Kawneer General Counsel

Arconic is currently in search of a Kawneer General Counsel to join our Kawneer Business based in Alpharetta, GA.

At Arconic, we take pride in our work and our innovative products and technologies that advance sustainable solutions for a better world. We strive to create a safe, inclusive, and collaborative workplace with competitive benefits, development opportunities and a culture that values and rewards employees on all levels of the organization. 

Job Summary:

The General Counsel serves as Kawneer’s trusted legal advisor and a key partner in shaping and executing the strategic direction of the business. This role provides practical, business-focused legal advice that enables growth while protecting the Company's assets, reputation, and long-term interests. This role also leads and coordinates critical strategic initiatives across the organization, translating business priorities into actionable plans and driving execution, accountability and cross functional alignment. 

This is a hands-on role requiring the General Counsel to personally provide legal support for Kawneer’s day-to-day commercial, operational, claims, and dispute-resolution needs. The General Counsel must be able to move effectively between executive-level counseling and direct execution of substantive legal work, including contract negotiation, claims assessment, business counseling, litigation management, and outside counsel oversight.

The General Counsel has overall responsibility for the Company’s legal affairs, including commercial contracting, litigation, compliance, employment law, corporate governance, regulatory and environmental matters, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property, and risk management. The position partners closely with executive leadership, business unit leaders, operations, sales, procurement, human resources, finance, and the Board of Directors.

In this role, you will:

Executive Leadership and Strategic Counsel

• Serve as a trusted advisor to the CEO, executive leadership team, and Board of Directors.

• Provide practical legal guidance that supports the Company’s strategic objectives and profitable growth.

• Assess legal and business risks associated with significant commercial, operational, and strategic decisions.

• Participate in capital allocation, acquisitions, divestitures, and major business initiatives.

• Translate leadership decisions into actionable workstreams and implementation plans

• Advise executive leadership on material legal matters, significant claims, litigation exposure, and emerging business risks.

• Oversee compliance with applicable antitrust and competition laws, anti-corruption regulations, trade and export controls, privacy and cybersecurity requirements, environmental regulations, and employment laws.

• Oversee IP-related legal matters in coordination with the product development/R&D team.

Mergers, Acquisitions & Corporate Transactions

• Lead legal support for acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, and other strategic transactions.

• Oversee due diligence, transaction structuring, negotiation, and post-closing integration activities.

• Coordinate external legal advisors and specialists as required.

• Advise executive leadership on strategic transactions, investments, and other significant corporate initiatives.

Commercial Contracting & Business Transactions

• Lead legal support for customer contracts, supply agreements, distribution arrangements, sales agent agreements, strategic partnerships, and other commercial transactions.

• Draft, review, negotiate, interpret, and administer commercial agreements.

• Develop and maintain standard contracting processes, templates, negotiation playbooks, and approval procedures.

• Advise business leaders on pricing, warranty obligations, limitations of liability, indemnification, consequential damages, product claims, payment protections, and commercial risk allocation.

• Support procurement and supply chain teams on sourcing agreements and supplier negotiations.

• Advise on contract amendments, renewals, terminations, performance disputes, and enforcement of contractual rights.

• Provide practical day-to-day legal support to Sales, Operations, Procurement, Finance, Credit, Quality, Engineering, and Technical Services.

Claims, Warranty, and Product Matters

• Lead the intake, investigation, assessment, and resolution of warranty claims, product claims, construction-related disputes, customer demands, and other pre-litigation matters.

• Provide counsel on product liability, construction defects, contractor and installer disputes, and architectural and engineering claims.

• Coordinate factual and technical investigations with Operations, Engineering, Quality, Technical Services, Sales, Finance, Credit, and other relevant business functions.

• Prepare or oversee responses to demand letters, warranty claims, customer allegations, and threatened litigation.

• Evaluate contractual defenses, available remedies, settlement options, business considerations, insurance coverage, and potential recovery from responsible third parties.

• Work with Operations, Engineering, Quality, and commercial teams to identify and mitigate product-related risks.

• Establish consistent processes for claim ownership, escalation, documentation, and reporting.

Litigation and Dispute Resolution

• Lead the management of litigation, arbitration, administrative proceedings, claims, and commercial disputes, including early case assessment, preservation and collection of relevant information, identification and preparation of business witnesses, development of strategy, evaluation of settlement opportunities, and reporting to leadership.

• Serve as the principal liaison among Kawneer leadership, business personnel, insurers, and outside counsel.

• Develop dispute resolution strategies that balance business objectives, legal exposure, and cost management.

• Manage outside counsel and legal budgets effectively and review invoices and performance to ensure that strategy, staffing, and legal spend remain proportionate to the matter.

• Coordinate responses to government inquiries, investigations, and subpoenas.

Employment and Labor Matters

• Advise management and Human Resources on employment-related issues.

• Oversee employment litigation, labor relations matters, restrictive covenant issues, and workplace investigations.

• Support executive compensation, incentive plans, and workforce-related strategic initiatives.

Risk Management

• Lead Kawneer’s enterprise risk management strategy, identifying assessing and mitigating legal, regulatory, operational, financial and reputational risks. 

• Provide strategic counsel to senior leadership and the Board regarding significant risks, exposures, and mitigation plans. 

• Drive a culture of risk awareness and accountability

• Coordinate cross functional response and remediation efforts when material risks or control deficiencies are identified.

Also note:

• Strong business judgment and commercial acumen.

• Ability to balance legal risk with practical business objectives.

• Executive presence and credibility with senior leadership and directors.

• Exceptional negotiation, judgment, and communication skills.

• Strategic, solutions-oriented approach to problem solving.

• Ability to influence across functions and build strong relationships.

• Unquestioned integrity and high ethical standards.

• Strong leadership and team development capabilities.

You have:

• Juris Doctor degree from an accredited law school.

• Active license and good standing to practice law in at least one U.S. jurisdiction.

• At least 15 years of progressive legal experience.

• Significant experience supporting manufacturing, industrial, construction products, building products, or a related industry.

• Prior experience as a General Counsel, Deputy General Counsel, Assistant General Counsel, other senior in-house lawyer, or outside counsel with substantial experience serving as an embedded advisor to manufacturing or building-products businesses preferred.

• Demonstrated experience leading commercial transactions and managing complex litigation.

• Experience advising executive leadership teams and Boards of Directors.

• Experience supporting businesses operating across multiple U.S. and Canadian jurisdictions

• Employees must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire. Visa sponsorship is not available for this position 

Preferred Qualifications:

• Previous outside sales experience in commercial building and construction industry;

• Diverse experience in the construction field in the areas of customer service, project management, estimating, engineering and inside sales;

• Minimum of 3 years of experience in a leadership;

• Knowledge of Kawneer Products and Services