Senior Corporate Counsel - Contracts
Puget Sound Energy ·
- Seniority
- Senior
- Employment
- Contract
- Category
- Legal
- Experience
- 3+ years
Puget Sound Energy is looking to grow our community with top talented individuals like you! With our rapidly growing, award winning energy efficiency programs, our pathway to an exciting and innovative future is now.
PSE's Legal Dept team is looking for qualified candidates to fill an open Senior Corporate Counsel - Contracts position!
Specific details regarding the work arrangements for this position will be discussed in further detail during the interview process.
Job Description
Puget Sound Energy is Washington State's largest and most established energy company. We serve over a million electric customers and over three quarter million natural gas customers. PSE is working to transform our business to meet increased energy demand and decarbonize our power supply while safely delivering reliable and resilient energy. We are looking for someone that shares our passion to reach our goals!
We contract with a multitude of organizations to ensure that we can deliver our clean energy future. The successful candidate will have a passion for contract review and to improve processes. This role will advise on contracts at all levels of our supply chains ranging from securing critical partners to building critical infrastructure assets. This role will work cross-functionally throughout the enterprise to assess legal and business risks and provide practical advice on appropriate risk allocation.
All PSE employees are expected to uphold the safety compliance standards inherent in PSE’s operating and/or field procedures related to work responsibilities and promote and support a culture of total safety. Additionally, employees need to demonstrate commitment to conduct business honestly, ethically and consistent with our core values and Code of Conduct. All duties are to be performed in accordance with all regulatory compliance obligations.
Job Responsibilities
- Prepare, negotiate, and manage various contracts, including vendor, services, materials, technology, software, consulting, confidentiality, and other procurement-related agreements, such as master services agreements, amendments, and statements of work.
- Provide legal advice and guidance on contracts to internal clients, acting as the first point of contact for legal terms review for PSE’s procurement team.
- Coordinate with internal stakeholders to ensure that risk assessments for all technology and related contract purchases are performed.
- Help improve templates, contracting and risk standards, and related protocols for procurement contracts.
- Manage a steady portfolio of active agreements in a fast-moving environment, ensure timely execution of assigned agreements and keep stakeholders regularly informed of progress.
- Identify legal and business risks in proposed vendor, service, or other procurement agreements.
- Advise on procurement related data privacy and data security issues.
- Partner with internal information security teams to help develop and improve technology vendor procurement and evaluation protocols.
- Provide training and educational programs to PSE employees regarding procurement matters.
- Collaborate with internal clients to understand their needs, provide guidance, and establish effective communications to ensure coordination and alignment of legal support.
- Maintain organized control of versions and retain documents in accordance with record retention policies.
- Monitor legal and related business trends, educate appropriate parties, and advocate for adjustments in policies and procedures.
- Advocate PSE’s interests to internal and external audiences in a variety of legal and business matters.
- Handle administrative matters efficiently and appropriately.
- Perform special projects and other legal responsibilities as assigned by the legal team to meet PSE’s business needs.
- Drive legal agreements to completion while working cross-functionally and soliciting input, feedback and approvals from business stakeholders as appropriate
Minimum Qualifications
- Juris Doctorate degree and 3 years of legal experience in a law firm or corporate legal department.
- Strong initiative plus excellent management, communication, teamwork, delegation, and problem-solving abilities.
- Demonstrated capacity to build relationships internally and externally; ability to establish rapport with business clients across the organization.
- Highly effective in written and verbal communication.
- Excellent advocacy and organization skills.
Desired Qualifications
- Significant experience reviewing and negotiating contracts, including data processing agreements and data security terms
- Strong experience working with vendors and supply chain processes, especially technology/software vendors, services-based vendors, field/on-site vendors and/or hardware/equipment vendors
- Very strong contract drafting skills
- Understanding of AI governance frameworks
- Experience with AI vendor due diligence and negotiating AI-specific contract provisions
- Excellent understanding of data privacy and data security law is necessary
- A high degree of independence and ability to succeed with little supervision
- Detail orientated, highly organized, and able to handle multiple tasks and projects in a fast-paced environment
- Experience with records management and information security
- Familiarity with contract and vendor management tools and processes
- 2+ years of experience working in procurement contracting or procurement management organization
- Experience directly advising clients and ability to provide high level of client service
- Experience with procurement and contracting with federal government and other governmental agencies a plus
- Understanding of utility or other regulated industry and applicable laws and regulations, including administrative law
- Experience with transmission and energy contracts a plus
- SEC and public company experience a plus
Additional Information
At PSE, we value our employees and provide them with opportunities to excel. We offer a competitive and comprehensive total rewards package. To learn more about why PSE is a great place to work, see our Employee Value Proposition, which highlights our commitment to employee growth, work-life balance, and meaningful career opportunities in the energy sector.
The pay range for this position is $164,900.00 - $274,500.00, and this position is eligible for annual goals based incentive bonuses.
PSE offers a suite of benefits to our employees. Employees are eligible for medical, dental, vision, basic life, and short- and long-term disability insurance. There are additional voluntary options of supplemental life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment insurance, flexible spending accounts for health care and dependent daycare, and an Employee assistance program (EAP). For long term savings, PSE offers a 401(k) investment option and a cash balance retirement plan. Employees will also receive Paid Time Off (PTO) and Paid Holidays throughout the calendar year. Detailed benefit overviews can be found on our Career page - Why Work For Us (pse.com).
Families and businesses depend on PSE to provide the energy they need to pursue their dreams. Our steadfast commitment to serving Washington communities with safe, dependable and efficient energy started in 1873. Today we're building the Northwest's energy future through efforts like our award winning energy efficiency programs and our leadership in renewable energy.
Puget Sound Energy is committed to providing equal employment opportunity to all qualified applicants. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, veteran status or presence of a disability that with or without reasonable accommodation does not prevent performance of the essential functions of the job, or any other category prohibited by local, state or federal law.
Should you have a disability that requires assistance and/or reasonable accommodation with the job application process, please contact the Human Resources Staffing department at [email protected] or 425-462-3017.