As our Legal Operations Manager, you will be a key member of Squarespace’s Legal team. You’ll identify opportunities for operational efficiencies and improve the effectiveness of the Legal department, and you’ll project manage those opportunities to completion. You will also help design and implement a legal operating strategy that matches the needs of the business and aligns with the team’s strategic objectives.

You will report directly to the General Counsel, based in NYC, and can be based remotely in an approved state (see application question below for approved locations).

All Squarespace employees are working remotely at this time. We are closely monitoring the status of COVID-19 as we continue our work to build a return-to-work plan that ensures a safe return to our offices and provides flexibility for our employees.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Design the strategy for the Legal team’s software from the RFP phase through implementation, ongoing review of usage, and management of the vendor relationships.
• Work closely with other stakeholders to automate, make self-service and otherwise drive commercial contracting processes.
• Review and document legal information and processes. For example, you will compile legal knowledge bases for use by the team and by internal clients.
• Maintain processes for certain company-wide trainings and policy management. You will also standardize Legal team processes such as personnel onboarding and the transitioning of matters between team members.
• Establish key metrics to track and communicate Legal team performance and the value that the team brings to the business.
• Coordinate communications and organize development programs for the Legal team, including but not limited to, leadership team meetings, all hands meetings, training programs and offsites.
• Help track and manage legal spend globally and assist with departmental budgeting and headcount planning.
• Assist with and manage other projects as needed.
• Stay knowledgeable on trends in legal software and best practices for effective legal operations.

QUALIFICATIONS

• 8+ years of relevant experience; experience in a high-growth environment is advantageous.
• Demonstrated experience identifying and acting upon opportunities to improve processes and tools to enhance efficiency and drive results.
• Strong project management experience with a proven track record of completing projects on time and on budget.
• Proven track record of collaborating with all organizational layers of cross-functional groups (e.g., IT, InfoSec, Finance, Procurement, HR, etc.).
• Demonstrated experience in developing, implementing and maintaining cloud-based legal department technology solutions (e.g., contract management and self-service contracting, project management, corporate governance systems, e-discovery, e-billing, electronic document management and knowledge bases, etc.).
• Strong collaborator and communicator with the ability to influence stakeholders across departments.
• Proactive and able to work independently, with a strong ability to prioritize, project manage, meet deadlines, and adapt to the shifting demands of different situations.
• Organized with a close attention to detail.

Position Overview:

Based at Mezzetta’s American Canyon , CA HQ and Production facility, the VP of Supply Chain Operations, will have both a strategic and tactical operational responsibility to deliver all front-end and back-end operations for the business including demand planning, S&OP, procurement, manufacturing, engineering, maintenance, quality, safety, facilities, warehousing, logistics, supply network optimization, transportation, and customer service.

Working closely with the CEO, and peers in Sales, Marketing, Finance, HR and IT, the VP, Supply Chain Operations will be responsible for ensuring smooth and seamless supply of product to the customers from order to delivery: optimizing resources, inventory and processes to drive on-time orders and extraordinary customer service, while meeting P&L cost objectives.

Key to the role will be establishment of a long-term strategic plan (3-5 years plan) for operations that links to the company’s strategic plans for top-line growth through expanded distribution, and new product introduction. These plans will include progressive improvements in profitability through operational efficiencies and improvements in the supply and delivery. This includes capacity expansion, design for network optimization as the company continues to increase its sales in the East, and focus on minimizing costs associated with managing the imported high-value raw materials.

Aligning with this strategic plan and working with the executive team and his/her supply chain team, the role will also be responsible for the development and execution of a tactical plan that establishes Key Performance metrics which align with the financial and strategic goals of the business. He/she will establish detailed tactical action plans, not only within his/her organization, but across other functions to ensure extraordinary customer service, while managing financial performance to objectives.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Contributing member of the company’s Executive Leadership Team
• Engage operations leaders and other business unit leaders to develop strategy for optimal customer delivery solution that delivers on today’s objectives but also creates a structure that supports the planned future growth of the business.
• Develop an annual plan that addresses the immediate needs of the business in regards to all aspects of operations and delivers on people, process, delivery and financial objectives.
• Immerse in the current operations of the business and quickly identify the highest return focus items to drive improvement to the operations cost and efficiency with an annual 3-5% cost take out target.
• Partner with other LT members in the selection and implementation of a new ERP system.
• Validate current and establish new key performance indicators (KPIs) to track the performance of supply chain operations and ensure that they are linked to the metrics of the overall business. Work with Finance and IT to ensure the ability to measure and report on KPIs to be able to drive the business through use of data.
• Ensure the highest focus on quality and safety in all areas of operations.
• Evaluate current procurement relationships and reduce number of vendors where it can achieve cost savings without impacting quality of the product.
• Recruit, coach, and lead supply chain operations team and immerse to understand what it takes to mentor, grow and retain key talent. Working with HR and the rest of the leadership team, establish programs to solidify retention of key staff members.
• Establish a culture of continuous improvement and development both for the individuals on the team and for the business. Lead cross-functional winning teams that continuously improve key processes and systems integration to forecast demand, plan supply, manage master production schedules, advance customer service and strengthen third party logistics and transportation. Establish process that provide feedback loops through each stage of the supply network.
• Ensure logistics and production schedules take into account materials shelf-life, labor constraints and critical equipment constraints to optimize production, supply and inventory for best cost.
• Establish and build relationships with third party logistics partners (3PL), leading strategy for best practices that ensure on-time delivery and high customer satisfaction.
• Ensure compliance with applicable state and federal governmental regulations.
• Anticipate and manage changes to risks and operating situations within the company.
• Continue to improve customer service processes, and infrastructure to ensure continuous feedback loop from the customers in support of all aspects of the business that impact customer satisfaction including demand planning, supply, merchandizing, and product quality.

Qualifications:

We are seeking a Supply Chain Executive with a minimum of 20 years’ experience running all aspects of supply chain. He/she will have advanced through his/her career with a set of hands-on experiences across a variety of the supply chain elements, including experiences in some or all areas: manufacturing, engineering, supply networks, procurement, logistics, warehousing.

He/she will have strong financial acumen and will be able to evaluate trade-offs within the business, including capital planning and operations to drive best financial results. S/he will be a hands-on, deeply engaged executive who is process focused and has a track-record of driving repeatable, measurable results to improve the financial returns for the business through improved quality, safety, customer service, efficiency and resource utilization. S/he will be someone who can teach the organization best operations practices and help the business advance to the next level.

He/she will have a results-driven style, but will also have a style that is inclusive and open to outside ideas from the CEO, peers and the advisor board. It would be a plus if the candidate has worked in a private company with an Owner/CEO who is actively engaged in the business. The ideal candidate will be a person who can form a deep partnership with the CEO to drive growth of the business to the next level. S/he will be an entrepreneurial and inspirational leader who seeks out opportunities to grow and learn both for himself/herself as well as for his/her team and for the overall business.

Specific experience and background the individual is likely to have will include:

• A broad set supply chain and operations skills in the areas of procurement, demand planning, production, warehouse management, logistics, transportation, and third-party partners.
• A strong financial and business acumen that enables a keen understanding of operational levers and impacts to the P&L and a demonstrated management of those levers.
• A strong track record of driving continuous improvement both within operations as well as leading cross functional teams that impact customer delivery.
• Experience working with ERP and other supply chain and logistics systems, with a demonstrated use of data from these systems to measure and drive the business results. Ideally, experience in implementing an MRP/ERP system.
• Experience building and growing a relatively new team and teaching them best operations practices to improve the business. Track record of inspiring teams from senior leaders to production floor employees to take ownership of their environments and the results they produce.
• Strong leadership skills to nurture, grow and guide a new team and establish winning culture, including a track record for growing a diverse set of next generation leaders.