise business stakeholders in the Product & Portfolio Strategy (P&PS) organization – including strategic marketing and projects, market access, medical affairs, and policy – by proactively and systemically identifying and managing legal risks and opportunities. You will participate in the P&PS business leadership teams and will be part of developing and delivering on their strategy.

In your role leading a team of lawyers who act as “general counsel” to their business stakeholders, you will take on several important responsibilities:

• Coach and develop employees in their business partnering skills and creating and implementing a focused, ambitious legal strategy.
• Serve as an essential member of the legal management team, contributing to projects that focus on capability building, process optimization, and fostering organizational maturity across the function.
• Collaborate closely with leaders in the Global Legal, Compliance, and Quality organizations to ensure that the business receives the holistic and pragmatic business partnering necessary to achieve its ambitions.

Qualifications

We are seeking candidates with the following qualifications:

• A Master of Laws (LL.M.) or an equivalent degree.
• A minimum of 8 years of experience providing legal and compliance advice within the pharmaceutical industry, preferably in-house.
• A proven track record in successfully developing and implementing legal strategies that align with business needs and managing complex cross-functional projects.
• Strong business judgment and the ability to effectively engage with senior management and external partners.
• Comfort operating in a fast-paced, uncertain environment, along with the courage to make to decisions on pioneering projects aimed at improving global healthcare.
• Strong leadership capabilities that foster success within your own department, cross-functional teams, and position you as an enterprise leader.
• A pragmatic and solution-oriented approach to collaboration, with the integrity to uphold ethical standards.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with fluency in both written and spoken English.

The position is based in Bagsværd, Denmark, but you will be expected to spend significant time with business partners who are based in Søborg.

About the department

The team currently consists of 5 employees, plus two indirect reports. This team is part of the newly created Product & Portfolio Strategy (P&PS) Legal team, which provides legal business partnering to global commercial teams covering all Novo Nordisk therapy areas. Ultimately, you will be part of the Global Legal, Intellectual Property and Security (GLIPS) organisation, which gathers around 700 colleagues around the world.

Product & Portfolio Strategy (P&PS) is an Executive Vice President (EVP) area driving commercial strategy, medical affairs and business development across all therapy areas at Novo Nordisk – Obesity, Diabetes, Cardiovascular & Emerging Therapy Areas (CETA), and Rare Disease. P&PS is a connector and compass across the Novo Nordisk value chain. Upstream, towards Research & Early Development, Development, and CMC & Product Supply, P&PS guides the new Novo Nordisk portfolio for sustained competitiveness. Downstream, towards US Operations and International (ex-US) Operations, P&PS maximises portfolio potential through successful commercial strategies and competitive launches.

Working at Novo Nordisk

Novo Nordisk is a leading global healthcare company with a 100-year legacy of driving change to defeat serious chronic diseases. Building on our strong legacy within diabetes, we are growing massively and expanding our commitment, reaching millions around the world and impacting more than 40 million patient lives daily. All of this has made us one of the 20 most valuable companies in the world by market cap. Our success relies on the joint potential and collaboration of our more than 63,000 employees around the world. We recognize the importance of the unique skills and perspectives our people bring to the table, and we work continuously to bring out the best in them. Working at Novo Nordisk, we're working toward something bigger than ourselves, and it's a collective effort. Join us! Together, we go further. Together, we're life-changing.

Contact

For more information about the position, please contact Anna Dolinsky, VP for Product & Portfolio Strategy Legal, at ardn@novonordisk.com.

Deadline

29 June 2025

You do not need to attach a cover letter to your application, but please include a few sentences about why you are applying in your resume or CV. To ensure an efficient and fair recruitment process, please refrain from adding a photo in your CV. Applications will be handled as they are received, so please do not hesitate to apply.

We commit to an inclusive recruitment process and equality of opportunity for all our job applicants. 

At Novo Nordisk we recognize that it is no longer good enough to aspire to be the best company in the world. We need to aspire to be the best company for the world and we know that this is only possible with talented employees with diverse perspectives, backgrounds and cultures. We are therefore committed to creating an inclusive culture that celebrates the diversity of our employees, the patients we serve and communities we operate in. Together, we’re life changing.