Senior Corporate Counsel

This role will contribute to our in-house legal team and work on complex issues in a dynamic and fast-paced environment. This position reports to the Associate General Counsel, Commercial. The Corporate Counsel will provide legal advice and counsel to development and operating teams primarily in the Agriculture Sector, but also throughout the organization on commercial agreements, regulatory support, procurement support and other sector and company needs. As a key member of the broader corporate legal team, with colleagues at our parent company in Salt Lake City, the successful candidate will provide strategic legal counsel and support to both the local agribusiness and the larger organization.

Responsibilities:

• Principal day-to-day responsibility for commercial and regulatory legal support for the Agriculture Sector (100+ year old agribusiness located in Kansas City).
• Translate complex commercial and regulatory concepts into clear, understandable terms for non-legal stakeholders.
• Conduct legal research and analysis to provide recommendations and guidance for management teams and other internal clients.
• Demonstrate excellent analytical, consulting, drafting and negotiation skills with the ability to make well-reasoned legal and business judgments and clearly explain complex ideas.
• Support the Associate General Counsel, Commercial in designing, drafting and negotiating complex master service agreements, construction agreements, procurement agreements, and other commercial agreements as assigned.
• Assist with special projects and perform other job-related duties as assigned.
• Effectively manage outside counsel, as needed.
• Work in person in the office in Kansas City, Missouri.

Qualifications:

To perform this job successfully, an individual should be able to perform each essential responsibility satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and/or abilities required.

• High-level analytical, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent attention to detail and strong project management and organizational skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work under pressure, manage a variety of projects simultaneously, meet aggressive deadlines and successfully handle urgent situations with patience and diplomacy.
• Confidence to exercise practical judgment on high-value issues without overly technical analysis.
• An agile and flexible thinker, with the ability to learn areas of the law and the business quickly.
• Ability to function independently and as part of a team.
• Ability to build credibility quickly and provide strong legal support, while positively and successfully managing relationships within a diverse group of stakeholders.
• Possess characteristics such as strong executive presence, common sense, teamwork, professionalism, high level of sound judgment and business acumen, excellent time management and accountability, proactive in resolving issues.
• Ability to successfully lead process improvement initiatives in the Legal Department that drive efficiencies impacting the legal team and the organization.
• Proactive in pursuit of continuous improvement, learning new skills, and addressing clients’ business needs with practical solutions.
• Organized and process-oriented, with the ability to juggle multiple transactions and projects.
• Ability to work under pressure, prioritize, and manage workloads to meet deadlines in a challenging and fast-paced environment.
• Exceptional customer service and interpersonal skills.
• Able to handle and protect confidential, sensitive information.
• Committed to personal and professional growth, and receptivity to feedback.
• Ability to learn and adhere to the company’s internal legal management tools and contribute to improving the Legal Department’s practices.
• Ability to work full time in an office and remote environment and physically able to sit/stand at a computer and work in front of a computer screen for significant portions of the workday.
• Must become familiar with, and promote and abide by, our Vision & Legacy and foster an inclusive environment with people at all levels of the organization.

Education/Experience

• Juris Doctor degree from an accredited law school.
• Minimum of eight years of experience practicing law.
• Licensed to practice law and in good standing in at least one U.S. state.
• Familiarity with commodity futures, Article 2 of the UCC, food safety, commodity trading, and transportation (truck, rail, or vessel) would be useful.
• Experience with environmental law, employee benefits, or other disciplines that could be used across the larger corporate enterprise would be a plus.
• Fluent using the Microsoft Office Suite tools.
• Comfortable and adept at legal research tools (i.e. Practical Law).