Sr. Counsel, Commercial Contracts & Vendor Management

通用磨坊股份有限公司•Minneapolis, MN

1d•$149,500 - $249,300•Onsite

About The Position

General Mills is seeking a senior attorney to join its Legal Department in Minneapolis, Minnesota, serving as a trusted legal advisor to procurement and supply chain organizations. The role provides counsel on a broad portfolio of complex commercial agreements and significant legal support to a newly established enterprise vendor management function. It is a high-impact, business-facing position for an experienced transactional attorney who can shape legal strategy across commercial relationships and apply business judgment and dispute resolution skills to protect the company’s interests and drive value across its vendor ecosystem. The attorney will support global Sourcing and Supply Chain operations by structuring, drafting, and negotiating indirect procurement agreements, direct materials contracts, and external supply chain contracts. The position also includes developing and using templates, playbooks, contracting guidelines, and artificial intelligence tools to improve efficiency and consistency, identifying and mitigating legal risks, and partnering with cross-functional stakeholders to provide practical legal advice. For the enterprise vendor management function, the attorney will assess contractual rights and obligations, develop strategies to resolve vendor disputes, engage with vendors and their counsel, document dispute resolutions, advise on contract interpretation and remedies, and collaborate with litigation counsel when disputes require escalation.

Requirements

J.D. from an accredited law school.
Active bar admission in at least one U.S. jurisdiction.
At least 7 years of post-J.D. experience in commercial contracting, including substantial hands-on experience across multiple categories of complex commercial agreements: indirect procurement, direct materials, and supply chain/logistics.
Demonstrated dispute resolution experience, including developing legal strategies and negotiating positions to resolve complex commercial disputes.
Ability to work effectively in a large, multinational, matrixed organization with multiple stakeholders and competing priorities.
Strong drafting, negotiation, and analytical skills, with meticulous attention to detail.
Excellent business judgment and ability to translate complex legal concepts into clear, actionable guidance for business partners.
Self-starter able to manage a high-volume workload, prioritize effectively, and exercise sound independent judgment.

Nice To Haves

Minnesota bar admission or eligibility for admission.
Prior in-house experience at, or significant advisory work for, a multinational consumer or manufacturing company.
Commercial contract litigation experience.
Experience supporting vendor management, supplier relationship management, or procurement governance programs.
Familiarity with contract lifecycle management (CLM) tools and legal technology platforms, including AI-based tools such as Harvey.AI.
Experience mentoring sourcing or procurement professionals regarding contract issues and dispute resolution techniques.

Responsibilities

Prepare contracting approaches for, draft, and negotiate complex commercial agreements supporting global Sourcing processes and Supply Chain operations.
Provide legal support for indirect contracts, including software licensing, SaaS and technology services, professional and consulting services, marketing and advertising, and inbound and outbound intellectual property licensing agreements.
Draft and negotiate direct materials contracts for ingredients, raw materials, and packaging materials used to manufacture consumer packaged goods.
Structure and negotiate external supply chain contracts, including contract manufacturing and co-packing, warehousing and distribution, transportation and freight, and other logistics and supply chain services agreements.
Develop, maintain, and use template agreements, playbooks, contracting guidelines, and artificial intelligence tools to improve efficiency and consistency across the procurement legal function.
Identify and assess legal risks, propose risk-mitigating approaches, and escalate significant issues to senior leadership as appropriate.
Partner with Sourcing, Supply Chain, Finance, Digital & Technology, marketing, and business and operating unit leadership to provide practical legal advice.
Provide significant legal support to the enterprise vendor management function within the Sourcing organization.
Review existing vendor agreements to identify, catalog, and assess contractual rights, obligations, and remedies.
Develop negotiating positions and legal strategies to resolve vendor disputes, including disputes involving service levels, pricing, intellectual property, indemnification, and breach of contract.
Engage directly with vendors and their counsel to resolve disputes through negotiation, mediation, or other dispute resolution mechanisms.
Document vendor dispute resolutions by drafting settlement agreements, amendments, and related correspondence.
Advise the vendor management team on contract interpretation, contractual remedies, renewals, amendments, and terminations.
Collaborate with litigation counsel when vendor disputes escalate beyond informal resolution.