Senior Counsel - Mergers and Acquisitions

Location: Hershey, PA

Reports to: V.P., SEC, Corporate Governance & Compliance

Position Summary: 

The Hershey Company is seeking an attorney that is highly competent, detail-oriented, proactive, a self-starter and a team player with deep experience in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to lead the M&A subsection of the Company’s legal department.  The Senior Counsel - Mergers and Acquisitions (hereinafter referred to as “Senior Counsel M&A”) will be responsible for setting strategic direction for the M&A function within the Legal Department and for overseeing all legal-related M&A activities, including drafting and negotiating non-disclosure agreements, asset and stock purchase/sale agreements, joint venture and partnership agreements and other strategic partnership-related documents, coordinating and overseeing due diligence activities for the Legal Department globally and working closely with the Company’s M&A team to oversee due diligence on an enterprise-wide scale.  This position will also have day-to-day responsibility for coordinating and completing all SEC/NYSE filings related to M&A activities, and will be expected to assist the Vice President, SEC, Corporate Governance & Compliance on other SEC/NYSE matters.

In addition to managing all legal-related M&A activities, the Senior Counsel, M&A will also have responsibility to:

• Serve as the legal representative to the Company’s integration team, responsible for helping ensure new acquisition ventures are successfully incorporated into the Company’s ongoing business operations.
• Partner with the Company’s Vice President, M&A and Disruptive Growth to establish and implement legal strategies, programs and training for global M&A activities.
• Oversee the use of outside legal counsel for M&A activities and manage the Company’s legal M&A budget to ensure consistent, predictable spend.
• Proactively report on new laws, regulations and emerging trends.

Candidates must have extensive experience managing the key M&A needs of a global, Fortune 500 company.  At a minimum, candidates should be able to demonstrate significant experience leading corporate M&A activities from a legal perspective, including having served as lead attorney responsible for drafting and negotiating key M&A agreements and leading due diligence efforts.  The successful candidate must also have deep familiarity and experience with SEC/NYSE rules and filings, FINRA, HSR (and related international anti-trust statutes) and other M&A-related rules and regulations.

International transactions and business experience are required as is significant experience in risk evaluation, risk forecasting and risk management.  Demonstrated ability to work both cross-functionally and with others within the Legal Department to achieve desired outcomes is a must. 

The successful candidate will have strong people leadership skills with passionate commitment to foster a diverse, inclusive, and collaborative culture to deliver high impact Legal and business results.  Candidates must be exceptional communicators with proven ability to facilitate discussions and issue resolution among leaders in the Legal Department and the business, as significant interaction with key business leaders – including the Chief Growth Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Executive Officer – is expected.

Major Duties/Responsibilities: 

Summary of major duties:

Lead M&A Function within Legal Department

• Draft and negotiate non-disclosure agreements, asset and stock purchase/sale agreements, joint venture and partnership agreements and other strategic partnership-related documents
• Oversee and coordinate due diligence activities
• Serve as primary liaison and business partner for Vice President, M&A and Disruptive Growth

o             Identify, prioritize, plan and implement M&A projects in support of Legal business operations

o             Provide risk-aware, actionable legal advice on M&A projects and initiatives

• Manage outside counsel resources to implement and execute M&A activities in a cost-effective manner
• Coordinate and complete M&A-related filings (SEC, NYSE, HSR) and respond to relevant inquiries (FINRA)
• Lead integration efforts for Legal Department

Policies and Training

• Develop and execute policies, training and capabilities that support strategic initiatives
• Identify emerging trends and developments in the M&A environment and proactively develop strategies and tools that will help the business benefit from, and manage new risks associated with, these developments

SEC/NYSE Filings

• Assist the V.P., SEC, Corporate Governance & Compliance with non-M&A SEC and NYSE filings as needed

Strategic and Financial Planning; Analysis; Reporting

• Develop and deliver annual M&A team budget
• Develop and use diagnostic tools and approaches to measure effectiveness, including but not limited to qualitative data collection, surveys, metrics and scorecards
• Analyze data and identify trends and opportunities to improve organizational agility and ability to predict and react to changes in the competitive market

Minimum knowledge, skills and abilities required to successfully perform major duties/responsibilities: 

• Able to operate both strategically and tactically, as well as provide vision and leadership, on all M&A matters
• Able to develop strong cross-functional relationships and lead cross-functional projects
• Strong quantitative and qualitative analytic skills
• Able to analyze business processes and recommend and implement process improvements
• Strong critical thinking skills with a methodological approach to problem solving. Understands the underlying issues and components of a problem or opportunity and perceives complex cause-and-effect patterns. Identifies patterns and trends from past experiences that relate to a current situation and uses that knowledge to come up with creative solutions and new ideas
• Excellent communication skills, written and verbal, with emphasis on clear and concise interaction with business leadership and the Legal Department
• Works cooperatively as a member of a team and is committed to the overall team objectives rather than own interests
• Global mindset
• Strong business acumen with a strong understanding of financial metrics and P&L fundamentals
• Demonstrated ability to interact effectively with and influence the decision making of Legal Leaders and senior business leaders
• Strong desire for personal and professional development
• Ability to multi-task in a fast-paced environment
• Ability to travel up to 25%

This position offers competitive base salary, bonus and relocation benefits.

For confidential consideration, email resumes to:

Stephanie Womack, Manager, Recruiting Lead, swomack@hersheys.com