Legal Counsel - International Business & Contract Law

About the role

REEL, an international industrial group with 3,500 employees worldwide, is looking for a Legal Counsel (m/f/d) for its Cologne office. You will join the REEL Legal team and act as the primary legal point of contact for the Aluminium Division and for German-related customer contracts, working closely with operational and commercial teams in Germany, Switzerland and Canada.

Key responsibilities

• Draft, review and negotiate complex international B2B contracts, including EPC, EPS and turnkey contracts, and advise on FIDIC, NEC and other standard form contracts, adapting them to project needs.
• Support commercial and project teams in structuring contractual frameworks for export projects worldwide.
• Handle contractual and commercial law issues for projects in Germany or governed by German law, and work with German business units on sales contracts and partnership agreements.
• Collaborate with the Aluminium Division project execution teams and with the Group's contract and claim management teams (Project Management Office).
• Travel occasionally to project sites, group entities and client locations, mainly in Europe.

Required profile

• Master's degree (or equivalent) in Law, with a focus on International Business Law, Contract Law or Commercial Law.
• At least 5 years of relevant experience, ideally as in-house counsel in an international industrial group or in a law firm specialising in international commercial contracts, construction or projects.
• Experience with EPC/EPS/turnkey projects, preferably in aluminium, metallurgy, heavy industry, energy or infrastructure.
• Fluent German and English; French is an asset.

Required skills

• Hands-on experience with FIDIC, NEC or comparable standard form contracts.
• Strong drafting and negotiation skills for complex, high-value contracts.
• Ability to analyse technical and commercial issues and turn them into robust contractual provisions.
• Autonomy, reliability and a pragmatic, solution-driven mindset.

What we offer

• A permanent employment contract.
• Competitive compensation and benefits, flat hierarchies and individual onboarding.
• Option to work from home and flexible working hours.
• Employee discounts, corporate benefits and JobRad.