Director, Business & Legal Affairs, Carnival

Director, Business & Legal Affairs, Carnival

• Full-time
• Business Segment: Universal Television Entertainment

Carnival Films is a London-based television and feature film production company and part of Universal Global Television, a division of Universal Studio Group. Led by Co-Executive Chairs Gareth Neame and Nigel Marchant, Carnival Films is one of the UK's leading drama producers, with hundreds of hours of content enjoyed by millions of viewers worldwide.

With an award-winning track record of delivering premium drama, Carnival Films continues to bring must-watch television to global audiences. Its slate includes the Critics Choice Television Award-winning and Golden Globe Award-nominated psychological thriller 'All Her Fault', starring Sarah Snook alongside an ensemble cast including Dakota Fanning, Jake Lacy and Michael Peña. The series amassed 45 million hours viewed in its first four weeks, becoming Peacock's most-watched original series launch of 2025 and Sky's highest-performing drama of the year. Also among its recent successes is 'The Day of the Jackal', a bold contemporary reimagining of the classic thriller starring Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch. The series earned an Emmy Award nomination and two Golden Globe Award nominations, while becoming the biggest new Sky Original ever and Peacock's most-watched original premiere of 2024. A second series is currently in production. British Academy Scotland Best Scripted Series Award-winning 'Lockerbie: A Search for Truth', a gripping five-part drama about the Lockerbie bombing starring Colin Firth, also debuted to widespread critical acclaim.

Carnival Films' legacy is built on groundbreaking storytelling and includes the global phenomenon 'Downton Abbey'. Spanning six seasons and three feature films, the franchise captivated audiences in more than 250 territories and was recognised by Guinness World Records as the most critically acclaimed television show in the world. The first 'Downton Abbey' feature film grossed more than $200 million worldwide. The sequel, 'Downton Abbey: A New Era', was released in 2022, followed by a third instalment, 'Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale', in 2025.

Other acclaimed productions include 'The Last Kingdom', which ran for five successful seasons before concluding with Netflix's global number one feature film, 'The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die', as well as 'Belgravia' and its sequel series, 'Belgravia: The Next Chapter', for MGM+ and ITVX.

With more than 200 international awards and honours, including Primetime Emmy Awards, Golden Globe Awards and BAFTA Awards, Carnival Films continues to push the boundaries of global storytelling. Its rich history includes acclaimed titles such as 'Poirot', 'Whitechapel', 'Hotel Babylon' and 'Jeeves and Wooster', as well as celebrated mini-series including 'Traffik', 'Any Human Heart', 'The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies' and 'The Hollow Crown' anthology.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer, and we’ll do everything we can to support you during your application. If you need us to make any adjustments to our recruitment process, speak to our recruitment team who will be happy to support you.

The Director, Business and Legal Affairs is a member of Carnival Films' Business and Legal Affairs team, providing legal, commercial and strategic support across the development, financing and production of Carnival's scripted television slate.

Reporting to the Head of Business and Legal Affairs, the role works closely with creative, production, finance and commercial teams to help bring premium content to screen. The successful candidate will lead complex negotiations, advise on a broad range of contractual and rights-related matters, and support projects throughout their lifecycle, from development through to delivery and exploitation.

This is an exciting opportunity for a commercially minded lawyer to play a key role in one of the UK's leading scripted production companies, partnering with broadcasters, studios, distributors, financiers and production teams.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Business & Legal Affairs

• Provide day-to-day legal and commercial support across Carnival's portfolio of scripted television projects from development through to delivery and exploitation.
• Lead the negotiation, drafting and management of a broad range of agreements relating to development, production, financing, rights acquisition, talent engagement, distribution and content exploitation.
• Advise on intellectual property, chain of title, rights clearances, licensing, production finance, tax incentives and content exploitation matters.
• Support productions throughout the lifecycle of a project, including contractual interpretation, rights-related issues, production queries and dispute resolution matters.
• Liaise with and manage external legal advisers on specialist or complex legal matters.

Commercial & Strategic Support

• Provide practical, commercially focused advice to creative, production, finance and business stakeholders across Carnival's scripted slate.
• Identify legal, commercial and operational risks and develop pragmatic solutions that support creative and business objectives.
• Support the Head of Business & Legal Affairs on high-profile matters, strategic initiatives and complex transactions.
• Contribute to the ongoing development and improvement of legal and business affairs processes, templates and best practices.

Stakeholder Management & Collaboration

• Build and maintain strong relationships with broadcasters, distributors, studios, financiers, production partners, agents, talent representatives and other key industry stakeholders.
• Act as a key point of contact for legal and business affairs matters across assigned productions and projects.
• Provide guidance, support and knowledge sharing to junior members of the Business & Legal Affairs team where appropriate.

Responsibilities are not limited to the above description and may be modified at any time by the Company.

SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

• Qualified lawyer with strong post-qualification experience.
• Experience within television, film, media or entertainment, ideally within scripted content.
• Strong experience negotiating and drafting complex production, development, talent, rights acquisition, financing and commercial agreements.
• Strong knowledge of intellectual property, chain of title, rights licensing, clearances and content exploitation.
• Experience advising broadcasters, distributors, producers, financiers and other industry partners.
• Experience supporting productions through development, production and delivery.
• In-house experience is highly desirable.
• Experience working closely with finance teams on production financing and tax incentive matters is advantageous.
• Experience gained in a leading law firm, media company or multinational organisation with an international outlook.
• Strong educational background.

CANDIDATE QUALITIES

• Commercially minded, pragmatic and solution-focused.
• Strong legal and commercial judgement, with the ability to balance risk and business objectives.
• Excellent negotiation, communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Highly organised, responsive and able to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to focus on key objectives, provide efficient legal solutions and make sound decisions under pressure.
• Detail-oriented and methodical, with the ability to assess risks and evaluate different courses of action.
• Collaborative and capable of building strong relationships across legal, production, creative, finance and commercial teams.
• Confident, concise and persuasive communicator, both verbally and in writing.
• Ethical, accountable and highly professional.
• Curious, resourceful and adaptable, with a willingness to take on new challenges.
• Enthusiastic about television, film and the wider media landscape.
• Open to leveraging technology and AI-enabled tools to improve efficiency while maintaining nuance, creativity and sound judgement.

As part of our selection process, external candidates may be required to attend an in-person interview with an NBCUniversal employee at one of our locations prior to a hiring decision. NBCUniversal's policy is to provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, gender identity or expression, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, veteran status, membership in the uniformed services, genetic information, or any other basis protected by applicable law.

If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran and require support throughout the application and/or recruitment process as a result of your disability, you have the right to request a reasonable accommodation. You can submit your request to (emailprotected) .

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