Corporate Counsel, Commercial Transactions

Overview Purpose: Dole Packaged Foods is a purpose led organization that is a champion of accessible fruit nutrition and builds a brighter future for people through the goodness of fruit. At Dole, our culture is uniquely driven by core Values. Our commitment to these Values transforms our work into a meaningful journey toward a brighter future together. Here, you'll be part of a respectful, inclusive culture that deeply values our colleagues, customers, and global communities. We strive for excellence, empowering each other to confidently overcome challenges, continuously learn, and achieve world-class results. Guided by unwavering integrity, our actions consistently reflect our commitment to always doing what's right, fostering lasting trust and strong relationships. Through a spirit of collaboration, we cultivate positivity, generosity, and genuine teamwork, enabling collective success toward our One Dole Purpose. Our innovative spirit leads directly to meaningful outcomes and business success. Dole Packaged Foods is seeking an experienced, business-oriented Corporate Counsel to join its Legal team and support the Americas region, with primary responsibility for commercial contracts, strategic transactions, and practical legal counseling across commercial, operational, and regulatory matters. This role is designed for an attorney with approximately 7–10 years of relevant experience who can independently manage sophisticated commercial matters in a fast-paced, global organization while partnering cross-functionally with commercial, supply chain, marketing, procurement, IT, finance, and other functional teams. Consistent with Dole’s purpose-led culture, this role requires sound legal judgment, strong collaboration skills, and the ability to translate legal risk into clear, practical, and actionable business guidance. This role provides flexibility to work in a hybrid environment of home and our Westlake Village, CA office. (Hybrid is defined as 3 times per week in the office). Responsibilities Primary Accountabilities: Commercial Contracting & Strategic Transactions Draft, review, and negotiate a broad range of commercial agreements and transaction documents, including: Vendor and procurement contracts Supply chain and co-manufacturing agreements Sales and distribution agreements Marketing, agency, and promotional agreements Confidentiality agreements and master services agreements Technology, SaaS, data processing, cybersecurity, and AI-related agreements or contract provisions Licensing, intellectual property, and innovation-related agreements Logistics, warehousing, transportation, and cross-border commercial agreements Lead and support the contract lifecycle from intake through execution, including scoping, drafting, negotiation, redlining, approval routing, escalation, signature, renewal, termination, and post-execution obligations. Lead negotiations with vendors, customers, distributors, agencies, and other commercial counterparties, balancing legal risk, business objectives, and operational requirements. Develop and apply fallback positions, playbooks, and clause guidance for recurring contract issues such as indemnity, limitation of liability, insurance, confidentiality, data use, audit rights, termination, and dispute resolution. Business Partnership & Legal Advisory Serve as a primary legal partner to internal stakeholders across operations, supply chain, procurement, marketing, sales, finance, technology, and other business functions. Translate complex legal and regulatory issues into practical, business-focused recommendations that enable informed decision-making. Advise on risk allocation and mitigation in commercial arrangements and business initiatives, including indemnity, limitation of liability, warranties, insurance, confidentiality, data security, intellectual property, consumer protection, and dispute resolution issues. Manage internal client expectations, communicate negotiation status and material risks clearly, and help business teams make risk-calibrated decisions. Escalate material legal, reputational, regulatory, or business risks to senior Legal leadership with concise recommendations and proposed paths forward. Regulatory & Compliance Support Support compliance with laws and regulations affecting food and beverage, labeling, marketing, advertising, promotions, privacy, and general commercial practices. Review advertising, promotional materials, product claims, and consumer-facing communications for legal and regulatory compliance. Partner with Quality, Regulatory, Marketing, Commercial, and other internal teams to support adherence to company policies, approval processes, and risk frameworks. Technology, Data & Emerging Contracting Issues Review and negotiate technology, data, cybersecurity, privacy, and AI-related contract provisions in collaboration with appropriate subject-matter experts. Support responsible use of contract templates, playbooks, legal technology, and AI-enabled tools in accordance with company policies and risk controls. Legal Operations, Knowledge Management & Process Improvement Partner with Legal Operations and Contract Management teams to: Improve contract intake, review processes, and templates Enhance efficiency, turnaround times, and consistency in legal service delivery Support implementation and adoption of contract lifecycle management tools, legal technology, and responsible AI-enabled workflows Develop and maintain playbooks, training materials, clause libraries, and standardized workflows. Cross-Functional & Global Collaboration Work closely with internal functional teams across the Americas and other global functions, including colleagues in legal, commercial, supply chain, procurement, marketing, finance, regulatory, and technology roles. Manage external counsel strategically, as needed, on specialized commercial, regulatory, techno