As the largest pureplay adhesives company in the world, H.B. Fuller’s (NYSE: FUL) innovative, functional coatings, adhesives and sealants enhance the quality, safety and performance of products people use every day. Founded in 1887, with 2023 revenue of $3.5 billion, our mission to Connect What Matters is brought to life by more than 7,000 global team members who collaborate with customers across more than 30 market segments in over 140 countries to develop highly specified solutions that enable customers to bring world-changing innovations to their end markets.

As the largest pureplay adhesives company in the world, H.B. Fuller’s (NYSE: FUL) innovative, functional coatings, adhesives and sealants enhance the quality, safety and performance of products people use every day. Founded in 1887, with 2023 revenue of $3.5 billion, our mission to Connect What Matters is brought to life by more than 7,000 global team members who collaborate with customers across more than 30 market segments in over 140 countries to develop highly specified solutions that enable customers to bring world-changing innovations to their end markets.

Position Title: Legal & Compliance Director

Position Location: China

Position Overview

The H.B. Fuller Asia Pacific (AP) Region Legal and Compliance Director will ensure the effective delivery of legal advice and services and provide compliance leadership for the AP Region, while being an integral part of H.B. Fuller’s global Law Group. 

The role is focused on providing legal advice and coordinating legal services to support a broad spectrum of commercial transactions, primarily regarding a variety of customer and supplier contracts, but also supporting IP/technology licensing and project work. Additionally, the position will implement and oversee corporate compliance requirements, policies and processes in region, including third-party risk management, as well as oversee ethics and other internal investigations where needed. The role will be expected to assist H.B. Fuller’s businesses, and the Asia Pacific Leadership Teams identify and manage legal and compliance risks in a pragmatic, business-focused manner. 

The position will liaise with the H.B. Fuller Law Department segments, leaders and employees in the region, outside counsel, regulatory bodies and relevant third parties to deliver and secure legal advice and services as needed, and to assure that H.B. Fuller maintains the highest level of legal and ethical compliance and meets our commitment to doing business with utmost integrity. 

The role will be attractive to someone who is independent and self-motivated, who seeks regional exposure in varied jurisdictions and the intellectual challenge of managing a wide variety of matters within a demanding timeframe. The ideal candidate will be an experienced legal and compliance professional capable of collaborating with various legal, business and functional stakeholders and administering the day-to-day operation of H.B. Fuller’s legal services and global ethics and compliance program in region.

Primary Duties

Serve as the trusted legal & compliance advisor and compliance champion to senior leadership in region, working closely with all businesses and functions, and the corporate Ethics & Compliance team, in their efforts to implement and comply with corporate policies and programs and achieve compliance with all relevant laws, regulations and rules that govern the company’s activities.

• Legal
  • Review, draft and negotiate with third parties across the AP region (customers, distributors, agents, suppliers, tolling / contract manufacturing agreements and some secrecy agreements)
  • Draft, monitor and revise appropriate legal templates for use by the business
  • Support H.B. Fuller’s businesses on strategic projects that require legal input
  • Participate in the selection of and actively manage outside counsel as needed across the region for a wide variety of legal engagements
  • Develop robust processes to support the practical delivery of legal services in region and to track and control legal spend
  • Supervise handling of significant claims and litigation matters in region
  • Prepare and deliver effective training / updates on key legal topics, including IP protection and competition law compliance
  • Support the strategic direction of the H.B. Fuller’s Global Law Department on projects and initiatives that may be allocated from time to time
• Compliance
  • Anti-Bribery & Corruption (ABC) programming, monitoring and training, including third-party compliance (distributors, agents, suppliers, brokers, etc.)
  • In-region champion for trade compliance, including sanctioned countries and anti-boycott, in collaboration with Global Trade Compliance Director and corporate Law/Compliance team
  • Investigate and coordinate/supervise the investigation of ethics and compliance breaches and Helpline reports in region; liaise with and supervise outside counsel, forensic services, accounting firms, etc. as needed to drive investigations to timely conclusion
  • Develop and conduct ethics and compliance-related training as needed in region, including to supplement H.B. Fuller-wide online training and to communicate and enforce policies

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

• Qualified lawyer, preferably PRC qualified with international legal qualifications and experience

• Bilingual – can speak and write fluently in both English and Chinese (Mandarin) languages

• 7 to 10 years direct corporate legal, transactional and compliance experience, preferably, a strong combination of all in a US-headquartered multi-national company doing business in the region and/or a major law firm serving such companies in the region.

• Experience drafting and negotiating legal contracts in a business commercial context.

• Subject-matter expertise regarding key compliance risks in the Asia Pacific region, including anti-bribery & corruption, export controls and/or data privacy

• Presentation and PowerPoint skills

• IT Skills: Microsoft Word, Windows, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook. Experience with business data systems will be valued (e.g. Teams, SAP, SharePoint, others.).

H.B. Fuller is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and proud to have created a collaborative culture where employees around the world are seen, heard, and respected. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability, or marital status or status as a protected veteran, or any other legally protected classification.

H.B. Fuller does not accept unsolicited resumes from recruiters, employment agencies, or staffing firms. To conduct business with H.B. Fuller, a written service agreement must be executed by Human Resources prior to submitting any information relating to a potential candidate. Without a signed service agreement, H.B. Fuller shall not be obligated for payment of any fee or compensation.