Principal, Legal IP & External Partnering

Welcome to Haleon. We’re a purpose-driven, world-class consumer company putting everyday health in the hands of millions. In just three years since our launch, we’ve grown, evolved and are now entering an exciting new chapter – one filled with bold ambitions and enormous opportunity.

Our trusted portfolio of brands – including Sensodyne®, Panadol®, Advil®, Voltaren®, Theraflu®, Otrivin®, and Centrum® – lead in resilient and growing categories. What sets us apart is our unique blend of deep human understanding and trusted science.

Now it’s time to fully realise the full potential of our business and our people. We do this through our Win as One strategy. It puts our purpose – to deliver better everyday health with humanity – at the heart of everything we do. It unites us, inspires us, and challenges us to be better every day, driven by our agile, performance-focused culture.

About the role

We are seeking an exceptional IP and licensing strategist to lead the full lifecycle of Haleon’s global intellectual property portfolio and advance high‑value in‑licensing and out‑licensing opportunities. This leader will play a critical role in safeguarding innovation, accelerating product development, and negotiating complex agreements that shape Haleon’s commercial trajectory. We are looking for a dynamic, influential professional who brings deep technical expertise and strong cross‑functional leadership.

The Principal, Legal IP & External Partnering, serves as the enterprise-wide leader for Haleon’s global intellectual property and licensing strategy, responsible for safeguarding innovation, maximizing commercial value, and driving growth through strategic partnerships. As the head of IP and Licensing, you will oversee the full lifecycle of Haleon’s global portfolio—spanning trademarks, patents, trade secrets, designs, copyrights, and digital assets—while leading complex in‑licensing, out‑licensing, collaboration, and technology‑access negotiations. You will work closely with R&D, Commercial, Regulatory, and BD teams to identify and protect early-stage innovation, support product pipeline decisions, and embed IP considerations throughout the business. This is a highly strategic, high‑visibility leadership role that influences enterprise decision‑making, advises senior executives, and ensures Haleon’s innovations are protected, competitive, and leveraged to their fullest potential.

This role may be based in Warren, NJ or Bankside, London UK.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the company’s global intellectual property and licensing strategy, ensuring robust protection, commercialization, and optimization of brands, innovations, formulations, packaging technologies, and digital assets.

• Oversee and coordinate Haleon’s global category trademark and patent legal teams, driving cohesive IP strategy and execution while partnering with senior leaders across regions to protect and enhance our brand and innovation assets.

• Oversee the creation, management, enforcement, and monetization of the IP portfolio, including trademarks, patents, trade secrets, copyrights, designs, and domain names, while driving strategic in‑licensing and out‑licensing opportunities that align with Haleon’s growth priorities.

• Partner closely with R&D, BD, Regulatory, and Commercial teams to identify protectable innovations early, assess licensing needs, support product pipeline decisions, and embed IP and licensing considerations throughout the product lifecycle.

• Manage brand protection, anti‑counterfeiting, and IP enforcement activities, and lead negotiations for licensing, collaboration, co‑development, and technology access agreements that maximize value and manage risk.

• Advise senior leadership on IP risks, licensing opportunities, and competitive intelligence, delivering clear recommendations supporting commercial growth.

• Lead and oversee all licensing‑related legal matters, including in‑licensing, out‑licensing, co‑development, co‑promotion, distribution, manufacturing, and technology transfer agreements.

• Serve as the primary legal interface with external partners, including licensors, licensees, academic institutions, bio/tech companies, and CROs.

• Manage IP considerations related to patents, trademarks, trade secrets, data exclusivity, research tools, and platform technologies in license negotiations. 

• Drive legal support for due diligence activities, assessing IP portfolios, freedom‑to‑operate risks