PurposeEnergy is seeking a Director of Commercial Contracts & Legal Operations to manage our growing portfolio of commercial agreements. You will own the full lifecycle of our feedstock supply, offtake, soil amendment, interconnection, vendor, and other agreements across our anaerobic digestion and industrial wastewater facilities, from structuring and negotiation through execution, compliance, renewal, and closeout. This is a senior, hands-on role for an experienced commercial contracting professional (JD preferred), not a General Counsel position: formal legal opinions, litigation, or specialized regulatory advice go to outside counsel, managed by this role.
Key Responsibilities- Lead negotiation and lifecycle management of commercial agreements from term sheet through execution, coordinating business, financial, technical, and legal input.
- Serve as the central internal resource for contract interpretation, risk identification, and practical guidance to business teams, escalating specialized or high-risk matters to outside counsel.
- Develop and maintain contract playbooks, templates, standard clauses, negotiation positions, and approval thresholds, and run the internal review process so accountable functions accept the obligations they own, documenting any deviations.
- Manage closings including checklists, conditions precedent, signature workflows, consents, amendments, and handoff of executed agreements to Operations.
- Build and maintain a centralized contract lifecycle management system capturing key terms, obligations, milestones, renewal windows, and termination rights, with complete and auditable contract files.
- Monitor time-sensitive events, renewal elections, price reopeners, escalator triggers, reporting and insurance deadlines, and drive responsible functions to act before deadlines.
- Produce decision-oriented reporting, contract summaries, and risk assessments for leadership, project teams, lenders, investors, and auditors.
- Manage internal legal workflows and outside counsel, including intake and triage, matter scoping, budgets, and driving matters to timely resolution.
- Partner with Origination, Development, Finance, Accounting, Construction, and Operations, and implement process and technology improvements, including AI-enabled tools, as the portfolio grows.
Required Qualifications- Juris Doctor (JD) preferred; bachelor's degree in a related field with equivalent experience considered.
- 7+ years negotiating and managing commercial contracts in a corporate, in-house, law firm, or commercial setting.
- Full-lifecycle contracting experience , drafting, negotiation, internal approvals, execution, obligation management, amendments, renewals, closeout, with working knowledge of conditions precedent, indemnities, limitations of liability, insurance, pricing and escalators, and termination rights.
- Experience serving as an internal legal resource to business teams, translating legal issues into practical recommendations, and managing outside counsel and legal projects (scope, budgets, schedules, implementation).
- Excellent judgment in distinguishing business, contractual, and legal risk, knowing when specialized counsel is required, and balancing risk against commercial progress.
- Strong organization, project management, and communication skills, with the initiative and discretion to work cross-functionally with executives in a fast-paced, asset-heavy business.
Preferred Qualifications- Active bar membership in at least one U.S. jurisdiction.
- Background in wastewater treatment, waste management, renewable energy, agriculture, infrastructure, project development, commodities, or another regulated, asset-intensive industry.
- Experience with supply, feedstock, interconnection, offtake, equipment vendor, design-build, real estate, or soil amendment agreements.
- Experience implementing a contract lifecycle management system or legal intake process, and using AI tools for contract review, drafting, and obligation extraction under appropriate confidentiality controls.
Compensation & Benefits- $160,000-$190,000 depending on relevant experience.
- Eligible for bonus & Company equity plan.
- Comprehensive benefits (healthcare, dental, vision, 401(k)).
- Expense reimbursement for work-related travel.
Location & Travel- Based in our Headquarters in Salem, NH, with possibility of hybrid or remote arrangement for the right candidate.
- Up to 10% travel is anticipated, primarily for occasional site visits, team collaboration, and closings..
