Head - Legal

Head – Legal, Litigation, Compliance & Licensing Location: Mumbai Function: Legal & Compliance Industry: F&B / QSR / Retail Experience: 10–15+ years Reporting to: Leadership Team About the Role We are looking for a Head – Legal, Litigation, Compliance & Licensing to own the organisation’s legal, litigation, regulatory compliance and licensing framework across its growing multi-location business.

The role will work closely with Business, Operations, Real Estate, Projects, Finance, HR and senior leadership , while managing external legal counsel and government/regulatory stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

1. Litigation & Legal Matters Own and oversee all civil, criminal, commercial, labour and regulatory litigation involving the organisation. Manage external advocates, law firms and legal consultants. Review legal notices, claims, disputes and court/regulatory matters and drive timely resolution. Develop litigation strategy in consultation with senior leadership and external counsel. Maintain a central litigation tracker with status, risks, timelines and financial exposure. Identify potential legal risks and provide practical business-oriented legal advice.
2. Legal Compliance Build and oversee the organisation-wide legal and statutory compliance framework . Ensure compliance across corporate, labour, commercial, F&B, retail and other applicable regulations. Monitor changes in laws and regulations and assess their impact on business operations. Conduct periodic compliance reviews and identify gaps, risks and corrective actions. Partner with internal teams to ensure timely closure of compliance issues. Establish compliance trackers, SOPs and governance mechanisms across locations.
3. Licensing & Regulatory Affairs Own the end-to-end licensing and regulatory framework across all business locations. Oversee new licences, renewals, amendments, statutory approvals and regulatory submissions. Ensure timely renewal and validity of all location-specific licences and approvals. Maintain a central database of licences, approvals, validity dates and renewal timelines. Lead government liaison with departments including Shop & Establishment, FDA, Fire, Health/Trade, State Excise, Electrical, Registration, Police, Traffic and Labour , as applicable. Represent the organisation before regulatory authorities and manage inspections, notices and regulatory matters.
4. Contracts & Business Advisory Review and negotiate commercial agreements, vendor agreements, leases, licences, NDAs and other business contracts. Partner with Real Estate, Projects, Procurement, Finance and Operations on legal aspects of business expansion. Identify contractual risks and recommend appropriate mitigation. Support leadership on legal implications of new business initiatives and expansion plans.
5. Legal Governance & Risk Management Build a proactive legal risk-management framework for the organisation. Create dashboards covering litigation, licences, compliance gaps, notices and regulatory risks . Escalate critical legal and compliance risks to senior management. Develop SOPs and governance processes to minimise recurring legal and regulatory exposure. Ensure proper maintenance of legal records, licences, notices, agreements and regulatory correspondence.