Director, Legal

Who We Are:  

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) is a neuroscience-focused biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering, developing, and commercializing innovative therapeutics to improve the lives of people living with neurological and psychiatric disorders. We are looking for great people who thrive in a respectful, collaborative, inclusive, and productive culture to join the Xenon team. 

What We Do: 

We are advancing an exciting product pipeline to address indications with high unmet medical need, including epilepsy and depression. Our flagship azetukalner program represents the most advanced potassium channel modulator in clinical development for multiple indications. Building upon the positive results and compelling data from our Phase 2b “X-TOLE” study in adult patients with focal epilepsy, our Phase 3 epilepsy program includes multiple clinical trials evaluating azetukalner in patients with focal onset seizures and primary generalized tonic-clonic seizures. In 2024, we are planning to initiate a Phase 3 azetukalner program in major depressive disorder, based on topline data from our Phase 2 “X-NOVA” clinical trial. In addition, we are proud of the leading-edge science coming out of our discovery labs, including early-stage research programs that leverage our extensive ion channel expertise and drug discovery capabilities to identify validated drug targets and develop new product candidates. Backed by a strong balance sheet to support our growth plans, we continue to build a fully integrated, premier neuroscience company with strong discovery, clinical development, corporate, and commercial operations. 

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About the Role:

We are seeking a Director, Legal, to join our team as we expand our Legal Affairs team. The ideal candidate is an experienced leader with contracts experience and working in-house in bio/pharmaceutical industry for a public company. This position will oversee legal agreements and provide general dedicated legal support to the Company’s CMC and Quality functions, working on clinical and commercial supply agreements and related strategic considerations partnering with our CMC team. The candidate will also support program & alliance management, and provide support for our clinical operations team as needed. This is an exciting opportunity for a dynamic and collaborative life sciences attorney who wants to contribute to the growth of a thriving, fast-paced biotech company. 

This position reports to the Chief Legal Officer and will be in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. We will consider other jurisdictions for exceptional candidates. The level of the position will be commensurate with the candidate’s education and industry experience. This role is a hybrid position, requiring a minimum of 2 days per week in the office.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Independently provide legal support, including support for strategic contract agreements in support of the company’s CMC and Quality functions. It will also provide general legal support for our program & alliance management function, as well as our clnical operations function s needed, including confidentiality agreements, material transfer agreements, consulting agreements, clinical and commercial supply agreements as well as other general legal advice and counsel.
• Independently negotiate and finalize agreements and support the company’s global contracting process to ensure the efficient and effective delivery of contracting services to the business.
• Respond to internal inquiries concerning legal matter and proactively identify and consider legal and other issues that may arise from those questions. Where appropriate, consult with other members of the Legal team and/or outside counsel before providing advice.
• Partner and collaborate with Legal, Finance, and CMC groups, as appropriate, to ensure cross-functional alignment through effective communications and strong relationships.
• Identify, research and analyze legal risks and implications with respect to the Company’s existing and contemplated projects and business transactions.
• Review existing templates, and establish new templates in accordance with best practice and recent legal developments and implement changes.
• Contribute to the development of policies and procedures to ensure legal compliance; prepare and provide training on new policies and/or procedures to key stakeholders and/or company-wide, as appropriate.
• Liaise with external counsel on legal matters as required.
• Preparation of other legal documents as required.
• Act in accordance with Company policies, including, for example, the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and ensure policies are understood and followed by direct reports, if any.
• Some international travel may be required.
• Other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• JD (or its equivalent in selected jurisdictions) and minimum of 6+ years of legal experience; law firm experience preferred; in-house with a bio/pharmaceutical company strongly preferred. 
• Knowledge generally of relevant laws, regulations and guidance specific to the bio/pharmaceutical industry. 
• Ability to work flexibly with a strong work ethic and positive attitude. 
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including written and verbal communication skills, with a customer-focused and professional demeanor. 
• Life-long learner of in-house legal department best practices and standards. Able to leverage legal affairs peer groups to determine best practices. 
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and organizational skills to handle multiple responsibilities. simultaneously and still meet high quality and timeliness standards. 
• Accountability, sound judgment, pragmatic business acumen and the ability to take ownership of an issue and provide concise and timely advice. 
• Excellent interpersonal skills and a professional client service orientation towards internal and external stakeholders. 
• Ability to work independently, as a team member, and across the organization with varying levels of employees. 
• Excellent research, writing, and communication skills 
• Adept at technical tools, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Microsoft Teams, and document sharing and e-signing toolsJD and minimum of 6+ years of legal experience; law firm experience required; in-house with a bio/pharmaceutical company strongly preferred. 
• Prior securities experience preferred as well as experience in the life sciences, or similar, industry. 
• Extensive knowledge of relevant laws, regulations, guidance, and industry codes. 
• Ability to work flexibly with a strong work ethic and positive attitude. 
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including written and verbal communication skills, with a customer-focused and professional demeanor. 
• Life-long learner of in-house legal department best practices and standards. Able to leverage legal affairs peer groups to determine best practices. 
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and organizational skills to handle multiple responsibilities. simultaneously and still meet high quality and timeliness standards. 
• Accountability, sound judgment, pragmatic business acumen and the ability to take ownership of an issue and provide concise and timely advice. 
• Excellent interpersonal skills and a professional client service orientation towards internal and external stakeholders. 
• Ability to work independently, as a team member, and across the organization with varying levels of employees. 
• Excellent research, writing, and communication skills 
• Advanced redlining skills with strong attention to detail. 
• Adept at technical tools, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Microsoft Teams, and document sharing and e-signing tools. 

The base salary range for this role is $223,700 to $252,000 USD; we will consider above this range for exceptional candidates. Base salary is determined by a combination of factors including, but not limited to, education and other qualifications, years of relevant experience, and internal equity.

Our Total Rewards program includes base salary, target bonus, and stock options, as well as a full range of benefits including medical, dental, vision, short-& long-term disability, accidental death & dismemberment, and life insurance programs, Employee Assistance Program, travel insurance, and retirement savings programs with company matching contributions.

Xenon encourages time to rest and re-charge through vacation, personal days, sick days, and an end-of-year company shutdown. Xenon highly values employee development and has an expanding Training, Learning & Development program, including a Tuition Assistance program for advanced degrees.

US positions only: Xenon Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. participates in the E-Verify program in all states in which we hire. Learn more about the E-Verify program here.  

To apply for this position, click Apply Now to complete the application. We thank all applicants for their interest; however, due to the volume of applicants, only those chosen for interview will be contacted.