Senior Legal & Commercial Affairs Manager

About the Role

Havenly is looking for a commercially sharp operator to own legal and commercial affairs across our portfolio of brands, reporting directly to our Chief Operating & Technology Officer and backed by experienced outside counsel. As we grow, we need a senior individual contributor who can triage a varied queue of contracts, disputes, and claims, drive each one to a practical resolution, and use AI to rethink how this work gets done instead of just administering an old process. Great looks like matters closing faster and smarter, outside counsel used where it really counts, and leadership always knowing where things stand, with no surprises.

What You'll Own

• The day-to-day portfolio of commercial legal matters across our brands, including demand letters, contract disputes, claims, settlement discussions, and other routine matters.
• Assessing incoming issues, setting priorities, recommending a practical path forward, and driving matters to closure, engaging outside counsel when appropriate.
• Coordination with our external corporate, debt, and intellectual-property counsel: provide clear briefs, challenge assumptions constructively, and translate legal advice into actionable business decisions.
• Reviewing, drafting, and negotiating a range of commercial agreements, with attorney review where warranted.
• Inherited contractual obligations and acquisition-related cleanup, keeping commitments, deadlines, and follow-through visible.
• Coordination of insurance and corporate compliance processes, working with specialists rather than pretending to be the technical expert in every field.
• A concise, reliable view of open matters, financial exposure, next actions, and decisions needed from leadership, with early, succinct updates and escalation so there are no surprises.

What You'll Drive

• Better outcomes in difficult commercial situations, stepping in as a capable, level-headed negotiator with vendors, claimants, counterparties, and external advisers.
• Sensitive cross-functional projects and complex vendor or partner discussions alongside functional leaders, without displacing their normal ownership of relationships.
• Pragmatic solutions that balance risk, cost, speed, and long-term business relationships, bringing recommendations, proposed negotiating parameters, and clear tradeoffs (not just questions).
• A smarter, faster approach to legal and commercial work, using AI thoughtfully and aggressively to speed up research, issue spotting, drafting, tracking, and analysis, while verifying outputs, protecting confidential information, and recognizing when professional legal judgment is essential.
• Fixes to broken processes and, as you earn trust and master the portfolio, broader business challenges.

We Are Looking for People Who

• Have 5-8 years of relevant experience in business operations, corporate development, commercial operations, legal affairs, or a similarly broad role at a fast-moving company, including managing outside counsel and negotiating complex commercial issues.
• Bring strong commercial judgment and executive-ready communication: they can tell a genuine risk from negotiating noise, recommend proportionate action, know when to handle something themselves versus involve licensed counsel, and manage up with concise updates and early escalation.
• Bring operational range and AI fluency with healthy skepticism: they move comfortably between contracts, disputes, and unfamiliar corporate problems, and they're excited about how AI changes the leverage of a small team without confusing a polished answer with a correct one.
• Approach ambiguous problems by figuring out what's broken and acting on it, not waiting to be told what's next.
• Move fast, take real ownership of outcomes, and hold themselves to a high bar.
• Collaborate well across teams, with a low-ego, no-drama approach to getting things done.

Bonus points if you also have formal legal training, such as a JD or paralegal background.

At Havenly, we're building with AI as part of how we work. We're looking for people who are genuinely curious about AI-assisted tools and eager to adopt them; this is about openness, not existing expertise.

The Details

• Employment type: Full-time, salaried exempt
• Location: In office in Denver, CO at our beautiful headquarters in Cherry Creek, or at our secondary office in New York, NY
• Compensation: $150,000–$200,000 base salary
• Benefits: generous PTO, volunteer days off, health benefits (Medical, Dental, Vision, Disability), 401(k) with company match, paid parental leave, plus Havenly-specific perks: free design services, furniture discounts, and merchandise/anniversary credits.
• Work authorization: Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. We do not offer any employment sponsorship.
• Application deadline: December 1, 2026, unless further applications are needed.

Interview Process

We try to follow the below interview process but sometimes find that you or we want to have further conversations. The below process is ideal state, but this can change!

1. Introductory Interview: with a Havenly Recruiter. A chat to learn about your experience, what you're looking for next, as well as a chance to ask any questions. (30 min)
2. Manager Interview: with Jake Meier, COO/CTO. A deep dive into the specifics of the role. (30-45 min)
3. Panel Interview: with a few stakeholders you’d work with closely. (2 hrs max)
4. Executive Interview: with Jake again or Lee Meier, our CEO. (30-45 min)
5. Offer!

Equal Opportunity

Havenly is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Havenly's employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected status.