Commercial Legal Counsel

Village Farms International•Lake Mary, FL

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Village Farms International is seeking a Commercial Legal Counsel to provide practical, business-focused legal support for its cannabis operations. This role reports to the COO and collaborates with various departments including Commercial, Operations, Finance, Regulatory, and Government Relations. The ideal candidate is a commercially minded, collaborative lawyer with strong legal judgment and practical execution skills, comfortable advising on both strategic and hands-on matters. This is an in-office position located in Lake Mary, FL.

Requirements

Minimum 7 years of legal experience, with 5 years of in-house legal experience in a highly regulated global environment, preferably cannabis.
A strong transactional background with demonstrated experience drafting, negotiating, and closing commercial agreements.
Experience reviewing and interpreting international regulations, particularly in markets relevant to cannabis.
Demonstrated leadership experience, whether through direct people leadership, cross-functional project leadership, or serving as the senior legal resource for a business unit.
Strong project-management skills with the ability to manage multiple workstreams, deadlines, and stakeholders.
Strong commercial instincts and the ability to translate legal risk into practical business guidance.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, with confidence presenting to senior leaders and external partners.
A highly organized and self-directed approach, with the ability to prioritize effectively in a fast-moving environment.
A collaborative working style and strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to build trusted relationships across functions.
Eligibility to obtain and maintain a valid Health Canada security clearance, including required RCMP criminal record checks under the Cannabis Act.

Nice To Haves

Working proficiency in a European language, preferably Dutch or German, is an asset.

Responsibilities

Draft, review, and negotiate a broad range of commercial agreements, including supply, distribution, manufacturing, retail partnership, confidentiality, and service agreements.
Lead and coordinate transactions from initiation through execution.
Help centralize and standardize contracting, templates, terms, approvals, and contract-management practices.
Partner with business leaders, Finance, counterparties, and external counsel to balance business objectives, risk, timing, and cost.
Coordinate Health Canada licensing requirements across Canadian cannabis operations.
Manage applicable provincial, federal, and international filings, registrations, and regulatory requirements.
Track key legal and regulatory deadlines and coordinate timely submissions across the business.
Support legal and regulatory requirements across international markets, including the Netherlands.
Partner with internal legal and regulatory experts on compliance matters and evolving requirements.
Provide clear, practical legal guidance to executive and cross-functional stakeholders.
Translate complex legal issues into actionable business advice.
Support commercialization, market entry, operational execution, and other strategic initiatives.
Identify risks early and help develop practical solutions that allow the business to move forward.
Strengthen contract management, legal intake, regulatory tracking, and document-management practices.
Maintain appropriate legal registers, templates, standards, and governance processes.
Coordinate external counsel where specialized support is required.
Identify opportunities to improve consistency, visibility, efficiency, and control across legal activities.
Partner across Commercial, Operations, Finance, Regulatory, Government Relations, and other functions.
Support evolving legal and business priorities as needed.
Will be required to perform other duties as requested, directed or assigned.
Regular attendance in conformance with the standards, which may be established by Village Farms International, Inc. from time to time, is essential to the successful performance of this position.