Corporate Counsel - Veolia WTS

Veolia Group is a global leader in environmental services, operating across all five continents with nearly 218,000 employees. Specialising in water, energy, and waste management, Veolia Group designs and implements innovative solutions for decarbonization, depollution, and resource regeneration, supporting communities and industries in their ecological transformation. 

Job Summary about the area and the role:
Veolia Water Technologies & Solutions (VWTS) is a worldwide leader in water recovery, treatment, and reuse. We design and supply a range of water systems, from food and beverage applications, to municipal water, to microelectronics ultrapure water and heavy industrial wastewater treatment. We serve more than 50,000 customers worldwide and treat more than 11 million cubic meters of water every day. We simply aim to be the benchmark company for ecological transformation across the world.
At VWTS, we realize diverse teams make smarter decisions, deliver better results, and build stronger communities. We are an organization that champions diversity and inclusion at every rung of the ladder and are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. We offer challenging and meaningful careers, with competitive benefits and flexible work arrangements.

Summary of the Job
As our Corporate Counsel, you'll be more than just a legal advisor – you'll be a strategic partner in our mission of resource preservation and environmental sustainability. You'll work closely with cross-functional teams to provide commercially minded, high quality, strategic and timely legal services, draft and negotiate a wide range of contracts, manage litigation and disputes, advise on regulatory issues, and provide vital project management support to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations while mitigating legal risks. If you're ready to apply your legal acumen to make a tangible difference while working for a leader in water technologies, we invite you to join our team.
 
Key Characteristics

• Provide support to the business to mitigate legal risks
• Business partner
• Strong business acumen

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Draft, review, and negotiate a wide range of commercial contracts, including but not limited to customer and supplier agreements, procurement contracts, MOUs/LOIs, confidentiality agreements and other legal documents

• Manage disputes and claims, including post-execution issues such as:

  • Change orders

  • Design defects

  • Breach of contract issues

  • Arbitration proceedings and mediation processes

• Provide close project management support to ensure smooth contract negotiation, execution and resolution of legal issues

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to develop and implement risk mitigation strategies

• Offer commercially minded, high quality, strategic and timely legal advice and guidance to internal stakeholders on a full spectrum of legal matters

• Represent the company in legal proceedings and negotiations with external parties

• Develop and maintain good relationships with external counsel

• Support the continuous improvement of legal operations projects and processes to promote efficiency, including the drafting of contract templates such as global framework and intercompany agreements

• Design and deliver legal training to the business

• Conduct legal research and analysis of laws and regulations that impact the business

Hard Skills:

• Outstanding negotiation, drafting, and analytical skills

• Good knowledge of dispute-resolution mechanisms

• Ability to work with key business partners and render legal analysis appropriate in different contexts in order to maximize business results

• High integrity and excellent business acumen and judgement. Ability to translate complex legal matters for non-legal audiences

• Excellent analytical skills with high attention to detail and accuracy

• Not essentials but highly regarded:

  • experience in negotiation of procurement contracts and related matters;

  • experience in environmental compliance matters; or

  • experience advising on government contracts, including familiarity with Federal Acquisitions Regulations (FAR) and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations Supplement (DFARS)

Soft Skills:

• Experience in working in different cultures and environments
• Ability to navigate a matrixed organization in a global environment
• Excellent interpersonal skills with ability to interface with internal and external stakeholders
• Ability to work with minimal supervision in a fast-paced environment
• A multi-tasker and project manager - able to set priorities and manage competing priorities effectively in a fast-paced environment
• Ability to contribute to the Legal Department as a team player
• Strong presentation and negotiation skills, with ability to influence and persuade in decision-making processes both internally and externally

Education & Experience
● Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from a nationally recognized law school
● Minimum of 5-7 years of experience in commercial law, preferably at least 3 years in an in-
house counsel role
● Prior experience in the water technologies or engineering sector preferred

Nice to have: 
● French or Spanish speaking is a plus and the ability to draft and negotiate in those languages

Required Certification/Licenses/Training:
● Licensed to practice law
● Bar member in good standing

Working Conditions
● Travel estimated at 20%, some international travel likely
● This position is hybrid - office and home-based and can be located in any one of the many
US and Canadian-based sites

We are proud of our diverse and inclusive team, and are committed to continuing to foster a
work environment that celebrates and values diversity. We believe that the diverse perspectives and experiences brought by our team members contribute to our success and drive innovation. Come be part of something special - start your journey today!

As an inclusive company, Veolia is committed to diversity and gives equal consideration to all applications, without discrimination.