Senior Counsel, Commercial Contracts

BUILT ON FLAVOR.  FUELED BY PEOPLE.

What’s it like to work at Kinder’s? Well, there’s a lot of snacking and geeking out over what we all cooked over the weekend. Beyond that, there’s also plenty of hard work. Because we don’t just like flavor, we’re obsessed with it.     

With over 100 products sold nationwide, we’re now a top-five brand in multiple flavor categories at Costco, Walmart, Whole Foods, and more. We’re not your typical CPG company. Privately held and founder-led, we like to think of ourselves as a pirate ship in a sea of cruise ships. Our crew is adventurous and fearless. We chart our own course and chase big ideas to make food unforgettable.  

As we expand globally and approach $1 billion in revenue, we need more smart-and-scrappy, flavor-obsessed people to come aboard. If you’re looking for a place where you can see the real impact of your work... this is it! Every day, you’ll be part of a journey to add flavor to millions of meals and lives. 

 

HOW YOU'LL HAVE IMPACT AT KINDER'S: 

As Senior Counsel, Commercial Contracts, you will provide legal leadership and advice to the Company, supporting business units on a broad range of commercial contracting matters and partnering closely with co-manufacturing and procurement teams. In this key role, you’ll assist in drafting, reviewing, and negotiating corporate agreements, while also creating and improving legal department and contracting processes. You will collaborate with Company leaders and other internal stakeholders across our organization, playing a central role in mitigating risk, protecting the Company’s interests, and enabling disciplined yet entrepreneurial deal-making to drive the Company’s growth and strategic initiatives.

Additionally, as a member of a small but mighty legal department, you will tackle other general matters such as privacy, marketing/advertising, import/export and IP as needed in partnership with the General Counsel.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Contract Drafting & Negotiation

• Draft, analyze, and negotiate complex and routine commercial contracts, including co-manufacturing agreements, supply agreements, logistics agreements broker agreements, distributor agreements, NDAs, master services agreements, SOWs, professional services agreements, and licensing/technology agreements.
• Structure agreements to appropriately allocate risk, including indemnity, limitation of liability, insurance requirements, IP ownership, data/privacy terms, and similar provisions.

End-to-End Contract Management

• Oversee contract matters from intake to execution, assisting with ongoing contract management, dispute resolution, and advising on performance issues and contractual risks and remedies.
• Create and implement contract management systems and processes, including intake system, prioritization frameworks and turnaround targets
• Identify, collect and report on KPIs and metrics

Contract Lifecyle & Standardization

• Support contract lifecycle management, create and maintain templates, and develop contracting standards to ensure organization-wide consistency and continuous improvements.
• Identify contractual gaps or other contractual risks created by the Company's evolving business strategies and go-to market approaches and partner with internal stakeholders to drive remedies.

Legal Technology & Innovation

• Research and evaluate contract management software and legal technology tools to streamline legal processes and implement innovative solutions.
• Drive implementation, governance, and ongoing optimization of contract management tools and processes, including adoption across business teams.

Negotiation Strategy Development

• Develop negotiation strategies, checklists, playbooks, and clause libraries based on contract terms, legal compliance, and company strategies.

Training & Process Development

• Create and deliver training materials and toolkits for business teams and help develop and implement contracting processes to reduce legal bottlenecks and empower business teams. 
• Create escalation processes and risk frameworks.

General

• Support various corporate legal matters and projects depending on the needs of the business and Law Department, which may include privacy, marketing, advertising, IP, trademarks, import/export, and other matters. Manage outside counsel and legal vendors when needed, including scope, performance and cost.

WHAT YOU BRING TO THE TABLE:

Education & Licensure

• Juris Doctor (JD) degree from an accredited law school.
• Must be admitted to practice law in at least one state

Experience and Skills

• 8+ years of relevant legal experience
• Minimum of 5 years of substantive experience drafting and negotiating commercial contracts with a corporate legal department or well-regarded law firm
• Experience with CPG-related agreements such as co-manufacturing, supply, logistics and broker agreements
• Skilled lawyer with the ability to independently manage heavy workload in a highly dynamic environment
• Ability to effectively and efficiently manage multiple matters and changing priorities and to complete projects in a timely and accurate manner. Detail-oriented but capable of working with ambiguity. Ability to meld a long-term view of success while working with short-term urgency
• Excellent communication (oral and written), organization, analytical, and interpersonal skills. Ability to clearly communicate complex concepts to internal clients and externally.
• Sound judgement; ability to think critically, make and articulate well-reasoned recommendation and determine who should be kept informed
• Ability to counsel internal clients on the risk associated with various options and to present creative solutions to difficult problems to achieve the desired business outcome while appropriately managing risk.

Personal Characteristics

• Motivated by the challenge to find ways to say "yes" as both a doer and a leader to support important priorities that can arise quickly
• Reputation as a smart, trustworthy, collaborative and strategic partner with the ability to build rapport quickly with stakeholders
• Strong communicator and relationship building who takes initiative and speaks their mind, but has the humility to seek and be open to new ideas, new approaches and other points of view
• Approachable, with a low ego, and focused on building strong working relationships and a positive team environment
• Team player with a growth mindset evidenced by a hunger for continuous learning to increase our collective ability to drive business growth
• Comfort in ambiguity with an excitement for building a way forward tailored to Kinder's vs. walking into something fully established or deploying previously used systems because "that is how things are done"
• Inspired by the idea of being part of a high growth company with the ability to roll up your sleeves as both a leader and a follower

 

LOCATION AND TRAVEL:

The position will be based onsite in Walnut Creek, CA. We strongly believe in the power of culture and community and have a hybrid work structure with 4 days in the office on a weekly basis to encourage collaboration and personal connections that will allow us to better serve our customers and consumer and to have more fun. Fridays are flex days with employees having the opportunity to choose to be either in the office or to work from home based on what makes most sense for them.

 

The expected starting salary range for this role is $180,000- $210,000 per year. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range based on the location of the role. The amount a particular employee will earn within the salary range will be based on factors such as relevant education, qualifications, performance and business needs.

SEASONED FOR SUCCESS:

• No two days here are the same. 
• We try to be good team members and good communicators, but we don’t live by hierarchy and structure – everyone is a difference maker here. 
• We make a lot of decisions in the face of incomplete information – our team embraces ambiguity and tries to make good decisions fast rather than great decisions slow. 
• We believe our job is to take smart risk, not to eliminate risk. 
• We believe in growing our skills and becoming a better company with more managerial expertise, but we are an entrepreneurial company at heart. 
• We aren’t trying to be average – we want to do exceptional things, and we are willing to work hard to achieve them. 

BENEFITS THAT BRING MORE TO THE TABLE:

We offer a range of total rewards that may include paid time off, 401k, bonus / incentive eligibility, equity grants, competitive health benefits, and other family-friendly benefits, including parental leave. Kinder’s benefits vary based on eligibility and can be reviewed in more detail during the interview process.  

OUR RECIPE FOR BALANCE:

We believe great culture starts with people. We’re a people-first company built on connection, collaboration, and balance. Most of our work happens in the office to spark creativity and community, but we also offer flexibility so team members have the autonomy to work outside the office when needed to support their work-life balance and personal commitments.

WHERE EVERY INGREDIENT MATTERS:

Kinder's is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, gender, citizenship, marital status, religion, age, disability, gender identity, results of genetic testing, veteran status, as well as any other legally-protected characteristic. If you have a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act or similar law, and you need any accommodation during the application process or to perform these job requirements, please reach out to us at careers@kinders.com