Description:

The Role at a Glance
As the AVP, Legal Counsel, Enterprise Contracts, you will serve as a key strategic legal advisor supporting Lincoln's buy-side contracting and related activities. You will partner with business clients and cross functional stakeholders to structure, negotiate, and execute a broad range of commercial transactions, including software-as-a-service agreements, outsourcing agreements, professional services agreements, licensing agreements, supply agreements, equipment leases, and event agreements.

In this role, you will have a leadership role in negotiating transactions representing tens or hundreds of millions of dollars in annual spend, balancing business objectives with legal, financial, operational, and reputational risk considerations. You will provide practical, business focused legal counsel that enables informed decision making while safeguarding the organization's interests.

Additionally, you will play an important role in shaping Lincoln's contracting strategy and governance framework by driving best practices, enhancing contracting processes, improving operational efficiency, and fostering a culture of effective risk management and strong business partnership across the enterprise. Through your leadership, collaboration, and subject matter expertise, you will help advance strategic initiatives and deliver meaningful business impact.

What You'll Be Doing:

Provide subject matter expertise on a broad range of commercial transactions, including software-as-a-service agreements, outsourcing agreements, professional services agreements, licensing agreements, supply agreements, equipment leases, and event agreements.
Serve as a trusted legal advisor to business leaders and key stakeholders, delivering practical, risk-based guidance aligned with business objectives.
Act as a key contributor in cross functional team environments, partnering with business units to identify, assess, and mitigate legal, financial, operational, and reputational risks.
Collaborate with peers and leadership across business units and corporate functions to champion contracting excellence, drive change management initiatives, and implement process improvements.
Create, refine, and drive adoption of enterprise contracting standards, playbooks, and best practices to improve consistency, efficiency, and risk management outcomes.
Develop and define appropriate objectives and performance standards related to quality, compliance, operational effectiveness, and productivity within assigned areas of responsibility.
Provide legal counsel and thought leadership to internal stakeholders on complex and highly visible projects and initiatives.
Foster an inclusive and collaborative environment by encouraging dialogue, welcoming diverse perspectives, and supporting sound decision making across teams.
Continuously monitor emerging legal and industry developments affecting commercial contracting and vendor management, assessing potential impacts and recommending proactive strategies.

What We're Looking For:
Must-Haves:

10+ years of legal experience with significant focus on commercial contracts directly aligned with the responsibilities of this role.
J.D. from an American Bar Association accredited law school and active membership in at least one state Bar in good standing.
Advanced knowledge and expertise across all facets of contract law, including contract formation, negotiation, interpretation, enforcement, and dispute mitigation.
Solid command of privacy, information security and artificial intelligence considerations as they relate to contracts.
Experience negotiating a wide variety of contracts, including software-as-a-service agreements, outsourcing agreements, licensing agreements, professional services agreements, and supply agreements.
Strong business acumen with the ability to balance legal risk considerations with organizational goals and operational needs.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to translate complex legal concepts into clear, actionable business guidance.
Demonstrated ability to operate independently, lead complex initiatives, and influence decision making at senior levels of the organization.

Application Deadline:
Applications for this position will be accepted through October, 31, 2026, subject to earlier closure due to applicant volume.

What's it like to work here?
At Lincoln Financial, we love what we do. We make meaningful contributions each and every day to empower our customers to take charge of their lives. Working alongside dedicated and talented colleagues, we build fulfilling careers and stronger communities through a company that values our unique perspectives, insights and contributions and invests in programs that empower each of us to take charge of our own future.