Business and Legal Affairs Director

Job Description

Responsibilities
Role title: Business and Legal Affairs Director, Universal International Studios
Location: London

ABOUT US:

NBCUniversal is one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment television networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. NBCUniversal is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, gender identity or expression, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, veteran status, membership in the uniformed services, genetic information, or any other basis protected by applicable law.

JOB DESCRIPTION
This role is in the central Business and Legal Affairs team of the Universal International Studios (UIS) group, reporting to VP, Business and Legal Affairs. This role will focus on scripted production and development matters across the UIS and Heyday Television slate but will also incorporate a wider range of work including international and UK co-financing and investment deals, SVOD and other commissioning deals.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
• Development / production work: managing a variety of matters arising in connection with the development, production and financing of scripted television productions including negotiating, drafting and reviewing a full range of agreements including but not limited to with writers, onscreen talent, other key production personnel etc. Providing advice and support as required on programme related legal and business affairs activities including clearance, negative checking, rights licensing and general contracting. Ensuring that all production activities are in full compliance with applicable laws and regulations in all territories and with the company's corporate compliance policies and best practice procedures.
• Production financing arrangements: responsibility for finalizing arrangements and documentation in connection with the structure and financing of each production including internal production services and licensing agreements as well as third party production services agreements including security arrangements in a variety of international jurisdictions. This will also include internal distribution agreements as required.
• Co-financing and investment deals: negotiation, drafting and review of investment/co-production/distribution deals with third parties including the key third party documentation and any and all ancillary documents required (e.g. funding letters, longform co-production agreements, investment and distribution agreements, security, interparty agreements, completion checklists, deliverables lists).
• Commissioning agreements: assisting to summarize, track, negotiate and review a wide variety of development and production commissioning deals in different jurisdictions including in particular fully funding SVOD commissions.
• International financing structures: investigating, summarizing and advising on the implementation of a variety of financial structures available to the group including international tax credits and official treaty co-productions. Analyzing the same in the context of third party co-financing and investment deals.
• Compliance: assisting to proactively manage a scripted content compliance programme for all relevant creative and business executives (and where relevant third parties) including production start up meetings and compliance briefings for production staff; assisting the VP where relevant with various compliance processes required to be kept in place and to be rolled out across the team
• Distribution and other commercial arrangements including (i) assisting with internal licences to facilitate the flow of distribution, music publishing and other required rights internally within the International Studios group and (ii) dealing with a variety of other general commercial issues which arise across the International Studios group
• Production documentation and templates and processes generally: generally ensuring development and production templates and processes are up to required standards, current and effective
• Net Receipts/MAGR/recoupment waterfalls: drafting and negotiation of backend deals and recoupment waterfalls.
• First look and overall deals: drafting, negotiating and interpreting first look and overall agreements
• Rights analysis and chain of title: analyzing underlying rights documentation and internal rights reports in the context of International Studios productions. Preparation of rights summaries where required in connection with internal communication of our rights on particular completed shows and in the context of the International Studios ''greenlight process''. Taking responsibility for drafting and negotiating licenses of rights from underlying rightsholders including internal stakeholders where relevant as well as preparation of quitclaim and ''walkaway'' deals as applicable.
• Guilds/unions: advising on a variety of matters relating to talent unions, applicable guild provisions, royalties and residuals

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

Qualified lawyer ideally with significant in house experience of scripted TV development and production work, TV production financing and/or IP licensing.

Experience gained in a leading law firm or multinational company with an international outlook.

PERSONAL QUALITIES
• Ability to work as a proactive, collaborative team member with a constructive and flexible approach in both a creative environment as well as a legal and commercial environment.
• Strong communication skills including within a diverse internal and international legal team as well as with a range of internal and external stakeholders, creative and production personnel and talent agents.
• Ability to operate in a transparent and cooperative manner in the context of a highly matrixed organization with a variety of stakeholders and interconnected functions.
• In depth understanding of the key commercial elements in TV deals and structures as well as an understanding of and meticulous attention to the finer details.
• Holistic approach so that the candidate gives full consideration at all times to the range of issues and stakeholders which need to be taken into account as well as the wider strategy of the group.
• Resourceful, collaborative, outgoing, intellectually curious, ethical, respectful and eager to take on new challenges in a demanding environment including innovative solutions and ways of working.

The responsibilities associated with this position are not limited to the above job description and may be modified at any time by the Company.

We are proud to be a disability confident employer and we'll do everything we can to support you during your application. If you need us to make any adjustments to our recruitment process, speak to our recruitment team who will be happy to support you. Accessibility Statement | NBCUnicareers

Qualifications/Requirements
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Jobcode: Reference SBJ-g62zy9-3-15-143-181-42 in your application.