Senior Legal Counsel, Global Freight

Date: Mar 31, 2026

City: Rotterdam State: Zuid-Holland (NL-ZH) Country: Netherlands (NL) Requisition Number: 43298

Are you a highly experienced legal professional specializing in global freight, seeking a pivotal role where your expertise directly shapes business strategy and operational success within a leading global trade company? At an exciting time following our recent merger, we are looking for a Senior Legal Counsel to join our dynamic legal team, providing crucial guidance across our international freight value chain.

This is a pivotal opportunity for a seasoned lawyer ready to make a significant impact. We are considering candidates who are eligible to work and are looking for a role in either Rotterdam or Geneva. You will be an integral part of our global freight legal function, offering key support to our European regional teams and fostering a truly collaborative environment.

This role demands a dynamic blend of strategic legal leadership and hands‑on operational excellence:

• Strategic & Commercial Counsel: Provide comprehensive legal counsel for all global freight activities, proactively identifying risks, ensuring compliance, and advising on strategic opportunities.
• Lead Dispute Resolution: Manage and oversee complex commercial disputes, litigation, and arbitrations within the freight sector, coordinating both in‑house and external legal efforts.
• Contractual Expertise: Draft, review, and negotiate a wide array of critical freight‑specific commercial documents, including charterparties, bills of lading, guarantees, and agency agreements.
• Business Partnership: Embed deeply with the freight value chain and European regional teams, acting as a trusted legal partner to understand business needs and integrate legal advice seamlessly into operations and strategy.
• Legal Operations & Development: Optimize legal processes, manage external counsel relationships and budgets, provide internal legal training, and leverage legal technology tools for efficiency.

• Experience: 5-10 years Post‑Qualification Experience (PQE) as a solicitor (UK qualified preferred). If your qualification/admission is not from the UK, comparable English and common law experience is essential.
• Specialized Background: A minimum of 2 years of dedicated experience in an international law firm and/or as in‑house counsel, focused on commodity trading, in particular Freight / Shipping.
• Core Competencies: Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills, exceptional communication (oral and written English), and a proven ability to work cooperatively, build relationships, and manage complex tasks through excellent research, analytical and problem‑solving skills, even under pressure.
• Behavior & Mindset: Improve Bunge's outcomes by making data‑driven decisions, proactively gaining insight into the global strategy to keep the internal customer at the forefront. Collaborate and effectively communicate with others and take initiative to continually develop yourself. Pursue opportunities to solve problems and take action while maintaining the ability to manage work, even in times of challenge or change.

This role offers a genuine opportunity to leverage your specialized legal knowledge in a leading global enterprise. You will tackle real‑world, complex legal challenges, directly contributing to our operational success and strategic objectives within a dynamic, international commercial environment.

Bunge is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, national origin, citizenship, age, disability or military or veteran status, or any other legally protected status.

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