Senior Legal Counsel, Head of fairlife LLC and Nutrition Legal Lead

Senior Director, Head of fairlife LLC and NAOU Nutrition Legal Lead

The Senior Director, Head of fairlife LLC and NAOU Nutrition Legal Lead will lead the North America Operating Unit (NAOU) Legal Team’s support for the new NAOU Nutrition business unit, including fairlife, LLC and be a member of the Nutrition Leadership team.  The role will report to the General Counsel, North America & Global Customers.  

This role will provide critical business-minded and practical legal support and will contribute to the company’s strategic vision, policies, and processes.

• The successful candidate will be a lawyer with good understanding of and sensitivity to internal stakeholder, have very strong and effective communication, observation, and influencing skills, have the confidence to calibrate expectations, and a keen political sense on how best to socialize and raise critical legal issues.

RESPONSIBILITIES: 

• Function as primary, day-to-day legal and legal strategy advisor to the Nutrition BU and fairlife executive leadership teams, as well as the entire Nutrition and fairlife organizations.    
• Must have a business mindset, be solution oriented, and a creative thinker. While ensuring the business is compliant with laws, regulations, and policies, and ensuring the company always gets the best deal it can get, this legal leader must also be a deal maker, not a deal killer, and must have a mindset toward how to achieve the business goals (and never rely on “no”). 
• Adept at navigating collaborative environments with diversity of thought and differing opinions. fairlife is an entrepreneurial company. This legal lead must be able to assess risks and explain that assessment to the business teams in a way that enables them to make well-informed and calculated decisions. 
• Must be a trusted advisor to the company’s senior management and our third-party suppliers.  
• Focus on aiding in developing TCCC compliance culture at fairlife
• Work cross-functionally with the entire TCCC Global Legal function to develop best-practices and building trust that contributes to the rapid growth of fairlife. 
• Collaborate and negotiate cross-functionally with operational departments and subject matter experts across the company.
• Work with fairlife and Nutrition BU teams to draft, review, analyze and execute a wide variety of contracts, including but not limited to manufacturing, vendor, sales, consulting, distribution, licensing, manufacturing, and other contracts and master services agreements as needed.  
• Review marketing and advertising materials to ensure compliance with regulations, laws, and corporate policies. 
• Represent Nutrition and fairlife as Legal representative in negotiations of agreements, disputes, and settlements, and must be able to be both the sword and the shield for the company, in challenging and nuanced negotiations with internal stakeholders and externally with our partners or adversaries.   Work with Litigation as needed.
• Managing supply chain legal issues, including farming elements and ESG considerations.
• Utilize outside counsel as necessary, in a cost-conscious manner. 
• Propose and manage outside counsel expenditures for Nutrition group and fairlife
• People Manager – developing talent and capabilities as role and legal support needs evolve (currently managing one legal assistant)
• Stay familiar with and keep executives up to date on the legal and regulatory landscape applicable to all facets of the business.   
• Work interdepartmentally to ensure that governance practices meet legal, regulatory, and The Coca-Cola Company’s requirements, including but not be limited to, Data Privacy and Security, Ethics and Compliance, Risk Management, Financial Compliance. 

REQUIREMENTS:  

• JD degree from an ABA-accredited law school, and member of the bar of a U.S. jurisdiction required. 
• 10+ years of relevant experience. In-house experience required. CPG experience a plus. 
• Knowledge of federal, state, and local laws. 
• Extensive experience leading a wide range and heavy volume of sophisticated transactions. 
• Experience with food, marketing, and advertising law. 
• Understanding of current regulatory and food/dairy law landscape. 
• Strong negotiating and communication skills. 
• Excellent ability to assess legal risks and issues while providing practical strategic solutions. 
• Ability to multitask and prioritize multiple projects/tasks simultaneously. 
• Proven track record of working in a fast-paced entrepreneurial workplace, with a high volume of high priority complex transactions at the same time. 
• Creative problem solver and self-starter with strong work ethic. 

Advertising Law; Food Regulations; Food Safety Law; Food Laws; Legal Practices; Compliance