Legal Counsel

Were looking for a new Head of Intellectual Property & Litigation to lead our incredible team. The IP & Litigation team is responsible for protecting and defending Canvas valuable IP and delivering strategic legal advice that empowers Canvanauts to create and innovate with confidence. They build and manage Canvas global IP portfolios provide strategic risk-aware IP advice acquire and license creative content software and AI technologies and manage and resolve litigation and disputes across the globe.

This is a leadership role at its core - your biggest impact will come through setting the strategic direction for the group and coaching a talented team of specialists to deliver exceptional work. Youll sit on the Legal Leadership team alongside the heads of Commercial Corporate Employment Legal Operations Product & Privacy and Public Policy & Government Affairs and collaborate closely with them as well as stakeholders in the product engineering and marketing teams we partner with across Canva.

Youll be joining a dynamic collaborative team that is passionate about enabling Canvas mission to empower the world to design.

What youll do:

• Lead and coach a high-performing global team of IP and litigation specialists

• Set the vision and strategy for how Canva protects and leverages IP and manages disputes and litigation* globally

• Provide strategic guidance to Canva leadership on IP and litigation-related matters ensuring Canvas interests are protected pragmatically and proportionately

• Ensure effective cross-functional collaboration between IP & Litigation and other functions in relation to product launches M&A and other projects

• Foster a high-performance collaborative culture including through work distribution growth & development and team well-being as well as owning headcount planning and resourcing decisions

• Drive team connection and culture through team rituals including all-hands cross-specialty engagement and our annual global Legal Summit

• Champion Canvas AI Native ways of working actively using and encouraging AI tools to streamline workflows

• Manage intellectual property and litigation budgets and outside counsel engagement

• Monitor industry trends emerging technologies and legal developments translating these into clear practical recommendations for Canva

*Excluding employment matters

Qualifications :

What were looking for:

• Leadership & Teamwork: This team operates with a high degree of autonomy and mutual trust. Were looking for a leader who thrives in collaborative low-ego environments. You should see your role as empowering the team not directing from the top-down.

• Cross-functional IP breadth: You should bring a working fluency across the full spectrum of IP disciplines - copyright patents trademarks litigation and technology/content licensing and partnership transactions. Deep specialisation in one or more of these areas is valued but the more important thing is to be able to navigate across all of these areas with confidence ask the right questions and make sound strategic decisions.

• Industry context: The IP landscape Canva operates in is evolving rapidly. The ideal candidate should have meaningful experience advising tech companies. They should be comfortable with the pace and ambiguity that comes with emerging tech and understand how IP strategy intersects with product development.

• Comfort with and fluency in AI tools - Canva Legal is on a mission to become an AI Native Legal Team. Its important that you actively use AI in your current role and have comfort and strong fluency in AI tools to help us drive AI adoption and integration into our practices.

Remote Work :

No

Employment Type :

Full-time