General Counsel

The Vice President and General Counsel is responsible for leading the Company’s strategic and tactical legal initiatives, including providing senior management with effective advice on Company strategies and their implementation as well as managing the overall legal and franchise administration function. This position provides oversight to the Company’s enterprise risk management programs, including planning and directing programs, policies and practices to ensure compliance with all applicable laws and regulations in the United States and Canada. The Vice President and General Counsel also holds the position of Corporate Secretary.

Your Mission

You will be successful in this role by accomplishing the following primary job responsibilities:

Participates in establishing the strategic direction of the Company. Partners with the executive team to ensure the success of strategic objectives and to recommend improvements in business process. Anticipates and identifies legal issues of concern to management and proactively develops effective legal strategies and practical solutions to minimize related risk.

Develops and reviews corporate standards. Initiates, develops and maintains policies, procedures and training for the entire organization to prevent illegal, unethical or improper conduct.

Responsible for the resolution of legal and compliance issues in the Company, including the appropriate and consistent enforcement of franchisee obligations as well as proactive dispute resolution with franchisees.

Oversees the drafting, negotiation and legal review of all franchise agreements and all other corporate contracts entered into by the Company. Ensures effective contractual risk management, including through continuous improvement of processes aimed at mitigating risk (e.g., contract review/management process evolution).

Enforces as to all franchisees the Company’s various expansion requirements and restrictions, as outlined in the Company’s Development Policy, Assignment Policy, Real Estate Policy and other applicable documentation.

Oversees the data privacy and security function within the Company, ensuring compliance with all applicable laws and the deployment of appropriate strategies to minimize risk.

Responsible for timely and accurate completion of required regulatory filings, including all required franchise disclosure documents.

Assesses the merits of court cases involving the Company, defines and executes dispute resolution strategy consistent with Company’s goals and objectives, and manages disputes actively to a successful conclusion. Responsible for the selection, retention, management and evaluation of all outside legal counsel.

Oversees the Company’s crisis management function.

Monitors, evaluates, reports and advises on legislation and regulatory activity. Acts as a liaison to the IFA with respect to franchise regulatory matters.

Leads the selection, placement and development of key staff within function, ensuring a highly-skilled and engaged workforce.

Adheres to the Company’s Values and all applicable regulations as well as Company policies and operating procedures.

Your Expertise

To land this job you will need to show your proven ability to:

Ability to help drive corporate culture that represents the highest level of ethical behavior and integrity, unfaltering quality and legal compliance.

Experience managing other attorneys and supervising support staff; experience with cost-effective management of outside legal resources.

Experience in directing strategy and managing litigation portfolio.

Strong oral and written communication skills.

Effective leadership and interpersonal skills. Ability to think creatively and strategically.

Proven ability to work well with senior executives, leveraging strong intellectual, conceptual and analytical skills.

Ability to handle multiple competing demands and delegate appropriately.

JD from an ABA accredited law school and an active license in good standing to practice law

15+ years of progressive legal experience in a law firm and corporate environment, in a combination of regulatory compliance (with specific focus on federal, state and provincial laws pertaining to franchising, intellectual property, antitrust and their application to Company matters), dispute resolution, labor law and real estate matters.

Experience in complex franchise dispute resolution a plus.

This position supervises other Company lawyers, legal department staff, and outside legal resources.

Your Work Environment

Our corporate headquarters are in Bloomington, MN and our approach to work environment focuses on the balance between teamwork and flexibility which means you will have the ability to work in a hybrid model. As a Vice President, this includes a minimum of two days per week being located in the corporate office. Our office has lots of natural light, hydraulic desks for standing or sitting and many other amenities, so we are sure you will enjoy your office time as much as working remotely.

Travel may be required 10-20% of the time.

Key Competencies

Getting Results

Ability to drive for results, focus on the customer and build realistic plans.

Using a Thoughtful Approach

Having the ability to think strategically, demonstrate agility, think creatively, apply financial acumen and promote teamwork.

Working with People

Excited to build partnerships, model ethical performance, communicate with impact and influence others.

What We Offer

We offer a competitive salary, health benefits, wellness programs, a company-matching 401K and tuition assistance but some perks that set us apart are:

A focus on your development. We want to know what your dreams and aspirations are and hope to find ways of Great Clips helping you along in your journey. Your personalized development plan will create a path for your growth and promotion potential.

A GREAT culture. One of the most frequent compliments you will hear about Great Clips from employees, franchisees and business partners alike is that Great Clips has a GREAT culture. Our belief is that we are strongest together and therefore find it important to have an inclusive, diverse work culture. Though we embrace our differences, we all share in our 6 core values; we are kind, we listen and earn trust, we keep it simple, we focus on execution, we exceed expectations and WE MAKE IT FUN.

A spirit of ideas and innovation. Here at Great Clips, we have a competitive lead within our industry. Though we hold a strong position, we never stop pushing ourselves forward and continue to look for new ways of delivering a powerful and enduring brand.

About Great Clips

With more than 4,400 franchised salons throughout the United States and Canada, Great Clips is the world’s largest haircutting salon brand. Our salon owners and corporate staff are dedicated to our salon communities with a focus on philanthropic and volunteer activities.

Job Ref #: 1460