Director, Commercial Legal

Overview

A global HR technology organization is seeking a Director-level Commercial Contract Lawyer to lead and develop a team of commercial lawyers. This role focuses on providing legal support for sales, partnership, and procurement transactions within the HR Tech and SaaS sectors. The position involves managing contract negotiations, upgrading commercial terms, collaborating with cross-functional teams, and leveraging automation and AI to improve contracting efficiency.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Commercial Legal team, managing 3-5 direct reports.
• Serve as the directly responsible individual (DRI) for commercial legal matters, ensuring timely and high-quality support for sales, partnership, and vendor contract reviews and negotiations.
• Empower go-to-market (GTM) teams to close enterprise-level deals by upgrading commercial terms, simplifying contracting processes, and providing proactive training.
• Provide strategic legal support to Partnership teams on deal negotiations and bespoke contract drafting.
• Collaborate with revenue operations and legal operations teams to automate workflows, maintain the contract lifecycle management (CLM) system, and capture commercial contracting metrics.
• Guide, mentor, and nurture the legal team, providing timely and constructive feedback.
• Build trusted relationships with GTM stakeholders and increase Legal's influence in commercial strategy discussions.
• Identify company-wide legal issues and implement efficient solutions in collaboration with internal and external partners.
• Lead cross-team legal projects with other departments such as GTM, Tax, Finance, and Product.
• Institute best practices and lead training to improve legal team efficiency and accessibility of legal advice.
• Manage external local counsel as needed.
• Assist with other legal, advisory, regulatory, and compliance matters as required.

Requirements

• Qualified lawyer in your jurisdiction (mandatory).
• Proven expertise as a commercial contracts lawyer with experience handling complex negotiations.
• Previous in-house legal experience in similar roles.
• Passion for working in a tech scale-up environment, specifically in HR technology.
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to mentor and motivate a team.
• Excellent relationship-building skills in a fully remote environment.
• Enthusiasm for leveraging AI and automation to enhance legal workflows.
• Problem-solving mindset with the ability to speak candidly and learn from mistakes.
• Low ego and strong analytical and organizational skills.
• Ability to multitask and switch between projects on short notice.
• Proficiency or demonstrated ability to learn relevant technology tools including Slack, Coupa (contract management), Notion, and Google Drive.
• Fluent in written and spoken English.
• Remote work experience is a plus.
• Demonstrated AI fluency and automation capabilities.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working in HR Tech or SaaS sectors.
• Experience managing legal operations and collaborating with revenue operations teams.

Compensation & Benefits

• Annual salary range: $150,000 to $290,000 USD, dependent on location, skills, experience, and market factors.
• Competitive benefits including:
  • Flexible paid time off and working hours.
  • Fully remote work from anywhere.
  • 16 weeks paid parental leave.
  • Mental health support services.
  • Stock options.
  • Learning and development budget.
  • Home office budget and IT equipment.
  • Budget for local in-person social events or co-working spaces.

Location

• This role is open to candidates based in the US or UK.

Additional Information

• The role reports to the Senior Director of Legal.
• The organization operates asynchronously, allowing flexible scheduling to support work-life balance.
• The application process includes profile review, multiple interviews, a written exercise, and reference checks.
• The organization is an equal opportunity employer encouraging applications from diverse backgrounds and provides accommodations during the hiring process upon request.
• Candidates are encouraged to submit applications and CVs in English.
• AI is embraced as a tool to enhance work while prioritizing human creativity and expertise.