[Hiring] Corporate Counsel @Niagara Bottling

Role Description

At Niagara, we’re looking for Team Members who want to be part of achieving our mission to provide our customers the highest quality most affordable bottled water. Consider applying here, if you want to:

• Work in an entrepreneurial and dynamic environment with a chance to make an impact.
• Develop lasting relationships with great people.
• Have the opportunity to build a satisfying career.

We offer competitive compensation and benefits packages for our Team Members.

As Corporate Counsel, you will be an integral member of the Legal team and a key business enabler, responsible for providing proactive, solution-oriented legal support that accelerates commercial growth while helping to manage and mitigate legal risk. Your primary responsibilities include:

• Lead end-to-end contract management for primarily sales and customer-focused commercial agreements, including intake, prioritization, drafting, negotiation, and execution of master agreements, amendments, addenda, NDAs, and related documents with minimal supervision.
• Serve as the primary legal point of contact for the Water and Beverage Sales teams, providing real-time commercial legal support and strategic counsel on customer-facing transactions and relationships.
• Act as a trusted advisor and strategic business partner to internal stakeholders across multiple business units, translating complex legal concepts into practical, actionable business guidance.
• Develop, maintain, and continuously improve contract templates, playbooks, and processes to drive efficiency and scalability across the legal function.
• Build and maintain strong cross-functional relationships with internal business teams (e.g., Sales, Operations, Finance, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, Product Development, Product Engineering, Compliance) and external partners, including key customer stakeholders.
• Partner proactively with business teams by participating in pipeline meetings, deal reviews, and strategic planning sessions to provide early-stage legal input and become deeply embedded in business operations.
• Identify, assess, and mitigate commercial and contractual risks, escalating material issues to legal and business leadership and recommending risk mitigation strategies that enable business objectives.
• Manage and help resolve pre-litigation disputes, customer claims, and commercial controversies, working collaboratively to achieve favorable outcomes while preserving important business relationships.
• Support special projects, M&A / joint venture due diligence, and other strategic initiatives as requested by the Associate General Counsel, Sales and Beverage and/or the General Counsel / Vice President of Legal Affairs.
• Design and deliver training programs for cross-functional business partners and plant personnel on contract processes, legal risk awareness, and compliance-related matters.
• Stay current on legal developments, industry trends, and emerging issues affecting the food and beverage and CPG industries.

Please note this job description is not designed to contain a comprehensive list of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without prior notice.

Qualifications

• Juris Doctor (J.D.) from an ABA-accredited law school
• Active bar membership in good standing in at least one U.S. state (California bar preferred)
• 8+ years of relevant legal experience, including substantial experience in commercial contracts, transactions, and/or sales-related legal matters
• Significant experience drafting, reviewing, and negotiating complex commercial agreements (MSAs, supply agreements, distribution agreements, license agreements, etc.)
• Proven track record of serving as a trusted legal advisor to business stakeholders in a fast-paced, high-volume environment
• Experience may include a combination of law firm and in-house practice

Requirements

• 10+ years of relevant legal experience with progressive responsibility (preferred)
• Prior in-house experience at a consumer packaged goods (CPG), food and beverage, or manufacturing company strongly preferred
• Intellectual property law knowledge in the context of drafting, revising and negotiating commercial agreements
• Experience supporting national retail accounts or large-scale and complex commercial relationships
• Familiarity with food and beverage regulatory frameworks, product labeling, and supply chain compliance

Benefits

• Paid Time Off for holidays, sick time, and vacation time
• Paid parental and caregiver leaves
• Medical, including virtual care options
• Dental
• Vision
• 401(k) with company match
• Health Savings Account with company match
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Expanded mental wellbeing benefits including free counseling sessions for all team members and household family members
• Family Building Benefits including enhanced fertility benefits for IVF and fertility preservation plus adoption, surrogacy, and Doula reimbursements
• Income protection including Life and AD&D, short and long-term disability, critical illness and an accident plan
• Special discount programs including pet plans, pre-paid legal services, identity theft, car rental, airport parking, etc.
• Tuition reimbursement, college savings plan and scholarship opportunities
• And more!