Director, Business & Legal Affairs - UTAS UK

This role sits within the Business & Legal Affairs team for UTAS UK. The Director, BALA (Unscripted) will oversee a broad range of legal and business affairs matters across development, production, compliance, talent and rights for UTAS UK’s unscripted slate - from premium entertainment formats to returning reality franchises and major event specials. The role will partner closely with creative, production management, finance, casting, talent, formats, distribution, and global NBCUniversal business units. The Director, BALA will partner closely with the UTAS UK Managing Director and leadership team to provide strategic legal and business affairs guidance across all unscripted productions.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Development & Production Legal

•Lead legal and business affairs support across all stages of unscripted development and production, from ideation through delivery.

•Negotiate, draft, and review agreements with on‑screen talent, contributors, writers, producers, showrunners, senior editorial staff, executive producers, and all key production personnel.

•Manage agreements relating to casting, contributor participation, welfare, behavioural policies, media clearances, location releases, access agreements, format rights, and archive use.

•Provide programme‑specific legal advice regarding compliance, standards, defamation, privacy, duty of care, contributor welfare, and OFCOM/BCS guidelines.

•Ensure productions operate in compliance with all applicable UK laws, NBCU policies, and UTAS/USG guidelines.

Format Rights, Clearances & IP

•Analyse format rights, licenses, and chain of title relating to UTAS, Broadway Video, and third‑party formats.

•Draft and negotiate format licensing agreements, brand partnerships, promotional tie‑ins, and ancillary rights.

•Oversee contributor clearances, content usage rights, music licensing strategies, and broadcast/streaming compliance.

Production Financing & Commercial Arrangements

•Negotiate and finalize production services agreements, commissioning agreements, broadcaster deliverables, and production finance structures across the UK and international markets.

•Handle internal licensing arrangements to facilitate distribution, music publishing, and other rights across NBCUniversal’s global ecosystem.

•Work with finance and production to support budgeting impacts of legal terms, union agreements, rights positions, and backend arrangements.

Commissioning & Broadcaster Relationships

•Review and negotiate commissioning agreements with UK and international broadcasters, SVOD platforms, FAST channels and digital‑first buyers.

•Manage development deals, funded development agreements, and series pick‑up documentation.

•Support deliverables, compliance obligations, editorial policies and broadcaster‑specific standards.

Compliance, Duty of Care & Regulatory

•Drive UTAS UK’s unscripted compliance programme, including production start‑up meetings, duty‑of‑care frameworks, contributor policies, and briefings to editorial and production teams.

•Advise on compliance with OFCOM, ASA, BBC Editorial Standards (where applicable), and NBCU’s global content policies.

•Support internal investigations/queries relating to editorial, compliance or welfare matters.

Talent Unions, Guilds & Labour

•Advise on union rules, equity agreements, music performance rights, residuals, royalties and collective bargaining obligations.

•Manage arrangements with writers, guest hosts, and musical talent in partnership with agent communities.

Internal Processes & Templates

•Lead continual improvements in UTAS UK’s template suite, contracting processes, rights tracking, compliance frameworks, and deal workflows.

•Work collaboratively with US‑based UTAS teams and wider USG BALA counterparts to ensure consistency across global unscripted output.

SKILLS / QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

•Qualified lawyer with substantial experience in unscripted TV production is essential. 

•Strong experience negotiating talent, production, licensing, contributor, and commissioning agreements.

•Deep understanding of UK unscripted industry norms, rights issues, broadcaster requirements, and duty‑of‑care obligations.

•Experience within a major broadcaster, streamer, production company or top-tier law firm is strongly preferred.

•Familiarity with production financing structures, co-pro models, and global rights exploitation.

PERSONAL QUALITIES

•Ability to work as a proactive, collaborative team member with a constructive and flexible approach in both a creative environment as well as a legal and commercial environment.

•Strong communication skills including within a diverse internal and international legal team as well as with a range of internal and external stakeholders, creative and production personnel and talent agents. 

•Ability to operate in a transparent and cooperative manner in the context of a highly matrixed organization with a variety of stakeholders and interconnected functions.  

•In depth understanding of the key commercial elements in TV deals and structures as well as an understanding of and meticulous attention to the finer details.   

•Holistic approach so that the candidate gives full consideration at all times to the range of issues and stakeholders which need to be taken into account as well as the wider strategy of the group.

•Resourceful, collaborative, outgoing, intellectually curious, ethical, respectful and eager to take on new challenges in a demanding environment including innovative solutions and ways of working.

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 AccessibilitySupport@nbcuni.com.