Senior Counsel

veritree; Vancouver; Hybrid; CAD 130,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

A climate tech startup in Vancouver seeks an In-House Counsel to build its legal function. This role entails overseeing contract development, managing commercial legal strategy, and ensuring compliance across various business models. The successful candidate will have 5–7 years in corporate or charity law, a J.D. or equivalent, and a member of the British Columbia law society. Offering a competitive salary of CAD 130,000 to CAD 160,000, this is an opportunity to shape the legal backbone of a mission-driven company.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Health, dental, and vision benefits

Health Spending Account

Flexible work environment

Employee discounts

Qualifications

• 5–7 years of experience in commercial, corporate, or charity law.
• Experience navigating cross-border contracting and regulatory considerations.
• Strong competency in contract drafting and deal structuring.

Responsibilities

• Lead contract development and manage legal strategy.
• Advise on structuring new business models and governance.
• Ensure compliance and risk management for cross-entity operations.

Skills

Entrepreneurial mindset

Intellectual curiosity

Communication skills

Negotiation skills

Stakeholder management

Education

J.D. or bachelor's degree in law

Member of the British Columbia law society

Job description

veritree and Job Overview

veritree is an award-winning climate tech startup based in Vancouver. Launched in 2021, our technology measures and verifies the impact of global restoration efforts from the ground up. We are a small team on a big mission to plant billions of verified trees by 2030 with our community of businesses, planting organizations, and consumers who believe in `the transformative power of verified restoration projects to create real and meaningful impact for the planet, nature, and people.

We’re seeking our first In-House Counsel, a foundational role that will build veritree’s legal function. Reporting to the COO and working closely with our executive team, the successful candidate will lead contract development, commercial legal strategy, and transactional design across all of veritree’s operations. They will support decisions that span corporate, charitable, and multi-stakeholder environments as veritree grows and experiments with new business models.

Ideally, this individual will eventually build and oversee a team.

This is a rare opportunity to architect the legal backbone of a global restoration platform, ensuring we scale with clarity, compliance, and commercial rigour, while demonstrating high levels of mission integrity.

6 Month Key Outcomes

1. Built a scalable legal foundation, including standardized contracts, clear workflows, and faster deal execution across the business.
2. Defined transaction and risk frameworks to support new business models and cross‑entity operations, with clear guidance on structuring, compliance, and risk.
3. Embedded Legal as a trusted partner to Finance and Operations, with active oversight of risk, insurance, and employment matters, enabling the company to scale with confidence.

What You’ll Do

Contract Development & Commercial Legal Strategy

• Review, update, draft, negotiate, and manage a wide range of agreements (MSAs, Sales Order Forms, partnership agreements, licensing, NDAs, vendor contracts, employment agreements), ensuring compliance across jurisdictions.
• Build and maintain contract templates/clause libraries/negotiation playbooks, establish contract approval workflows, and implement a scalable contract management system.
• Provide pragmatic legal counsel to support the needs of Revenue, Product, Forests, Operations, and Corporate Development.

Transaction Strategy for New Business Models

• Advise on how to structure and document these models (i.e., licensing, cross‑entity transactions, JV‑style arrangements).
• Alongside Finance, ensure compliant and well‑documented flows of funds, services, and rights across entities and partners.
• Support modelling, structuring, and execution of new offerings in areas such as restoration financing, reclamation markets, and planting‑partner licensing.

Corporate Governance & Compliance

• Own and evolve veritree’s corporate governance framework across veritree Inc. and veritree Foundations, including inter‑entity controls and boundary management
• Prepare and maintain board materials, corporate records, and regulatory filings in partnership with leadership team.
• Advise on privacy (PIPEDA/GDPR), marketing claims, impact reporting, and emerging regulatory trends (i.e., CSRD, TNFD).

Legal Risk Management & Product Support

• Work alongside Finance to assess enterprise risk and ensure veritree maintains appropriate insurance policies and coverage.
• Provide legal review for marketing, partnerships, and public communications.
• Partner with Product on data privacy, IP protection, and feature/compliance considerations.

Outside Counsel Management

• Manage and coordinate external lawyers (corporate, tax, employment, international, charity).
• Create an efficient workflow for when to elevate issues to external specialists.
• Own the legal budget and vendor relationships.

Qualifications

• Entrepreneurial mindset with a bias toward a rapid pace.
• Intellectual curiosity and systems thinking aptitude.
• J.D. or bachelor’s degree in law from an accredited law school.
• Current member in good standing of the British Columbia law society.
• 5–7 years of experience in commercial, corporate, or charity law (mix of law firm + in‑house preferred).
• Experience navigating cross‑border contracting and regulatory considerations, including supporting international partners, multi‑entity structures, and jurisdiction‑specific compliance (Canada/US preferred).
• Strong competency in contract drafting, deal structuring, and cross‑entity transactions.
• Experience with, or strong willingness to learn, Canadian/U.S. charity law.
• Comfort navigating new or ambiguous business models with sound judgment.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Practical, business‑minded approach to risk management.

Benefits & Compensation Overview

At veritree, we recognize that compensation and performance development are key to attracting and retaining top talent. Our approach is grounded in fairness, transparency, and creating opportunities for growth as both our people and business scale.

Some highlights you can expect include:

• Competitive salary with a performance‑driven framework that ensures fair and consistent compensation reviews, tied to individual impact and business growth
• Extended health, dental, and vision benefits
• Additional Health Spending Account (HSA) / Lifestyle Spending Account (LSA) to support your well‑being and lifestyle interests
• A variety of time‑off programs, including vacation, personal days, and a 4‑week remote work program each year
• Employee discount with tentree, our sister company
• A flexible, hybrid work environment designed for collaboration and focus‑driven impact

veritree ensures that compensation is reviewed fairly and consistently, with opportunities for salary progression tied to sustained performance.

As such, the salary range and total compensation for this role is $130,000 to $160,000 CAD.

This range is positioned around the 50th‑75th percentile of market data we’ve collected, reflecting our commitment to competitive pay. Final offer amounts are based on individual experience and skillset of the candidate demonstrated during the recruitment process.

We reserve the >75th percentile of our salary ranges for internal employees who demonstrate sustained high performance and impact at veritree.

veritree is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a team that represents diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. All employment decisions are made on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business needs.