United Sugar Producers & Refiners is seeking a strategic, pragmatic, and hands-on Senior Legal Counsel and Director of Operational Compliance to join its in-house legal team.

This is a dual-mandate role:

a true legal generalist providing practical, business-minded legal advice across the company's operations, paired with direct leadership of two critical functions — Safety & Training, and Sustainability. The ideal candidate combines strong commercial legal skills with the people-leadership and program-management experience needed to run compliance-driven teams, and brings a collaborative mindset well suited to the company's cooperative culture.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS

Reports to: Chief Legal Counsel, VP Administration Direct reports: Safety & Training Manager, Sustainability Director Key business partners: Sales, Strategy, Supply Chain, Transportation, IT, Finance, and Human Resources, Quality Assurance

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Operational Compliance Leadership Lead and develop the Safety & Training, and Sustainability teams, setting strategy, priorities, and budgets for each function. Build and maintain enterprise-wide compliance programs, partnering with business leaders to operationalize regulatory requirements and embed them into day-to-day practice. For Workplace Safety & Training, it means directing programs that keep the company compliant with OSHA and related state and federal frameworks, and overseeing incident investigation, reporting, and corrective action. For Sustainability, it means guiding the function on environmental regulations, reporting obligations, and ESG expectations, and integrating sustainability into broader business strategy. Across all three, develop meaningful metrics and report progress and risk to senior leadership. Commercial Contracting Draft, review, and negotiate a broad range of commercial agreements, including sales and customer agreements, master services agreements (MSAs), and statements of work (SOWs); procurement and supply chain agreements, including manufacturing, warehousing, and logistics contracts; transportation and freight carrier agreements; technology agreements such as SaaS subscriptions, software licenses, and IT consulting contracts; confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements; financing agreements and real estate leases; and employee benefit plan documents and related employment agreements. Business Unit Legal Support Serve as a trusted, responsive legal advisor across the business: advising Sales & Strategy on antitrust and pricing policy and on commercial parties' rights and obligations; advising Supply Chain & Transportation on logistics, vendor relationships, and transportation regulatory compliance; supporting IT on technology procurement, data privacy and security (e.g., GDPR, CCPA), and digital transformation initiatives; supporting Finance on financing transactions, credit issues, and corporate financial compliance; and partnering with HR on employment law matters, including policy development, employee relations, benefit plan interpretation, and compliance with federal and state labor laws. Manage outside counsel relationships and budgets, and manage and help resolve pre-litigation commercial disputes and claims. Support corporate governance and board matters, consistent with the company's cooperative structure. Other duties as assigned.

CANDIDATE PROFILE

Required J.D. from an accredited law school and an active license to practice law in good standing with at least one state bar. A minimum of seven years of relevant legal experience, in a law firm, in-house legal department, or a combination of both. Demonstrated experience drafting and negotiating a wide range of complex commercial contracts. Experience advising on or leading a regulatory, quality, safety, or sustainability/ESG function, or substantial exposure to one of these areas. Ability to translate complex legal and regulatory requirements into clear, practical guidance for a non-legal audience. Strong people-leadership skills, with experience managing teams or cross-functional programs. Excellent analytical, communication, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build trusted relationships across all levels of the organization. Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple projects with competing deadlines simultaneously. A self-starter who can think ahead, work independently, and anticipate business needs. Proven ability or strong desire to transition from a purely legal advisory role into a broader leadership role encompassing regulatory business functions. Demonstrated interest in or experience with regulatory affairs, compliance programs, or leading cross-functional business teams (e.g., quality, safety, sustainability). Preferred Experience in food, agriculture, or manufacturing industries. Familiarity with antitrust/competition law. Working knowledge of OSHA and workplace safety regulatory frameworks. Familiarity with ESG reporting frameworks and sustainability regulatory trends.

EDUCATION

Juris Doctor (JD) from an ABA-accredited law school and active state bar membership is required.