Senior Legal Counsel

Veolia Group is a global leader in environmental services, operating across all five continents with nearly 218,000 employees. Specializing 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. Within this framework, Veolia's Water Tech Business brings together a dedicated team of experienced professionals committed to tackling the world’s most complex challenges related to water scarcity, quality, productivity, and energy. Together, we pursue a shared mission to create a more sustainable future.

Job Description

The Senior Legal Counsel will serve as a strategic legal partner to Veolia's Industrial Water business, providing comprehensive legal support across new business development and existing customer operations. This role requires a proactive, business-minded attorney who can balance legal risk management with commercial objectives while maintaining strong relationships across the organization.

Essential Responsibilities

• Opportunity Evaluation & Early-Stage Transactions: Review, negotiate, and advise on NDAs, MOUs, and letters of intent to support new business opportunities
• Bid & RFP Support: Review and provide legal counsel on bid and RFP responses
• Contract Review & Negotiation: Draft, review, negotiate, and advise on service agreements, with primary focus on Operations & Maintenance (O&M) contracts. Support negotiation of alternative delivery models including Design Build Operate Maintain (DBOM), Design Build Finance Operate Maintain (DBFOM), and Engineering, Procurement & Construction (EPC) contracts.
• Contract Portfolio Management: Manage a 70/30 mix of third-party/customer-initiated contracts versus Veolia-proposed agreements, leveraging established O&M templates and emerging contract frameworks
• Risk Assessment & Deal Support: Conduct risk assessments addressing litigation, reputational, and deal structure risks; participate in meetings throughout the deal lifecycle
• Amendment Management: Draft, review, negotiate, and advise on agreement amendments, with emphasis on scope, pricing, and term extensions
• Proactive Legal Support: Lead amendment drafting efforts (70/30 in favor of Veolia-initiated versions) while managing customer-initiated revisions and alternative forms
• Dispute & Claims Management: Advise on incidents, accidents, potential claims, disputes, and contract terminations
• Early Dispute Resolution: Provide early to mid-stage dispute advice, manage outside counsel relationships, and represent the company in written and oral communications with customer legal teams (prior to litigation handoff)
• Operational Partnership: Meet regularly with the Industrial Water COO to ensure effective communication, coordinate legal and operational priorities, and support organizational initiatives
• Contract Repository & Governance: Build and maintain an accurate, organized contract repository across all customers and active contracts; assess, catalog, and categorize contracts; conduct cross-functional reviews of underperforming or low-revenue contracts and recommend remediation strategies

Required Qualifications

• Juris Doctor (J.D.) from an accredited law school
• Active bar license in good standing
• 10+ years of legal experience, preferably in commercial contracts, service agreements, or project delivery
• Demonstrated experience in drafting, reviewing, and negotiating O&M, EPC, and similar contract types
• Strong negotiation and drafting skills
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with the ability to explain complex legal concepts to non-legal stakeholders
• Experience managing outside counsel and early-stage dispute resolution
• Ability to work collaboratively across business functions

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in industrial services, water treatment, or infrastructure sectors
• Familiarity with complex project delivery models such as DBOOM and DBFOM
• Project finance or risk assessment experience
• Experience supporting operations teams on contract administration and performance issues

Additional Information

Join a company that values Responsibility, Solidarity, Innovation, Customer Focus, and Respect. You'll have opportunities for comprehensive leadership development, career advancement, and the chance to make a meaningful impact on sustainability and environmental protection while leading a talented team.

At Veolia, we realize diverse teams make smarter decisions, deliver better results, and build stronger communities. We’re 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, and because our people are our greatest assets, we also offer competitive compensation and benefits. The estimated compensation range for this role is $145,000 - 160,000 plus a 10% annual bonus.

Benefits

• Medical, Dental, & Vision Insurance Starting Day 1!
• Life Insurance
• Paid Time Off
• Paid Holidays
• Parental Leave
• 401(k) Plan
• Flexible Spending & Health Savings Accounts
• AD&D Insurance
• Disability Insurance
• Tuition Reimbursement

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

****Applicants are required to be eligible to lawfully work in the U.S. immediately; employer will not sponsor applicants for U.S. work authorization (e.g., H-1B visa) for this opportunity****

Veolia does not accept unsolicited resumes from external recruiting firms. All vendors must have a current and fully executed MSA on file before submitting candidates. Any unsolicited resumes and candidate profiles will be deemed the property of the company, and no fee will be due.