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.