Sr. Counsel, Commercial Law - Mars Veterinary Health

JOB TITLE:

Sr. Counsel, Commercial Law - Mars Veterinary Health

LOCATION & SCHEDULE:

Support Office - Vancouver, Full time

COMPENSATION:

$145,600.00 - $227,500.00

 

As  part of the Mars Petcare family of businesses, Mars Veterinary Health is a global network of veterinary practices made possible by 75,000 Associates who care for millions of pets across nearly 3,000 clinics in more than 20 countries each year. We are committed to leveraging our reach to make a long-term positive impact on people, pets, and the planet and know our Purpose – A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS – starts with the people who care for them. We strive to offer unparalleled veterinary care for pets by first and foremost enabling and empowering our Associates to do what they love, whether in primary, specialty, and emergency care or management and leadership.

 

This role requires associates to work out of a MVH North America hub location – Vancouver, WA | Santa Monica, CA | Tampa, FL

 

Why This Role Matters:

The Senior Counsel, Commercial Law supports Mars Veterinary Health’s (MVH) business units in North America, including Banfield, BluePearl, and VCA. This role is part of the MVH Legal function’s regional Commercial Law Center of Excellence & Deployment (CoE&D), a collaborative pool of legal resources, designed to flexibly support business needs, balance workloads across the team, and provide responsive, high impact commercial law guidance across multiple business lines and jurisdictions, including outside the United States with the assistance of local counsel.

 

The Senior Counsel, Commercial Law provides responsive, business-oriented legal support across a diverse portfolio of commercial transactions and strategic and operational matters, based on deep expertise in commercial contracts, risk allocation, third party strategic collaborations, and legal support for cross-functional business operations. The role requires strong drafting and negotiation skills, business acumen, and a collaborative mindset.

 

You Will:

• Provide practical, risk-balanced legal advice on a broad range of commercial matters for North American business units, including:
  • Vendor and customer agreements
  • Distribution contracts
  • Licensing and technology agreements
  • Service-level agreements (SLAs), NDAs, MOUs, Mars intercompany agreements and other legal documentation
  • Strategic sourcing and indirect and direct procurement activities, including pharmaceuticals, medical supplies and equipment, and related services
  • Support on leasing matters and other activities of the MVH Real Estate and Facilities Management team
  • Agreements related to strategic initiatives of the MVH Medical and Scientific Affairs teams
• Draft, review, and negotiate complex agreements related MVH Commercial, Medical and Scientific Affairs activities and third party strategic collaborations, ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory requirements while aligning with business strategy.
• Operate as part of a centralized pool of legal professionals, dynamically balancing workload and responding to shifting priorities across multiple business units.
• Management of outside counsel where required.
• Advise business stakeholders on contract interpretation, dispute resolution, and enforcement issues, escalating matters where necessary.
• Partner closely with a broad spectrum of internal MVH stakeholders (e.g., Commercial, Medical and Scientific Affairs, IT, Finance, Legal, and Operations) and greater Mars to develop and standardize contract templates, policies, and processes.
• Support cross-border transactions, agreements and international stakeholders in collaboration with Legal colleagues across regions to ensure global alignment.
• Stay current on changes in commercial law and regulatory developments in North America, including Canada, proactively identifying potential impacts to the business.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of the team and the capabilities of other key stakeholders such as MVH Commercial, including development of playbooks, training, and process enhancements.
• Provide guidance and mentorship to more junior attorneys and other Legal staff, as needed.
• Work closely with privacy and security teams to review new AI use cases that meet Mars Responsible AI standards. Provide input on new AI and other technologies or processes that promote legal operations efficiencies.
• Advise stakeholders on legal/regulatory risks associated with client and associate personal or other sensitive/proprietary information and data. Advise on client privacy rights requests and other privacy or security matters, ensuring compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Provide legal guidance on data protection and manage privacy incident response with Mars Privacy
• Live and exemplify the Five Principles of Mars, Inc. within self and team.
• Other job duties as assigned.

 

Your Experience Should Include:

 

• Juris Doctor (JD) from an ABA-accredited law school and licensed to practice law in the United States.
• 8+ years of commercial legal experience preferred, including significant experience as in-house counsel for a large, matrixed, or global organization.
• Demonstrated expertise in drafting and negotiating complex commercial and third party strategic alliance agreements.
• Strong working knowledge of contract law, UCC principles (U.S.), privacy/data use issues, and risk management strategies.
• Track record of success providing actionable, business-focused legal counsel to cross-functional stakeholders.
• Ability to juggle multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment, delivering high-quality legal services under tight deadlines.
• Experience working in a Center of Excellence, shared services model, or similar matrixed environment is highly preferred.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills with a team-oriented mindset.

 

Salary Range: $145,600 - $244,562.50

 

Compensation is determined based on education, experience, and other relevant credentials. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, location, and market competitiveness.

 

 

Does this sound like you? Want to join an organization that values Quality, Efficiency, Responsibility, Mutuality, and Freedom? Apply today to be considered and join us to advance our mission to create A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS.

What We Offer You: 

• Competitive salary with paid time off & holidays so you can spend time with the people you love.

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance for you and your loved ones.

• Fertility and family-building assistance.

• Paid Parental leave.

• Practice Paid Basic Life Insurance.

• Practice Paid Short- and Long-Term Disability.

• Automatic enrollment 401(k) Savings Plan after 60 days of employment with generous company match.

• Commuter Benefits.

• Legal Plan.

• Health Savings Account & Flexible Spending Account.

• Mental health support and resources.

• Paid Volunteering.

• Optimum Wellness Plans® for up to three pets.

• Continuing Education allowance & MED hours for eligible positions.

• Student Debt Relief (for full-time DVMs).

• A Variety of discounts including Mars, PetSmart, Royal Canin, fitness, cellular and so much more.

Special Working Considerations:

• Ability to work at a computer for long periods of time.

• Must have mental processes for reasoning, remembering, mathematics and language ability (reading, writing, and speaking the English language) to perform the duties proficiently.

• Ability to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form and to solve problems involving several variables.

• The noise level in the work environment is normally moderate.

• Environment where pets are present.

WE ARE A DRUG-FREE, SMOKE-FREE, EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER.

Mars Veterinary Health (MVH)® strongly supports and values the uniqueness of all individuals and promotes a work environment where diversity is embraced. MVH is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, genetic information, status as a protected veteran, or status as a qualified individual with disability. MVH complies with all applicable federal, state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every MVH location.