Associate General Counsel, Employment

Smart Foodservice Stores; Rosemont (IL); Hybrid; USD 240,000 - 350,000; Full time

Job summary

Smart Foodservice Stores seeks a strategic Vice President, Associate General Counsel, Employment to lead the enterprise employment law function from Rosemont, IL. You will partner with the Chief Legal Officer, HR, and business leaders on high-impact employment matters and regulatory developments.

You will build and lead a high-performing team, shaping policy, governance, and risk management across jurisdictions, providing practical, business-focused counsel to balance strategy with compliance

Qualifications

• 10 years of progressively responsible employment law experience.
• 5 years of people management and/or leadership experience in a large organization.
• Demonstrated success setting strategy and leading an employment law function.
• Ability to advise and influence executive leaders on complex, high-impact workforce matters.

Responsibilities

• Lead the enterprise employment law function and strategy.
• Advise executive leadership on significant employment, labor, and workforce matters.
• Direct legal strategy for complex workforce issues including restructurings and investigations.
• Lead inquiries and government investigations and coordinate cross-functional responses.
• Oversee executive employment agreements, covenants, confidentiality, and retention arrangements.
• Govern employment policies, programs, and practices across jurisdictions.
• Translate regulatory developments into business strategy with risk mitigation.
• Collaborate across Legal, HR, Compliance, and business units to shape initiatives.
• Develop and retain a high-performing employment law team.
• Drive performance, cost effectiveness, and data-driven improvements in legal service delivery.

Skills

Employment law leadership

Strategic leadership

Executive advisory

People management

Job description

Join Our Community of Food People!

The Vice President, Associate General Counsel, Employment serves as the Company's senior employment law leader and strategic advisor, overseeing the enterprise employment law function and partnering with executive leadership, Human Resources, and business leaders on complex workforce matters. This role provides practical, business-oriented legal counsel on high-impact employment issues, enterprise workforce initiatives, regulatory developments, and employment-related risk across a growing public company.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead the enterprise employment law function and strategy, aligning legal priorities, resources, and operating practices with the Company's business strategy, workforce agenda, and evolving risk profile.
• Serve as a trusted strategic advisor to the Chief Legal Officer, executive leadership, Human Resources, and business leaders on significant employment, labor and workforce matters, delivering clear, actionable recommendations that balance business objectives, legal requirements, employee considerations, and reputational risk.
• Direct legal strategy for complex and high-impact workforce matters, including organizational transformations, restructurings, reductions in force, executive employment matters, investigations, accommodations, leaves, performance management, workforce policies, and other sensitive employee relations matters.
• Lead the Company's legal response to significant employment-related government investigations, audits, inquiries, and enforcement actions, coordinating cross-functional strategies and executive-level communications.
• Establish and oversee the legal framework for employment-related arrangements and documentation, including executive employment agreements, restrictive covenants, confidentiality and intellectual property protections, separation arrangements, incentive and retention programs, and other workforce agreements.
• Provide enterprise legal governance and oversight of employment policies, programs, and practices, promoting consistent, scalable, and compliant approaches across federal, state, and local jurisdictions.
• Anticipate and translate emerging employment law and regulatory developments into business strategy, advising senior leadership on trends, enterprise exposure, operational implications, and proactive risk-mitigation opportunities.
• Partner across Legal, Human Resources, Compliance, Security, Communications, Finance, and the business to shape enterprise initiatives, resolve complex workforce issues, and establish sustainable employment practices.
• Build organizational capability and strengthen preventive risk management through executive counseling, leadership education, scalable legal tools, manager enablement, and proactive workforce strategies.
• Lead, develop, and retain a high-performing employment law team, establishing clear accountability, developing talent, allocating resources effectively, and fostering collaboration across the broader Legal organization.
• Drive operational excellence within the employment law function, establishing meaningful performance measures, improving service delivery and cost effectiveness, leveraging data and technology, and continuously enhancing the function's impact on the business.
• Lead other strategic enterprise initiatives as assigned by the Chief Legal Officer, serving as a senior member of the Legal leadership team and contributing to broader enterprise risk, governance, and business priorities.
• Other duties as assigned by manager.

SUPERVISION

4-6 direct reports

RELATIONSHIPS

• Internal: All Corporate and Field Teams, including the Executive Leadership Team.
• External: Customers, Suppliers/Vendors, Consultants, Outside Counsel, Regulators, Government Officials, Lobbyists, Trade Associations, Federal and State Agencies, Law Enforcement Officials, and other Businesses.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

Hybrid: This role is partially remote, and the associate is expected to perform assigned responsibilities from a combined home-based and office-based environment.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• 10 years of progressively responsible employment law experience.
• 5 years of people management and/or leadership experience within a large, complex organization.
• Demonstrated success setting strategy, leading an employment law function, developing high-performing teams, and aligning legal resources with enterprise priorities.
• Proven ability to advise and influence executive leaders on complex, high-impact workforce matters with sound judgment, discretion, and confidence.
• Deep knowledge of federal, state, and local employment laws and demonstrated ability to identify emerging risks, establish scalable compliance strategies, and guide complex employment decisions.
• Strong understanding of business operations and the ability to deliver practical, solutions-oriented counsel that balances strategic o