Our Client

CITGO is a US-based refiner, transporter and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals, and other industrial products headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company owns three large and complex refineries in the United States and is the 5th largest refiner in the country. The company has over 3,400 employees and also owns and operates terminals, pipelines, and lubricant blending and packing plants. CITGO also has over 4,900 independently owned branded retail outlets across America.

 

The Role

The Senior Corporate Counsel, Commercial provides independent highly skilled transactional legal services across multiple departments to assist the commercial activities of the Company.  This individual will negotiate, review and provide legal sign off for agreements with a focus on reducing the Company’s liability and risk and ensuring that the Company’s business practices and policies comply with legal and regulatory requirements. The Senior Corporate Counsel, Commercial, will provide sophisticated legal advice and services based on extensive experience and expertise regarding diverse complex legal issues concerning the rights, obligations and privileges of the Company.

The Legal Affairs Department is a dynamic and diverse group that communicates openly and frequently to enhance performance and teamwork, with leadership that is people-oriented and advocating of professional development and job satisfaction.

 

Lines of Reporting

The Senior Corporate Counsel, Commercial will report to the Managing Counsel, Commercial of CITGO. 

 

Key Accountabilities

• Draft, review, and negotiate sales and purchase contracts and other commercial contracts. Make timely and appropriate decisions reflecting extensive experience with the subject matter and concisely articulate the legal implications of business alternatives
• Gain comprehensive knowledge of the Company and its activities, values, and philosophies. Identify and evaluate alternatives and recommend courses of action to internal clients
• Provide value-added legal services with respect to increasingly complex legal matters and draft legal documents and memoranda without oversight.  Manage, collaborate with and effectively utilize internal and external counsel resources relating to all areas of the Company’s activities
• Research and interpret case law, statutes and regulations.  Draw on broad legal experience, apply the analysis to the Company’s business activities and advise Company managers regarding relevant legal issues.  Draw on expertise in the subject matter to apply legal principles to support findings and opinions
• Make recommendations related to legal department policies, procedures, and systems

 

Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate will possess the following qualifications for the position:

• A Juris Doctor Degree in Law
• Currently a member in good standing of the bar of a US state or federal jurisdiction
• Significant commercial experience as an attorney
• Business-minded with an ability to present internal clients with real-world, pragmatic risk assessment and potential solutions in a sophisticated and fast-paced environment
• Strong communication skills with the ability to listen, understand, and advise a diverse group of internal clients with varying business needs
• Excellent oral/written communication skills, as interaction with clients, vendors and team members is critical
• Experience working on highly cross-functional project teams to produce meaningful results
• Ability to collaborate with, and effectively utilize, internal and external counsel resources
• Must be able to work effectively with both business and technical stakeholders at all levels
• Strong business knowledge and strategic acumen; ability to provide advice for comprehensive programs that enable corporate objectives
• Possesses professional demeanor for dealing with internal and external customers; ability to interact effectively and frequently with middle to senior management and staff
• Excellent interpersonal, critical thinking, project management, analytical, quantitative, and organizational skills
• Strong consultative and diagnostic skills; Excellent negotiation and analytical skills
• Ability to evaluate cost-effectiveness in legal services for Department and Company
• Ability to professionally respond quickly and calmly to unexpected events and issues as they arise; strong level of gravitas and credibility at all levels with ability to lead effectively in crisis situations
• Must be responsive and flexible, with the ability to quickly respond to ever changing priorities, and adapt and apply new approaches to different situations
• Self-guided and motivated; able to take on new challenges and excel; capable of producing with minimal oversight
• Superior work ethic and integrity
• Skills and ability to effectively use available technology resources
• Fluent in speaking, writing, and reading in English
• Ability to travel as needed

 

If you are interested, please send your CV to judy@merrimacintl.com