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.