Senior Director, Legal & Real Estate

About Ace Retail Group

Ace Retail Group (ARG), is a division of Ace Hardware Corporation that owns and operates several Ace brands, including Westlake Ace, Great Lakes Ace, Buikema’s Ace, Outer Banks Ace, Dennis Company, and Breed & Company. ARG is one of the largest hardware retailers in the United States and has two headquarters located in Lenexa, KS and Farmington Hills, MI. ARG’s origins date back over a century and operates over 250 neighborhood stores located throughout the United States. Great people make ARG stand out in our industry, and we are looking for individuals who strive for personal and professional growth, and who want to work with a company founded on (and still led by) our solid Core Values of: Winning, Excellence, Love, Integrity, Gratitude, Humility and Teamwork.

About Ace Retail Group

Ace Retail Group (ARG) is a division of Ace Hardware Corporation that owns and operates several well-known Ace brands, including Westlake Ace, Great Lakes Ace, Buikema’s Ace, Outer Banks Ace, Dennis Company, and Breed & Company. As one of the largest hardware retailers in the United States, ARG operates more than 250 neighborhood stores nationwide and maintains its headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas.

With roots dating back over a century, ARG’s success is driven by its people. What truly sets us apart in the industry is our commitment to hiring and developing individuals who are passionate about personal and professional growth and who want to be part of a company built on strong, enduring Core Values: Winning, Excellence, Love, Integrity, Gratitude, Humility and Teamwork

General Job Summary

Ace Retail Group is seeking a highly capable, business-minded attorney to serve as Director, Legal & Real Estate—a critical leadership role at the center of the Company’s growth strategy. This leader will own all legal advising and activity across the enterprise while also driving and executing the Company’s real estate strategy and new store growth. Acting as the Company’s primary legal advisor and a key strategic partner to the President and executive team, this role blends legal expertise with commercial acumen and deal execution. This is a unique opportunity for an attorney who wants to move beyond traditional legal work and directly shape the growth trajectory of a multi-state retail platform.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Enterprise Legal Leadership

• Serve as the Company’s primary in-house counsel, advising on all legal matters including contracts, real estate, compliance, employment, and corporate governance
• Lead and develop the legal function, including oversight of the Director of Legal Services and internal team
• Draft, negotiate, and structure complex commercial agreements and strategic transactions
• Manage all external counsel relationships, ensuring efficient, high-quality legal support
• Own enterprise risk management, compliance, and legal strategy

Real Estate Strategy & Growth

• Own the Company’s real estate function end-to-end, including leadership of the Director of Real Estate
• Lead new store growth strategy, including market prioritization, site selection, and pipeline development
• Structure and negotiate retail leases, acquisitions, renewals, and dispositions
• Partner closely with operations and finance to optimize the real estate portfolio and capital deployment
• Drive a disciplined, data-informed approach to expanding store count across the United States

Executive Leadership & Business Partnership

• Act as a trusted advisor to the President and executive team, influencing key strategic decisions
• Provide clear, practical, and commercially grounded legal guidance that enables the business to move quickly and confidently
• Balance risk management with growth, ensuring legal oversight accelerates—not inhibits—execution
• Play a visible leadership role in shaping Company strategy and performance

Other Essential Requirements

Ability to exhibit and incorporate our Core Values into daily decisions and interactions with others:

• WINNING – In business, money is the score. To win, we must perform, compete, and have fun. At Ace, we win through people- our strength is being helpful.
• EXCELLENCE – Excellence honors God and inspires people. We aspire to be the best, to continuously improve and to inspire others by giving the team our very best.
• LOVE – Love the people, love the work and love the results.
• INTEGRITY – For Ace to win, we need to be able to trust each other. And trust will require us to be honest, reliable, caring, of high character and of unquestioned ethics.
• GRATITUDE – We recognize that we are blessed to be in the business of serving others.
• HUMILITY – We strive for greatness with a humble, modest and respectful attitude.
• TEAMWORK – We will fight the natural tendency for control and credit in favor of collaboration and mutual success, recognizing that…Together, we are Ace.

Minimum Qualifications, Requirements and Skills

• Juris Doctor (JD) with active bar admission
• 8–15+ years of legal experience, including a combination of law firm and in-house experience (preferred)
• Demonstrated experience in commercial real estate and multi-location retail environments
• Proven track record advising on broad business risk, including contracts, employment, regulatory, and operational matters
• Elite negotiator with a strong deal-making mindset
• Deep business acumen with the ability to connect legal decisions to financial outcomes
• Ability to operate strategically while executing at a high level day-to-day
• Strong leadership presence with confidence working alongside executive teams
• High ownership mentality—comfortable being accountable for outcomes across legal and real estate

Compensation Details

$150,000-$170,000 per year

For a full list of benefits and open positions, please visit us at: https://acehardware.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/ARG_External

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Equal Opportunity Employer
Ace Retail Group is committed to a policy of promoting equal employment opportunities. The company recognizes the importance of diversity and leveraging the skills and talents of all people to the mutual advantage of each individual and the organization. The company is committed to the prevention of employment discrimination related to race, religion, color, sex (including sexual harassment), gender identity, national origin, age, marital status, disability and military discharge, or any other action covered by federal or state laws.