Deputy General Counsel

Deputy General Counsel

The Deputy General Counsel serves as the operational, strategic leader of the Legal Department and is responsible for leading the Company's global legal function on a day-to-day basis. Reporting directly to the Chief Legal Officer, this senior leader serves as the second-in-command within Legal, leading legal operations, managing outside counsel, leading the legal team, and providing practical legal advice across the business.

This role is designed for a highly commercial attorney who enjoys building scalable legal processes, partnering with business leaders, and enabling growth in a fast-paced private equity environment. While the Chief Legal Officer focuses on Board governance, enterprise strategy, executive counseling, M&A, and significant enterprise risks, the Deputy General Counsel owns execution across the legal function and ensures Legal delivers responsive, business-focused support throughout the organization.

The ideal candidate combines outstanding legal judgment with exceptional leadership, operational discipline, and business acumen.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the day-to-day operation of the Legal Department
• Manage legal priorities across all business functions
• Develop, engage, and maximize performance within others; lead a high-performing team of attorneys and paralegals who scales with the business
• Manage a collaborative relationship with outside counsel
• Allocate resources and prioritize work based upon enterprise risk
• Develop department goals, KPIs, budgets, and operating plans
• Build scalable legal processes that support continued company growth
• Role model and operate with our Values (value-based behaviors) every day, fostering a culture of accountability, responsiveness, and continuous improvement

• Draft, review, and negotiate a wide variety of commercial contracts, including vendor agreements, NDAs, and service contracts
• Improve contracting efficiency through playbooks, templates, delegation frameworks, AI-enabled workflows and contract lifecycle management

• Partner closely with People & Culture to proactively manage legal risk
• Direct outside counsel and litigation budgets while driving efficient, practical outcomes
• Develop practical compliance training and business guidance
• Oversee the company's compliance program and monitor regulatory developments in key jurisdictions
• Support the company in investigations and managing legal disputes
• Advise on and ensure compliance with global data privacy laws, including GDPR, CCPA, and HIPAA

• Lead legal aspects of M&A transactions, joint ventures, and strategic partnerships
• Conduct legal due diligence, draft transactional documents, and negotiate deal terms
• Collaborate with the finance and business teams to assess deal risks and opportunities

• Manage the company's intellectual property portfolio, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets
• Provide strategic guidance on IP licensing agreements, enforcement, and protection of proprietary technologies
• Collaborate with R&D and product teams to ensure IP assets are effectively protected

Requirements and Preferred Experience:

• Juris Doctor from an accredited law school
• Licensed and in good standing in at least one U.S. jurisdiction required.
• 10–15+ years of legal experience
• Combination of sophisticated law firm and in-house experience strongly preferred.
• Significant commercial transactions experience.
• Experience supporting manufacturing, consumer products, retail, or industrial businesses.
• 5+ years experience leading legal teams.
• Experience supervising outside counsel.
• Excellent contract negotiation skills.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.

Skills, Abilities and Knowledge:

• Demonstrated experience supporting organizations under private equity ownership, with an understanding of PE governance, investment strategies, and value creation initiatives.
• Strong knowledge of global manufacturing operations, including operational, commercial, and regulatory considerations.
• Expertise in global supply chain legal matters, including procurement, logistics, sourcing, trade compliance, and supplier risk management.
• Deep understanding of the consumer products industry, including product compliance, advertising, marketing, and commercial transactions.
• Experience advising on retail and omnichannel operations, including e-commerce, consumer protection, and distribution strategies.
• Comprehensive knowledge of international distribution, cross-border commercial transactions, and global channel partner relationships.
• Proven experience leading legal support for mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and post-acquisition integration initiatives.
• Strong expertise in corporate governance, ESG, ethics, and compliance frameworks supporting publicly and privately held organizations.
• Extensive knowledge of intellectual property, including trademarks, copyrights, patents, trade secrets, licensing, and brand protection.
• Experience driving legal operations excellence, including process optimization, outside counsel management, legal spend oversight, and contract lifecycle management.
• Proficiency with AI-enabled legal technologies, legal automation platforms, and emerging technologies that improve legal service delivery and operational efficiency.
• Ability to develop, engage, and maximize performance and potential within others/team
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and handle sensitive information

We Offer You:

• Full benefits package; medical, dental, vision
• 401k plan
• Competitive PTO accrual as well as additional wellness days
• Hybrid work schedule
• Work environment that harbors a culture of collaboration and community
• Learning and development opportunities

Physical Requirements:

You must be able to complete all physical requirements of the job with or without reasonable accommodation, including:

• Occasionally move about inside the office to access filing cabinets, meeting rooms, copier/printer, etc. as well as having the ability to remain in a stationary position most of the time.
• Must be able to communicate effectively through multiple forms of technology with telephone and computer. Must be able to receive and convey information.

Work Environment/Location/Flex Arrangement :

• SVP Worldwide offers a fast-paced and ever-changing environment. This position will be hybrid – willingness to commute to our office location a minimum of three (3) days a week and work remotely from a home office the other days.
• Works in an office environment and at times may travel for business related meetings or events.
• The worker is subject to being in front of a computer and on the phone throughout the day.

Why You Will Love Being a Part of the SVP Worldwide Team:

We take care of our team! We offer a competitive benefit package including multiple health plan options comprised of vision and dental plans, 401K plan, life insurance, disability insurance, pet insurance, parental leave, generous employee discounts and paid time off benefits including wellbeing days.

At SVP Worldwide, we celebrate diversity, equity, and inclusion and strive to employ a unique workforce that is reflective of our consumers across the globe. That means understanding, respecting and valuing diversity- unique styles, experiences, identities, ideas and opinions – while being inclusive of all people.

SVP Worldwide is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions based on merit and qualifications. SVP Worldwide prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual identity, gender identity, marital status, veteran status, nationality, citizenship, age, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, or any other unlawful consideration.