Senior Corporate Counsel, Employment and Public Affairs

SUMMARY/JOB PURPOSE: Exelixis is seeking a seasoned Senior Corporate Counsel, Employment and Public Affairs to join the Legal Department’s General & Administrative (G&A) Legal group, reporting to the Vice President of Legal Affairs and Operations.
The responsibilities of this newly established position focus predominantly on legal issues distinctly related to the company’s Human Resources and Public Affairs functions, including labor and employment policies, employee relations issues, litigation and dispute management, and transactional support.
You will be an integral member of the Legal Department, working closely with colleagues and management in your department, as well as independently in a dynamic, collegial environment.
You will manage, maintain and further develop a team supporting general vendor agreements, consulting contracts, and employment law matters.
You and this team will also support other General & Administrative functions, as needed.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: Lead a team of legal professionals (contract managers and administrators) providing general legal and contracting support to the company’s Human Resources and Public Affairs teams.
Advise and counsel senior management and the company’s HR team concerning the satisfactory resolution of employment law issues, internal investigations, audits, pre-dispute conflicts, employment law claims, arbitrations, and labor relation matters.
Collaborate closely with stakeholders to evolve scalable employment policies and programs, such as within the company’s employee handbook and through its benefit offerings.
Work closely with, and act as a liaison with, outside counsel to ensure that the company’s senior legal leadership obtains appropriate specialized support and manages risk effectively.
Draft, revise, negotiate, and manage a wide range of contracts in support of day-to-day operations of the company, including various employment staffing agreements (recruiting, temp staffing, executive search), employee benefit or activity agreements, services and consulting agreements, and task orders/statements of work, and amendments.
Advise Contracts Managers on complex negotiations and provide additional training in subject matter areas as necessary.
Lead the ongoing development of contracting playbooks and templates in your areas of support in collaboration with other G&A Contracts Counsel.
Take a leadership role in the continuity and improvement of the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of contract drafting, negotiation, processes, and procedures.
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES: Supervises staff, including hiring, scheduling, managing workloads, and assigning work, reviewing performance, and recommends salary increases, promotions, transfers, demotions, or terminations.
EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE/KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS: Education: BS/BA degree.
JD degree is required and must be admitted to practice, preferably in California.
Experience: 6-8 years of experience as counsel in a law firm or in-house legal environment, preferably supporting life sciences companies.
Experienced in employment and labor disputes.
Client counseling experience required, and employment litigation experience preferred.
Knowledge/Skills: Possesses executive presence and ability to interact comfortably and appropriately with executives and senior management.
Has clear and concise verbal and written communication skills, as well as excellent interpersonal skills.
Has broad and deep knowledge of contractual terms and solutions to contractual issues across a wide variety of subject matter areas.
Has a track record of progressively responsible professional experience.
Can proactively develop and propose creative solutions for complex problems and implement organizational or team objectives in a professional and timely manner.
Has experience with change management, including participating on task forces or steering committees, building consensus, and communicating change successfully.
Is a collegial team player with demonstrated drive and initiative.
Has a collaborative client-service mindset and works independently with clients to meet their needs.
Communicates effectively with outside vendors/partners and serve as a liaison between outside counsel and key internal stakeholders to help drive matters and issues to resolution.
Takes ownership of and responsibility for work product (including executing tasks independently and timely) and re-prioritizes work/deliverables as necessary.
Is creative and strategic in providing practical advice that balances risks with business objectives.
Demonstrates mature judgment and possesses a high sense of integrity and professionalism.
Is detail-oriented, has excellent organizational skills, and can manage multiple transactions and projects simultaneously, sometimes under tight deadlines.
Possesses a sense of humor and perspective.
Has strong computer skills in document preparation and data presentation (Word, PowerPoint, Excel).
WORKING CONDITIONS: Environment: primarily working indoors, performing desk work.
Infrequent travel may be required.
#LI-HG1 If you like wild growth and working with happy, enthusiastic over-achievers, you'll enjoy your career with us! Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several U.
S.
geographic markets, and we pay differently based on those defined markets.
The base pay range for this position is $217,500 - $316,000 annually.
The base pay range may take into account the candidate’s geographic region, which will adjust the pay depending on the specific work location.
The base pay offered will take into account the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, experience and internal equity, among other factors.
In addition to the base salary, as part of our Total Rewards program, Exelixis offers comprehensive employee benefits package, including a 401k plan with generous company contributions, group medical, dental and vision coverage, life and disability insurance, and flexible spending accounts.
Employees are also eligible for a discretionary annual bonus program, or if field sales staff, a sales-based incentive plan.
Exelixis also offers employees the opportunity to purchase company stock, and receive long-term incentives, 15 accrued vacation days in their first year, 17 paid holidays including a company-wide winter shutdown in December, and up to 10 sick days throughout the calendar year.
DISCLAIMER The preceding job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification.
It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities and qualifications required of employees assigned to the job.
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran, and basis of disability or any other federal, state or local protected class.