Director of Commercial Contracts & Legal Operations

PurposeEnergy is seeking a Director of Commercial Contracts & Legal Operations to manage our growing portfolio of commercial agreements, with a primary focus on feedstock supply, energy sales, and environmental attribute offtake agreements. This role owns each agreement from structuring and negotiation through execution. This is a senior, hands-on role for an experienced commercial contracting professional (JD preferred). Formal legal opinions, litigation, or specialized regulatory advice go to outside counsel, managed by this role.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead negotiation and lifecycle management of all commercial agreements, from term sheet through execution, coordinating business, financial, technical, and legal input.

• Build and maintain a centralized contract lifecycle management system tracking key terms, obligations, milestones, renewal windows, and termination rights, with secure, auditable contract files, check-in/check-out controls, and version tracking.

• 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.

• 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, triage, counsel review, scoping, budgets, and 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, or commercial setting.

• Demonstrated experience leading negotiation of feedstock supply agreements, energy sales and environmental attribute offtake agreements (e.g., NAESB, PPA , interconnect agreements).

• Experience using and managing a contract lifecycle management (CLM) system.

• Full-lifecycle contracting experience (drafting, negotiation, approvals, execution, obligation management, amendments, renewals, and 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 renewable energy, wastewater treatment, waste management, , agriculture, infrastructure, project development, commodities, or another regulated, asset-intensive industry.

• Experience with 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-$210,000 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..

PurposeEnergy is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, protected veteran status, or other characteristics protected by law.

PurposeEnergy does not accept unsolicited resumes through or from search firms or staffing agencies. All unsolicited resumes will be considered the property of PurposeEnergy and PurposeEnergy will not be obligated to pay a placement fee.

Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa at this time.