VP & Senior Counsel – Contracting Architecture & Practice

At American Express, our culture is built on a 175-year history of innovation, shared values and Leadership Behaviors, and an unwavering commitment to back our customers, communities, and colleagues. From delivering differentiated products to providing world-class customer service, we operate with a strong risk mindset, ensuring we continue to uphold our brand promise of trust, security, and service.

As part of Team Amex, you'll experience this powerful backing with comprehensive support for your holistic well-being and many opportunities to learn new skills, develop as a leader, and grow your career. Here, your voice and ideas matter, your work makes an impact, and together, you will help us define the future of American Express.

About the General Counsel’s Organization (GCO)

The General Counsel’s Organization (GCO) of American Express is where great legal minds influence global business strategy.

The GCO’s mission is to protect and strengthen American Express through legal expertise and strategic advice that helps business partners manage risk, identify opportunities, and deliver on the company’s promise of exceptional products and services. As part of Team Amex, you’ll experience comprehensive support for your well-being, opportunities to grow as a leader, and an environment where your voice and ideas matter and your work makes an impact.

Role Summary

This role will sit within the Enterprise Innovation & Technology legal team, which supports enterprise technology, procurement, and other core operational functions. It will lead the recently established Contracting Architecture & Practice function, which is accountable for defining, continuously strengthening and owning the enterprise contracting frameworks that our transactional attorneys and specialists will use to successfully negotiate transactions at scale.This role reflects the continued evolution of how our legal function supports enterprise procurement and other critical third-party relationships.

This role will serve as the primary legal counterpart to our Strategic Sourcing & Business Enablement (SS&BE) leadership, defining how the legal department partners with procurement, bringing consistency and predictability to high volumes of complex third-party agreements through contracting governance and operating model alignment.This includes clear guardrails, risk-tiering models, defined approval pathways and escalation standards, and clear engagement structures.

This role will also establish and lead a Center of Excellence coordinating specialized legal expertise in connection with third-party engagements across the enterprise.

Core Accountabilities

Accountable for the enterprise legal guardrails governing procurement and third-party contracting.

Accountable for the design and continuous improvement of the legal engagement model supporting high-volume, complex transactions.

Serve as the senior legal counterpart to Strategic Sourcing & Business Enablement (SS&BE) leadership on contracting governance, risk calibration, and operating model alignment.

Establish and oversee a Center of Excellence coordinating specialized legal expertise for third-party relationships.

Partner with leaders of transactional teams to ensure contracting standards remain aligned with evolving market, regulatory, and enterprise priorities.

Drive measurable improvements in clarity, predictability, and discipline across enterprise contracting practices.

Key Responsibilities

Enterprise Contracting Architecture

Define and maintain enterprise guardrails, risk-tiering frameworks, approval thresholds, and escalation pathways governing procurement and third-party transactions.

Establish the overall template architecture strategy, including model selection logic and structured negotiation parameters.

Develop playbooks and governance routines that reinforce disciplined risk positioning while enabling business efficiency.

Continuously assess and refine contracting standards in response to regulatory developments, market practice, and emerging enterprise needs.

Translate recurring transaction themes into updated guardrails and structured guidance to promote institutional consistency.

Strategic Partnership with SS&BE

Act as the primary legal counterpart to SS&BE leadership on contracting process design and portfolio governance.

Align legal engagement standards with sourcing strategy and enterprise transformation objectives.

Clarify roles, responsibilities, and escalation standards across legal and procurement teams to enhance effectiveness and reduce ambiguity.

Provide portfolio-level perspective on systemic contracting themes and structural improvement opportunities.

Center of Excellence for Specialized Support

Establish and lead a coordinated model for efficiently integrating specialized legal expertise into third-party engagements.

Define when specialized review is required and ensure that recurring themes are incorporated into enterprise guardrails and playbooks.

Promote consistency in how risk considerations are addressed across business units.

Strengthen knowledge-sharing across legal teams supporting supplier and other third-party relationships.

Continuous Improvement & Modernization

Design the structural foundation that enables responsible incorporation of automation and emerging technologies into contracting workflows.

Establish performance indicators and feedback mechanisms to support continuous improvement.

Identify systemic friction points and implement structural enhancements that improve how legal supports sourcing activity at scale.

Reinforce disciplined risk assessment and communication while advancing efficiency and clarity in legal service delivery.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

J.D. and admission to practice law in at least one U.S. jurisdiction.

8+ years of experience in procurement, technology transactions, outsourcing, commercial transactions, or a related large-scale commercial practice in a law firm and/or in-house legal environment.

Significant experience designing contracting standards, governance frameworks, or legal operating models.

Strong understanding of third-party risk considerations in complex, regulated environments.

Demonstrated ability to influence senior business stakeholders and partner effectively with enterprise sourcing leadership.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience supporting enterprise procurement or other large operational functions.

Experience developing structured playbooks, escalation frameworks, and negotiation guardrails implemented at scale.

Familiarity with legal operations, workflow design, or technology-enabled contracting environments.

Experience leading organizational change initiatives within sophisticated in-house legal teams.

Leadership Profile

Enterprise-minded leader who approaches contracting as a system requiring structure, calibration, and continuous refinement.

Extensive experience presenting to and partnering with executive audiences and senior procurement leaders.

Ability to successfully translate risk decisions into scalable guardrails.

Collaborative builder capable of driving adoption of new standards across diverse stakeholder groups.

High integrity, sound judgment, and commitment to professional excellence consistent with American Express values.

Salary Range: $219,000.00 to $338,250.00 annually + bonus + equity (if applicable) + benefits

The above represents the expected salary range for this job requisition. Ultimately, in determining your pay, we’ll consider your location, experience, and other job-related factors.

We back you with benefits that support your holistic well-being so you can be and deliver your best. This means caring for you and your loved ones' physical, financial, and mental health, as well as providing the flexibility you need to thrive personally and professionally:

• Competitive base salaries
• Bonus incentives
• 6% Company Match on retirement savings plan
• Free financial coaching and financial well-being support
• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and disability benefits
• Flexible working model with hybrid, onsite or virtual arrangements depending on role and business need
• 20+ weeks paid parental leave for all parents, regardless of gender, offered for pregnancy, adoption or surrogacy
• Free access to global on-site wellness centers staffed with nurses and doctors (depending on location)
• Free and confidential counseling support through our Healthy Minds program
• Career development and training opportunities

For a full list of Team Amex benefits, visit our Colleague Benefits Site.

American Express is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, disability status, age, or any other status protected by law. American Express will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with arrest or conviction records, in accordance with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including, but not limited to, the California Fair Chance Act, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance. For positions covered by federal and/or state banking regulations, American Express will comply with such regulations as it relates to the consideration of applicants with criminal convictions.

We back our colleagues with the support they need to thrive, professionally and personally. That's why we have Amex Flex, our enterprise working model that provides greater flexibility to colleagues while ensuring we preserve the important aspects of our unique in-person culture. Depending on role and business needs, colleagues will either work onsite, in a hybrid model (combination of in-office and virtual days) or fully virtually.

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Employment eligibility to work with American Express in the U.S is required as the company will not pursue visa sponsorship for these positions