Group Patent Counsel

Verisure is seeking a talented, dynamic and commercially minded Group Patent Counsel to be part of a passionate team enabling sustainable business growth. The role will be a part of our fast-growing Legal team and will report to our Group IP Director.

The successful candidate will be responsible for providing support to our Technology teams and business leaders in protecting, defending, using and managing our technical intellectual property (IP). He or she will thrive in a fast-paced, agile, international and entrepreneurial business environment and will be a key player and work closely with the teams across our Company. 

The role offers an opportunity to develop as the business evolves and it is an exciting opportunity to deliver value from day one through innovative and leading-edge legal thinking in building trust with key stakeholders for sustainable business growth. The role is based in Geneva.

The Company

Verisure is the leading European provider of professionally monitored security systems with 24/7 response services. We protect more than 6 million families and small businesses across 18 countries in Europe and Latin America. And our mission is to provide our customers with peace of mind by protecting what matters most to them.

With over 35 years of insight, experience, and innovation, Verisure is known for category-creating marketing, sales excellence, innovative products and services, and customer-centricity. Thanks to a strong focus on high quality, our customers are amongst the most satisfied and loyal in our industry. We have some of the strongest double-digit growth and retention rates globally in consumer-facing services, which demonstrates our exceptional service levels and strong value proposition to our customers.

The Legal team

Our global combined legal, compliance, privacy, regulatory advocacy and public affairs team consists of over 100 lawyers and other professionals across the organization that come from 18 countries, representing four continents, with a strong gender balance across all levels of the team, including in the Group legal management team. We are well-integrated, working closely together across countries as well as the organization to leverage each other’s experience, to develop best practices, and to deliver our colleagues best-in-class legal partnership.

Our vision is to be business enablers, and our mission is to deliver value through innovative and leading-edge legal thinking, impactful regulatory advocacy, and leadership in protecting our reputation and building trust with customers and key stakeholders for sustainable business growth. We are currently on a digital transformation journey, integrating AI and other digital solutions into how we operate, led by our Group Legal Operations Manager reporting into the Group CLO. 

Our team has also been recognized as one of the leading in-house legal functions in the Legal 500 GC Powerlist Switzerland in 2019, 2023 and 2024 and the Legal 500 GC Powerlist Europe LATAM Specialists in 2023. For over 30 years, The Legal 500 has been analyzing the capabilities of law firms across the world, turning its attention to in-house legal functions which are driving the legal business forward.

The Legal team also offers the ability to continuously grow, with several examples over the past period of moves, growing responsibilities and promotions within the Function.

Join us to become one of us – business enablers and essential contributors to sustainable business growth.

The Technology team

Over 1,700 technologists work across Verisure’s three in-house technology and innovation centres in Malmö, Madrid and Geneva, developing and delivering products and services based on insights gained from our daily interactions with customers.

The Group Patent Counsel will work closely with these teams and play a key role in supporting innovation, protecting technical developments and enabling the safe and effective deployment of new technologies across the Group.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities will include: 

• Developing and maintaining a strong knowledge of Verisure technologies and strong links with the Verisure Technology and Procurement teams.
• Supporting invention harvesting, invention disclosure processes and close collaboration with R&D teams throughout the innovation lifecycle.
• Contributing to the continuous improvement of Verisure’s IP processes and governance, including invention disclosure and incentive frameworks.
• Ensuring that Verisure technical innovations are effectively protected through registered IP, trade secrets, and the appropriate handling of confidential information.
• Preparing, filing, and prosecuting applications for patents, utility models, and registered designs, in conjunction with outside counsel as appropriate.
• Providing freedom to operate assessments and advice to help the Verisure Technology teams avoid infringing third-party IP rights.
• Handling IP infringement and validity assessments, the enforcement of Verisure IP, the defence in relation to claims of infringement of third-party IP, and other related IP actions such as oppositions and nullity proceedings.
• Managing patent watches and other types of patent searches.
• Providing legal advice to internal stakeholders on topics including patents, utility models, registered designs, trade secrets, confidential information.
• Developing and managing our global patent, utility model, and registered design portfolios, in collaboration with internal stakeholders and external counsel.
• Working in close collaboration with business stakeholders to continuously develop and deploy the Verisure IP strategy.
• Developing other IP policies and guidelines and deploying them to relevant audiences.
• Developing and delivering trainings to business communities to drive a culture of IP within the organization.
• Playing an active role in transformation initiatives within the IP team.
• Reporting both internally and externally.
• Contributing to and participating in other activities of the Group Legal function.

The successful candidate will be a patent attorney with a proven track record in the field of technical IP.

In terms of experience, the ideal candidate will have:

• A patent attorney qualification, preferably the European Patent Attorney qualification together with a corresponding national patent attorney qualification
• At least 5 years of post-qualification experience in a fast-paced multinational company or law firm, practicing in areas of technical relevance to Verisure, particularly in complex, system-based technologies combining hardware, software and connectivity, and involving products and services deployed at scale, drawing on expertise across mechanical, electrical and electronics engineering, and telecommunications.
• A successful track record of providing advice and guidance to middle and senior management
• Fluency in English.  Other European languages would be an asset

In terms of competencies, the ideal candidate will:

• Be a strategic thinker with exceptional communication skills
• Have a pragmatic approach, seeing the legal function as a business enabler
• Have effective time and project management skills, with a proven track record of getting things done and leading projects
• Have very high EQ and level of judgment – be a strong, confident but humble leader that exerts influence through persuasion 
• Be enthusiastic and a high energy individual, with a strong drive to create a positive work environment while also demonstrating deep technical rigour and attention to detail.
• Be an independent problem solver that can set priorities, clearly articulate defensible opinions and enable efficient decision making
• Have the ability and willingness to take a "hands- on" approach.

Finally, there must be a strong fit with our Company DNA:

• Passionate in Everything We Do: Our people have a sense of energy that is unmistakable, one that drives us to delight our customers and focus on creating impact quickly. 
• Committed to Making a Difference: When we say we will do something; we deliver with excellence. We are accountable, focused and operate with discipline. 
• Always Innovating: We believe that Innovation can be big or small; it’s a continuous state of mind that inspires us to think differently and always make things better. We are risk takers and we learn continuously. 
• Winning as a Team: Our people know that by leveraging one another’s strengths, investing in and developing our team’s capability and by collaborating well, we will win.
• With Trust & Responsibility: Operating with integrity is core to our success. We are humble, honest and value deep mastery and expertise. We do the right thing, always.

Location 

Geneva, at our Group HQ.

Starting date

As soon as possible. 

At Verisure, we are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace, recognising that diversity of thought and background only makes our teams stronger and more innovative. We reject all forms of discrimination and bias, and we believe in access to opportunities for everyone, regardless of gender, age, disability status, race, sexual orientation, or any other status. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging values are embedded in our company’s DNA. And we continue to prioritise our DEIB efforts every day to create a more inclusive organisation, enable diverse representation of our community, and ensure equity and meritocracy every step of the way.