Procurement Counsel (San Francisco)

Navan Legal is expanding, and we’re on the hunt for an exceptional, driven, and collaborative Procurement Counsel to join our high-impact team.This is more than just a legal role — it’s a chance to help shape the future of a category-defining company that is growing like crazy and bringing on the largest global customers in the world. If you’re passionate about cutting-edge technology, energized by fast-paced environments, and ready to make your mark at a company that’s redefining travel and expense, we want to hear from you.We are looking for a pragmatic, business-forward Procurement Counsel to serve as the primary legal partner to our Sourcing/Procurement and Finance teams. In this role, you will own the legal side of the company’s supply chain and vendor ecosystem. You won't just be papering deals.” You will be shaping how we buy, mitigating third-party risk, and streamlining the procurement lifecycle to accelerate the business.What You’ll Do:Serve as the primary owner of the legal intake queue, responsible for the initial triage of all inbound requests, prioritizing based on business impact, and review of legal terms.Draft, review, and negotiate a high volume of inbound commercial agreements, including SaaS subscriptions, Master Services Agreements (MSAs), hardware purchasing, consulting, marketing, and facilities agreements.Playbook & Process: Leverage AI to build and maintain the procurement legal playbook, standard templates, and clause libraries to reduce cycle times. Implement self-service tools for low-risk agreements.Risk Management: Partner with Information Security and Privacy teams to assess vendor risks, specifically regarding GDPR/CCPA, data security (DPA) requirements, and AI governance in vendor tools.Cross-Functional Leadership: Act as the dedicated legal liaison to the Procurement/Sourcing organization and build collaborative processes. We use the Zip procurement platform for procurement workflow management.Collaborate with the Procurement team to continue refining the Zip workflow and procurement processes to ensure Legal focuses on high-value risk. Dispute Resolution: Manage pre-litigation vendor disputes, including breach of contract claims, service level failures, and termination rights.Compliance: Partner with Compliance and Risk teams to ensure vendor compliance with anti-bribery/FCPA, modern slavery acts, and Navan’s code of conduct.Take on additional matters as needed, including supply and channel partnerships, feature licensing, and commercial agreements.Work collaboratively and develop positive relationships with business stakeholders to strengthen the connection between our team and the business - under tight deadlines, and while managing multiple priorities.Contribute positively to the culture of the Navan Legal team and the company as a whole.What We’re Looking For:J.D. from an accredited law school and active membership in good standing in your practice jurisdiction.4-7+ years of legal experience, with a significant focus on transaction/commercial law. Prior in-house experience supporting a procurement or sourcing function is highly preferred.Deep understanding of software licensing (SaaS), services agreements, and data privacy laws (GDPR, CCPA/CPRA).Operational mindset - you don’t just spot issues; you fix processes. Comfortable using Zip or familiarity with other CLM (Contract Lifecycle Management) tools.Comfortable using AI tools for process improvement and increasing efficiency.Ability to manage a high volume of deals simultaneously, prioritizing based on business impact and risk rather than perfectionism.High emotional intelligence with the ability to perform well under pressure. You should be comfortable, confident, friendly, and capable of explaining complicated issues at the right level of detail for the audience.The posted pay range represents the anticipated low and high end of the compensation for this position and is subject to change based on business need. To determine a successful candidate’s starting pay, we carefully consider a variety of factors, including primary work location, an evaluation of the candidate’s skills and experience, market demands, and internal parity.For roles with on-target-earnings (OTE), the pay range includes both base salary and target incentive compensation. Target incentive compensation for some roles may include a ramping draw period. Compensation is higher for those who exceed targets. Candidates may receive more information from the recruiter.Pay Range$127,125—$282,500 USD