Legal Associate

About Kerry Kerry is the world's leading taste and nutrition company for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. Every day we partner with customers to create healthier, tastier and more sustainable products that are consumed by billions of people across the world. Our vision is to be our customers' most valued partner, creating a world of sustainable nutrition. A career with Kerry offers you an opportunity to shape the future of food while providing you opportunities to explore and grow in a truly global environment.

About The Role Kerry’s Business Integrity and Legal Operations team is seeking a senior Ethics & Compliance Manager to play a lead role in strengthening, overseeing and operating Kerry’s global compliance program. This position will be expected to work across all key Business Integrity risk areas, provide oversight and direction on Speak Up investigations, and lead the development and implementation of strategies, controls and processes to manage compliance and integrity risks effectively.

The successful candidate will have primary responsibility for Speak Up investigations oversight, third-party risk oversight and human rights regulatory readiness, with contribution to broader Business Integrity initiatives as required. They will work hand in hand with the Compliance Operations Lead to implement effective controls, processes, reporting and governance, while partnering closely with the wider Business Integrity team, Legal, Procurement, Sales, Finance, HR, regional legal teams and business stakeholders.

Here at Kerry, we operate a hybrid working model of 3 days in the Naas office and 2 days working remotely.

Key responsibilities

• Provide oversight of Kerry’s Speak Up investigations framework, helping ensure concerns are assessed, triaged, investigated and closed in a consistent, fair, timely and well-documented manner.
• Bring practical investigations experience to support complex or sensitive Speak Up matters, including appropriate escalation, governance, stakeholder management, remediation and lessons learned.
• Lead the risk oversight and advisory framework for third-party risk management, partnering with the Compliance Operations Lead on implementation of controls, workflows, reporting and system-enabled processes.
• Play a lead advisory role in Kerry’s Human Rights Compliance Program, including CSDDD and wider regulatory readiness activities, and support delivery of third-party human rights assessment and governance reporting.
• Develop meaningful reporting, metrics and insights, helping the Business Integrity team identify trends, control gaps and opportunities for improvement.
• Support audit readiness and governance by ensuring compliance processes are well documented, evidence-based and capable of withstanding internal or external review.
• Partner with regional legal teams, compliance champions and business stakeholders to embed compliance processes, and support consistent adoption across markets.
• Support targeted training, communications and awareness in the above Business Integrity topics.
• Contribute to broader Business Integrity program strategies and initiatives across key risk areas, including policy updates, process simplification, compliance communications, stakeholder engagement, monitoring, governance and continuous improvement projects.

Qualifications And Skills

• Legal, compliance, risk, investigations or governance background, with relevant professional qualification or equivalent experience.
• Experience in a legal, compliance, risk or investigations role, ideally within a multinational or matrixed environment.
• Strong experience overseeing or conducting Speak Up, whistleblowing, ethics, workplace conduct or other sensitive investigations, including triage, case management, remediation and governance.
• Practical experience in third-party risk management, due diligence, sanctions screening, anti-bribery and corruption, conflicts of interest, gifts and entertainment, or compliance disclosure processes is strongly preferred.
• Experience designing, operating or improving compliance processes, controls, procedures, guidance materials or reporting frameworks.
• Understanding of effective compliance program expectations, including risk assessment, investigations oversight, policy governance, training, monitoring, controls, documentation and escalation.
• Experience working with cross-functional stakeholders such as Legal, Procurement, Sales, Finance, HR, Internal Audit and regional business teams.

Skills and Attributes

• Strong judgement and the confidence to assess risk, and escalate issues appropriately.
• Clear, practical communication style with the ability to make compliance requirements understandable and actionable for business stakeholders.
• Strong stakeholder management skills.
• Process improvement mindset, with the ability to simplify ways of working while maintaining effective controls.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, global and matrixed environment.
• Collaborative, proactive and solutions-focused, with a commitment to continuous improvement.
• Project management experience and confidence working with compliance systems, data, dashboards or workflow tools would be an advantage.

Why Kerry? In Kerry we benefit from the knowledge of our colleagues who bring a diverse range of cultures, backgrounds, lifestyles, and experiences. One team fostering an inclusive culture that, above all, inspires food and nourishes life. One culture where everyone brings their unique perspectives and experiences to help make us better, together. We are committed to nurturing an environment of positivity and inclusiveness, where everyone can be at their best, both personally and professionally.

Our recruitment, selection and assessment process are based on the skills and competencies of the specific roles and based entirely on merit. We are committed to and value Diversity and Inclusion in all recruitment processes within Kerry and do not discriminate based on gender, race, class, economic status, ethnic background, sexual orientation, age, political beliefs, veteran status, marital status or any other protected characteristic.

Please note We do not accept CVs or candidate profiles from recruitment agencies where Kerry terms of business have not been signed. Additionally, we will not consider or agree to payment of any recruiter fee under these circumstances. This also applies to CVs or candidate profiles sent directly to any Kerry Hiring Managers.