Senior Director, Commercial Legal

At Vanta, our mission is to help businesses earn and prove trust. We believe that security should be monitored and verified continuously, and we empower companies to practice better security and prove it with ease. Vanta has a kind and talented team, and while some have prior security experience, many have been successful at Vanta without it. 

As Vanta’s Senior Director, Commercial Legal, you’ll run the commercial legal function, working closely with go to market and procurement to manage Vanta’s contract negotiations and processes as we continue to grow our customer base.

The Senior Director, Commercial Legal will be responsible for the entire commercial legal function, including overseeing and negotiating key deals and relationships, developing new processes and improving existing ones, acting as a trusted business partner, and managing the commercial team. Reporting to the Head of Legal, your responsibilities will include ownership of all aspects of Vanta’s negotiations with customers and vendors and associated processes, instituting policies and processes while maintaining hypergrowth, and oversight of legal operations. The ideal candidate will have experience in managing a team of attorneys strategically working with global sales teams to execute and negotiate commercial transactions and contracts supporting a company through hypergrowth.

What you’ll do as Senior Director, Commercial Legal at Vanta:

• Manage our incredibly efficient, productive team of commercial lawyers.

• Negotiate customer and partner deals in collaboration with the global sales organization.

• Negotiate vendor contracts and ensure that Vanta and its customers are protected.

• Manage escalations, collaborate across other teams, and develop solutions to enable team and business partners to close deals.

• Provide counsel to the business regarding the business environment, challenges, and objectives.

• Oversee the management and maintenance of all company legal templates, including our MSA, Privacy Policy, DPA, etc.

• Ensure our contracts are delivering the right objectives for the company & mitigate risk.

• Stay up to date on changes in laws and regulations impacting the business and communicate to appropriate parties any changes to controls, policies and procedures.

• Evaluate risk factors impacting business decisions and anticipate unique legal issues that could affect the company.

• Communicate and negotiate with external parties, creating relationships based on trust.

• Willingness to roll up his/her sleeves and take on tasks both big and small. A collaborative approach with a low ego in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment.

• Strategic sense to build a team, but tactical enough to execute on a day-to-day basis.

• Strong sense of ownership, desire to make a cross-functional impact, eagerness to learn, and customer orientation.

• Address other ad-hoc or specialized legal issues.

How to be successful in this role:

• 10+ years of experience and JD degree from an accredited school with experience negotiating SaaS agreements.

• 5+ years of experience managing a commercial legal team at a hyper-growth technology company.

• Commitment to spend three days per week in our beautiful new San Francisco office.

• Direct experience with a variety of legal matters, including strategic business agreements, information security and compliance, privacy, intellectual property rights, international expansion, and management of affiliates.

• Strong negotiating skills with both legal and financial/commercial issues.

• Excellent knowledge and understanding of contract & corporate law and procedures.

• Willingness to support teammates across a range of time zones.

• Demonstrated ability to create legal, defensive, or proactive strategies.

• A champion of change & proven ability to build operationally excellent processes and practices.

• Strong interpersonal and presentation skills, develop a strong rapport and working relationship with business counterparts across the enterprise to help drive the delivery of effective legal services.

• Open to using AI to amplify their skills and strengthen their work - demonstrating curiosity, a willingness to learn, and sound judgment in applying AI responsibly to improve efficiency and impact.

What you can expect as a Vanta'n:

• Industry-competitive salary and equity

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, with 100% of employee-only benefit premiums covered for most medical plans