Introduction to role: Are you ready to steer high-impact legal strategy that safeguards trusted growth and enables bold decisions? As Head of Legal, Egypt, you will be the principal legal partner for a dynamic, science-led business translating complex legal landscapes into clear, timely choices that advance our mission for patients and the enterprise. Based in Cairo, you will lead the provision of legal advice across Egypt, operating autonomously while aligned with the Area Legal Director for the Middle East and Africa. You will collaborate closely with senior leaders, cross-functional teams, and regional and global legal colleagues to anticipate risk, unlock opportunities, and drive disciplined execution. Can you balance pace with precision while uniting teams around doing the right thing the right way? Your judgment, influence, and drafting excellence will set the tone for ethical, compliant growth and long-term business resilience.

Accountabilities:

• Strategic Leadership: Define and implement the legal strategy and annual plan for Egypt, aligned to global legal priorities and business objectives; set market priorities that protect license to operate while enabling sustainable growth.
• Risk Management and Compliance: Identify, assess, and mitigate legal and regulatory risks across commercial, regulatory, and corporate activities; ensure robust compliance with local laws and applicable international standards.
• Legal Advisory: Provide skilled, objective, business-focused advice on contracts, regulatory matters, competition, anti-bribery and corruption, investigations, and dispute resolution; convert legal complexity into practical, timely solutions that enable sound decisions.
• Project and Matter Management: Oversee planning, execution, and completion of legal projects and matters; manage scope, timelines, budgets, and quality; coordinate and supervise external counsel to deliver strong outcomes.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Build trusted partnerships with Egypt senior leadership, cross-functional teams, and regional and global legal colleagues to drive aligned, well-governed decisions and successful outcomes.
• Governance and Ethics: Champion ethics, transparency, and right-first-time ways of working; support internal investigations, remediation, and continuous improvement initiatives that strengthen controls and culture.
• Capability Building: Design and deliver training, templates, playbooks, and process improvements that lift legal literacy and operational efficiency across the market.
• External Representation: Engage with regulators and external stakeholders where appropriate; frame litigation and investigation strategies to protect the company s interests and reputation.
• Leadership Through Influence: Lead through matrix and project structures without direct reports; coach teams and direct external counsel to raise the bar on standards and delivery.

Essential Skills/Experience:

• Recognized law degree and be a qualified lawyer with at least 7 years of experience as a lawyer in a major law firm or an internal corporate counsel role with an international company (preferably in a regulated industry)
• Expertise in managing Commercial Legal Matters
• Excellence in managing Litigation and Investigations
• Experience in managing Corporate Risk
• Strong business acumen
• Strong drafting skills
• Proactivity/Team Skills
• Excellent communication skills and fluency in Arabic and English

Desirable Skills/Experience:

• French would be a distinct advantage

Why AstraZeneca:

Join a high-performing legal community that partners at the heart of the business where ethics, compliance, and transparency guide every decision and where legal is a catalyst for progress. You will collaborate with ambitious, curious colleagues who bring unexpected disciplines together to unlock bold thinking, supported by modern tools and digital insight. Here, you will shape real-world outcomes for patients by helping the enterprise move faster and smarter, with the support to grow your expertise and the autonomy to own your impact. We value kindness alongside ambition, and we succeed by combining sharp judgment with a commitment to doing things the right way.

Call to Action:

Lead the legal agenda for a science-led enterprise in Egypt step forward today to shape decisions that matter for patients, colleagues, and your career.

Desired Candidate Profile

Essential Skills/Experience:

• Recognized law degree and be a qualified lawyer with at least 7 years of experience as a lawyer in a major law firm or an internal corporate counsel role with an international company (preferably in a regulated industry)
• Expertise in managing Commercial Legal Matters
• Excellence in managing Litigation and Investigations
• Experience in managing Corporate Risk
• Strong business acumen
• Strong drafting skills
• Proactivity/Team Skills
• Excellent communication skills and fluency in Arabic and English

Desirable Skills/Experience:

• French would be a distinct advantage