Legal Counsel

Employment Type: Permanent

Contract Duration

Why you will love working here

At IATA, we represent over 350 airlines worldwide, striving to make aviation safer, smarter, more sustainable, and inclusive.

• Our Values are not just words on a page - they are the energy behind everything we do: ONE IATA - We collaborate across teams, TRUSTED - We do the right thing, INNOVATIVE - We make tomorrow better, INCLUSIVE - We embrace diverse perspectives.
• With over 30,000 courses available, we believe in continuous learning and support your growth in an ever-changing industry.
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion are our priorities. We are certified by the Equal Salary Foundation, offering equal pay and family-friendly policies.
• We encourage community involvement through volunteering and strive to make tomorrow better for aviation and our communities. We offer time off so you can support causes important to you.
• We promote work-life balance with flexible work options, including remote and hybrid work, a generous 'work from abroad' policy, and you get your birthday off!

About The Team You Are Joining

The IATA Legal Team is part of the Legal Services and Corporate Secretary (LSCS) group and is made up of legal professionals qualified in various jurisdictions, providing legal support across IATA's operations, business activities and advocacy strategies. The team is divided into two workstreams reflecting IATA's activities, the Standards and Programs legal workstream and the Regulatory and Governance legal workstream.

The Legal Counsel is an early-career legal professional with relevant post-qualification experience and knowledge in standard setting, commercial law, regulatory, compliance, governance, antitrust and competition law, dispute resolution and / or financial services. They are responsible for providing legal advice, support, and research on diverse subject areas to support IATA’s standard setting, programs and industry activities. The Legal Counsel reports to the Assistant Director, Associate General Counsel Standards and Programs Governance (AD SPG).

This Role

What your day would be like

• Provides legal advice and support on a broad range of commercial, operational, regulatory and governance matters affecting IATA’s standard setting, programs and industry activities;
• Drafts appropriate responses to correspondence and communication raising legal issues or having legal implications;
• Drafts and advises on agreements, contracts, instruments, governance documents, and policies in the context of IATA's standard setting, programs and industry activities;
• Provides support and assistance to senior lawyers in relation to disputes, claims, enforcement actions and other legal proceedings, including reviewing submissions and liaising with external legal counsel when required;
• Assesses and responds to requests for information from governmental authorities, regulators, law enforcement agencies and other third parties;
• Supports the legal aspects of new initiatives, programs and strategic projects by identifying legal risks and providing practical solutions, ensuring compliance with applicable laws, governance and policies;
• Reviews and advises on the agendas, minutes and governance documentation of industry groups, committees, boards and working groups to ensure compliance with legal, regulatory, competition law and governance requirements;
• Provides support and assistance to the AD SPG and senior lawyers including legal research, drafting opinions, and liaising with internal clients and external counsel;
• Develops and delivers legal training, policies and guidance material for IATA staff;
• Collaborates with business, operational, finance and compliance teams;
• Maintains strong relationships with relevant external legal communities.

We would love to hear from you if

You are an effective, confident communicator and a team player and have:

• Advanced University degree in law (LLB, JD, LLM) from an internationally recognized university.
• Admission to practice law in a relevant jurisdiction, preferably the UK, EU member state, Canada, US, Australia or New Zealand.
• Minimum five years post qualification experience in an organization, government department or law firm.
• Professional client relationship skills.
• Excellent command of English, including superior written and oral communication skills.
• Strong legal research and technical skills.

Travel Required: 5

Learn more about IATA’s role in the industry, our benefits, and the team at iata/careers/ . We are looking forward to hearing from you!