Vice President - Commercial Legal Affairs

Job Summary

Required Qualifications

• •Juris doctorate degree from an accredited U.S. law school
• •Active state bar membership in good standing
• •At least 15 years of relevant legal experience
• •In-house position at technology companies directly supporting a sales organization
• •Experience recruiting, managing, mentoring and leading a team of legal professionals
• •Ability to recruit, manage, mentor and lead a team of legal professionals
• •Providing both tactical and strategic legal leadership to contribute to overall business initiatives
• •Ability to make sound business decisions quickly and in the face of ambiguity and uncertainty
• •High level of business acumen with a strategic mindset that can align legal strategies with overall business objectives
• •Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• •Ability to convey complex legal concepts in a clear and concise manner
• •Ability to manage and lead team resources creatively and efficiently
• •Ability to handle escalations from the business collaboratively and cooperatively
• •Meticulous attention to detail
• •Ability to manage and prioritize multiple concurrent matters in a fast-paced environment
• •Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• •Ability to deliver balanced, pragmatic risk assessments
• •Ability to work both independently and collaboratively across all levels of an organization
• •Service-oriented, responsive, professional and strong integrity
• •Ability to drive your own results
• •Ability to see challenges as opportunities to develop and move with an experimental mindset
• •Low-ego individual that has the ability to view issues holistically
• •Ability to operate as a business person
• •Flexible, fun, hard-working individual that thrives in dynamic and fast-moving environments
• •Desire to be impactful
• •Integral part of shaping and nurturing an amazing work culture
• •This role is based in our San Mateo (California) office
• •This role is hybrid, Tuesday - Thursday in office

Desired Qualifications

• •Strong understanding of AI powered SaaS business models
• •Experience during the growth-to-great phase of its lifecycle
• •Experience identifying and addressing risks and opportunities
• •Experience helping move quickly to execute company business objectives
• •Experience ensuring legal considerations are integrated into business decisions
• •Experience supporting continuous improvements of commercial legal playbooks, sales resources, forms, policies and processes
• •Experience training and enabling sales teams
• •Experience simplifying contracting processes
• •Experience responsible for overall product compliance
• •Experience with go-to-market operations
• •Experience with marketing organization
• •Experience staying updated on relevant laws, regulations, and industry trends
• •Experience ensuring all commercial transactions and product offerings conform to relevant national and international laws
• •Experience with industry-specific regulations
• •Experience with applicable privacy and data protection regulations
• •Experience providing strategic legal advice to mitigate risks and potential liabilities
• •Experience driving the business forward to clients on a wide range of legal matters
• •Experience with commercial contracts
• •Experience with commercial disputes
• •Experience with strategic transactions
• •Experience with M&A
• •Experience with privacy and cybersecurity
• •Experience working with the Information Security team
• •Experience reviewing potential customer breach incidents
• •Experience working on communications to customers
• •Experience serving as a representative of the Legal Leadership Team
• •Experience driving the Company strategy, goals and culture into the organization
• •Ability to lead the global commercial legal team
• •Ability to navigate escalations
• •Ability to design legal operations
• •Ability to drive and manage multiple complex customer negotiations and commercial projects through to completion
• •Ability to balance strategic judgment and operational excellence
• •Ability to lead through complexity
• •Ability to utilize technology to drive execution at global scale
• •Ability to proactively lead the global commercial legal team
• •Ability to partner closely with peer leaders
• •Ability to partner with Sales
• •Ability to partner with Professional Services
• •Ability to partner with Sales Operations
• •Ability to partner with Deals Desk
• •Ability to partner with Finance
• •Ability to partner with Product
• •Ability to partner with Partner & Alliances
• •Ability to partner with Marketing and Information Security
• •Ability to ensure that all commercial activities are conducted in compliance with relevant laws and regulations
• •Ability to structure, drafting, reviewing, and negotiating a wide range of commercial agreements applicable to a SaaS company
• •Experience with MSAs
• •Experience with DPAs
• •Experience with vendor agreements
• •Experience with professional services agreements
• •Experience with partnership, distributor & reseller agreements
• •Ability to direct and participate in high-stakes negotiations with external parties
• •Ability to ensure that the company's interests are protected
• •Ability to maintain positive business relationships
• •Ability to drive deal closure
• •Ability to serve as a trusted legal advisor and business partner to clients across the organization
• •Ability to ensure that all commercial activities are conducted in compliance with relevant laws and regulations
• •Ability to provide solutions-oriented, pragmatic and proactive legal advice
• •Ability to lead a team of commercial attorneys
• •Ability to ensure that the company's interests are protected
• •Ability to maintain positive business relationships
• •Ability to drive deal closure
• •Ability to proactively identify and address risks and opportunities
• •Ability to help Freshworks move quickly to execute company business objectives
• •Ability to ensure legal considerations are integrated into such business decisions
• •Ability to support continuous improvements of commercial legal playbooks, sales resources, forms, policies and processes
• •Ability to help train and enable our sales teams
• •Ability to simplify our contracting processes
• •Ability to ensure all commercial transactions and product offerings conform to relevant national and international laws
• •Ability to ensure all commercial transactions and product offerings conform to industry-specific regulations
• •Ability to ensure all commercial transactions and product offerings conform to applicable privacy and data protection regulations
• •Ability to provide strategic legal advice to mitigate risks and potential liabilities
• •Ability to drive the business forward to clients on a wide range of legal matters
• •Ability to work with the Information Security team
• •Ability to review potential customer breach incidents
• •Ability to work on communications to customers
• •Ability to serve as a representative of the Legal Leadership Team
• •Ability to drive the Company strategy, goals and culture into the organization
• •Ability to exhibit Radical Candor
• •Ability to care personally and challenge directly
• •Ability to influence and inspire
• •Ability to identify and resolve issues quickly and effectively
• •Ability to make on-the-spot risk calls
• •Ability to make sound business decisions quickly and in the face of ambiguity and uncertainty
• •Ability to maintain a calm and composed demeanor under pressure
• •Ability to align legal strategies with overall business objectives
• •Ability to convey complex legal concepts in a clear and concise manner
• •Ability to manage and lead team resources creatively and efficiently
• •Ability to handle escalations from the business collaboratively and cooperatively
• •Ability to achieve reasonable outcomes
• •Ability to manage and prioritize multiple concurrent matters in a fast-paced environment
• •Ability to deliver balanced, pragmatic risk assessments
• •Ability to work both independently and collaboratively across all levels of an organization
• •Ability to avoid siloed thinking
• •Ability to drive your own results
• •Ability to take on any project in a small in-house legal team environment
• •Ability to get stuff done
• •Ability to see challenges as opportunities to develop and move with an experimental mindset
• •Ability to find simpler or innovative ways to get the real work that matters done
• •Ability to deliver results
• •Ability to abandon past practices if they don't make sense
• •Ability to avoid leading to a poor outcome
• •Ability to view issues holistically
• •Ability to operate as a business person
• •Ability to take an expansive view of how to drive the business forward
• •Ability to be flexible
• •Ability to be fun
• •Ability to be hard-working
• •Ability to thrive in dynamic and fast-moving environments
• •Ability to have the desire to be impactful
• •Ability to want to be an integral part of shaping and nurturing an amazing work culture