Group Legal Counsel – product, supplier & ESG compliance
STARK Group is a leading Northern European builders’ merchant. With our latest significant acquisition in the UK, we continue our strong growth journey and have more than tripled in size over the past four years, which places us amongst the top 20 largest companies in Denmark. We stay true to our strategy to be the indispensable partner for our suppliers and our customers, who work hard every day to build other people’s future.
Join our Group Legal team and help us drive our product, supplier & ESG compliance excellence and implementation across STARK Group. You will play an instrumental role in further developing the product compliance and ESG framework and implementation across a very large and diverse supplier landscape, including reporting processes, documentation, and data quality to meet external audit requirements and to support the ambition to lift STARK Group's ESG actions and reporting to the next level!
Job content
Legal / Commercial Contracts:
- As Group Legal Counsel, you will be a trusted legal advisor to STARK Sourcing’s management team and international organization, and you will be an integral part of the STARK Sourcing wider management team. You will report to the Group General Counsel, however, with a dotted line to the STARK Sourcing CEO.
- You will have a “hands-on” legal job delivering – (a) legal advice on commercial contracts and projects (handled via a CMS set-up (Coupa)), (b) be a key member around product recall / strengthen the product recall policy, and (c) support on M&A activities that will be led by the M&A team at Group Legal.
Compliance:
- The main purpose of the job is to ensure STARK Sourcing managers keep a high level of compliance with relevant laws, regulations and policies on own brand products, sourced third party products and general relation to suppliers and customers, enabling STARK Sourcing to trade in accordance with law, regulations and with confidence, i.e., enabling us to “live our values”.
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Overall responsibility for the compliance agenda in STARK Sourcing, which includes responsibility for the “Responsible Timber Sourcing Policy (EUTR)”, the “Product Integrity Policy” and the “Trade Compliance & Sanctions Policy”:
- Raising awareness in the team about our obligations and the tools we have in place to ensure compliance.
- Creating a clear governance structure that outlines roles and responsibilities across the organization.
- Create a clear governance and process for implementing (training), updating, maintaining, and executing STARK Sourcing policies.
- Update and align the policies and procedures for compliance, specifically related to product groups and suppliers across the business units.
- Revise and update current EUTR to reflect requirements across the business units and at the same time leverage STARK Sourcing’s ambitions on sustainability to meet the demand in the market for sustainably sourced and certified timber.
- Have focus on how to ensure our newly acquired business in the UK is integrated with STARK Sourcing policies and, at the same time, adapt STARK Sourcing policies to “best practice” by learning from the UK.
- Develop and implement a systematic approach to testing and documenting product compliance.
ESG:
- Be the owner of the ESG agenda across STARK Sourcing – in close coordination with the STARK Group sustainability team.
- Support on implementing and integrating the STARK Group sustainability principles, procedures, and reporting framework which is built on the principles of UN Global compact and Science based targets.
- Collaborate with Group Sustainability to further develop the environmental and human rights due diligence process according to relevant national legislation and the upcoming corporate sustainability due diligence, and to implement upcoming requirements from the corporate sustainability reporting directive (CSRD/ESRS) relevant to the supply chain.
- Create action plans together with the STARK Group sustainability team, to meet sustainability targets (incl. carbon, waste, customer advice and product certification) and drive activities and initiatives to ensure continuous progress.
- Be the driving force in implementation of sustainability activities across STARK Sourcing and create a framework connecting compliance with external ESG ratings in our CMS (Coupa) and be part of further developing of relevant sustainability KPIs for STARK Sourcing.
- Educate the organization in sustainable behavior, environmental issues, product certification and FSC and/or PEFC requirements with help from STARK sustainability ambassador programs.
- Drive the ESG management reporting process from STARK Sourcing to STARK Group.
- Supporting on the creation of STARK Groups annual Sustainability Report with aggregated ESG data.
What we offer
- An international “Group Legal Counsel” (commercial contract, product, supplier & ESG compliance) position in a large and further expanding company with high sustainability ambitions and standards, and a large variety of legal and compliance tasks.
- Travels and interactions with local business unit teams.
- Closeness to top management and decision making.
- Attractive compensation package with bonus component.
- A flexible work environment.
- New offices at Frederiksberg, Copenhagen with dedicated parking spaces (and chargers), canteen and right next to metro/public transportation.
Who are we looking for
- Right level of academic legal & compliance background (legal master’s degree or business legal master’s degree).
- Experienced advisor on a broad range of legal matters, with clear focus on supplier related compliance and confidence in a senior management environment.
- You have a passion for legal compliance (supplier & product), sustainability and ESG data and thrive working with an international angle.
- You are motivated by both the legal and compliance activities but also find the development aspects and best practice sharing elements interesting.
- You feel at home in a casual but professional work environment and have a positive mindset.
- You have a sense of responsibility for your work that supports our flexible working conditions.
- You speak and write English and preferably Danish (or a Nordic language).
- Previous experience with sourcing / procurement, compliance and ESG standards as supply chain due diligence, GHG protocol, GRI, NFRD/CSRD, EU Taxonomy will have an added advantage.
We look forward to receiving your application not later than 29 May 2023. If you have any questions regarding the role, please reach out to Group General Counsel, Laurits A Jørgensen:
laj@starkgroup.dk
- +452219 2143
STARK Group
STARK Group is a growing private equity-owned company with a strong legacy. STARK Group was first established in Denmark in 1896 and has today evolved into a leading Northern European retailer and distributor of heavy building materials with more than +1,150 branches and distribution centres in the Nordics, Greenland, Germany, Austria and UK. The Group is today owned by CVC and has for the past four years been through a fantastic growth journey supported by both organic and non-organic growth with major strategic and value-adding acquisitions in Germany and Austria. In total, the Group employs more than 20,000 dedicated people, of which approximately 50 are part of the lean headquarters team at Frederiksberg, Copenhagen. STARK Group is organized around a decentralized operating model, with strong local leadership and fully fledged local functions to ensure local decision-making power and responsibility. The headquarter focuses on strategic HR, Business Development and M&A, Legal and Group Finance with the overall objectives of setting the strategic direction, facilitating best practice sharing, securing the right leadership teams across the Group and driving group-wide performance management.
