Counsel, Procurement - North America

Valvoline Global•Lexington, KY

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

Valvoline Global Operations is seeking a Counsel, Procurement – North America to provide strategic and practical legal support for the company's North American procurement activities. This role will support both direct and indirect procurement transactions, as well as global procurement agreements managed through the North America organization. The Counsel will advise procurement and business stakeholders on contract structure, negotiation strategy, legal risk, compliance, and commercial terms, ensuring alignment with Valvoline Global Operations' business objectives while mitigating legal and financial risks. This is a fast-paced, high-touch role with significant contracting responsibility, requiring the Counsel to act as a trusted business partner who can understand business needs, exercise sound judgment, make practical decisions, and efficiently manage transactions to completion. The role also involves contributing to the continuous improvement of Valvoline Global Operations' procurement contracting framework, including legal processes, technology utilization, playbooks, standard terms, rules of engagement, and contract management practices.

Requirements

Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from an accredited law school and admission to practice law in at least one U.S. jurisdiction.
Strong commercial and transactional legal experience, with demonstrated expertise in procurement contracting, contract drafting, review, and negotiation.
Strong technical knowledge of commercial contracts and the ability to identify, assess, and mitigate legal and business risk.
Ability to effectively manage a high volume of contracts and competing priorities in a fast-paced, high-touch environment.
Sound judgment and decision-making skills, with the ability to provide practical, business-oriented legal advice and determine when matters require escalation.
Strong collaborator who can quickly establish trust and rapport with Procurement, business leaders, and cross-functional partners.
Excellent communication and negotiation skills, including the ability to translate complex legal issues into clear, actionable guidance.
Experience developing and improving contracting processes, playbooks, standard clauses, templates, and rules of engagement.
Experience with contract lifecycle management systems; experience with Ironclad preferred.
Ability to provide effective direction and oversight to contract management resources.

Nice To Haves

Litigation or commercial dispute experience is a plus.

Responsibilities

Provide legal counsel and strategic support for direct and indirect procurement transactions across North America, including goods, services, professional services, technology, logistics, facilities, marketing, consulting, and other categories.
Draft, review, negotiate, and approve a broad range of commercial and procurement agreements, amendments, statements of work, purchase-related terms, master agreements, and related contractual documents.
Support North America-led global procurement agreements, partnering with regional and global stakeholders to identify and address jurisdictional, regulatory, operational, and commercial considerations.
Develop negotiation strategies that appropriately balance VGO’s business objectives, commercial requirements, operational needs, and legal risk.
Identify, evaluate, communicate, and mitigate contractual risks, including issues relating to indemnification, limitation of liability, warranties, intellectual property, confidentiality, data privacy, insurance, compliance, termination, dispute resolution, service levels, cybersecurity, business continuity, and other material terms.
Provide timely, practical legal guidance to Procurement and other business partners, helping stakeholders understand legal risks and available options without unnecessarily slowing the business.
Determine when issues can be resolved through standard contracting positions and when matters require escalation or specialized legal support.
Partner with subject-matter experts and other members of the Legal function on matters involving privacy, intellectual property, employment, tax, regulatory, compliance, litigation, and other areas of legal risk.
Establish strong relationships and credibility with Procurement and key business functions through responsive, solutions-oriented legal support.
Serve as a trusted advisor to Procurement leadership and business stakeholders, understanding their objectives and translating legal requirements into practical recommendations.
Work closely with Finance, Supply Chain, IT, Information Security, Compliance, Operations, and other functions to align legal, commercial, and operational considerations.
Build trust and rapport quickly in a high-volume environment and effectively manage competing priorities and deadlines.
Communicate complex legal issues clearly to non-legal stakeholders and provide recommendations that support informed decision-making.
Demonstrate appropriate business judgment, knowing when to accept, manage, or escalate risk based on the circumstances and potential impact to VGO.
Contribute to the continuous development and improvement of VGO’s procurement contracting processes and legal operating model.
Help optimize use of the Ironclad contract lifecycle management system, including workflows, approvals, templates, reporting, user adoption, and process improvements.
Develop, maintain, and continuously improve procurement legal playbooks, negotiation guidance, standard clause libraries, contract templates, fallback positions, and other self-service legal resources.
Establish and refine standard rules of engagement between Legal, Procurement, and the business to clarify roles, responsibilities, approval requirements, escalation thresholds, and decision rights.
Identify opportunities to streamline contracting, reduce cycle times, increase consistency, and improve the quality and visibility of legal risk management.
Use data, contracting trends, and stakeholder feedback to identify recurring issues and recommend process, policy, or contractual improvements.
Help develop metrics and reporting that provide visibility into contracting volume, turnaround times, material risks, and legal team performance.
Provide direction, oversight, and partnership to the Contracts Manager including prioritization of work, issue escalation, process consistency, and continued development of contract management capabilities.
Establish appropriate division of responsibilities to support efficient handling of routine and complex agreements.
Develop scalable approaches that allow lower-risk and standardized transactions to be handled efficiently while preserving appropriate attorney involvement for higher-risk matters.
Share knowledge, provide coaching, and support development of contracting capabilities across the broader Legal organization.
Ensure procurement agreements appropriately protect VGO’s legal and commercial interests and are consistent with applicable policies, delegated authority, and risk tolerance.
Advise stakeholders on contract governance, compliance obligations, and appropriate escalation of material legal or commercial risks.
Support development and implementation of contracting standards and controls designed to promote consistency and reduce avoidable risk.
Monitor recurring contractual issues and emerging risks and work proactively with Legal and business leadership to address systemic concerns.
Support dispute avoidance through thoughtful contract drafting, clear allocation of responsibilities, and effective management of contractual obligations.
Provide legal support for contract-related claims, disputes, and escalations, partnering with litigation counsel or other specialists as appropriate.
Serve as an active member of the Americas Legal team and contribute to broader legal department initiatives and priorities.
Partner with colleagues across regions and legal disciplines to promote consistency and sharing of best practices in commercial contracting.
Support special projects, strategic initiatives, and other matters assigned by the Regional Lead Counsel – Americas.
Maintain awareness of legal and regulatory developments affecting procurement and commercial contracting and evaluate implications for VGO.