Corporate General Counsel

Employment Type: Full-Time

Position Overview

Once Upon a Farm is seeking a seasoned legal executive with extensive experience in the CPG and food industry to lead its legal function. This role is critical for supporting the company's growth and future as a public company. The ideal candidate will be a trusted advisor to CEOs and Boards, adept at balancing legal risk with business strategy, and possess an entrepreneurial and mission-driven mindset.

Who You Are

• A seasoned legal executive with extensive experience in the CPG and food industry.
• Proven leadership experience at private equity-backed and public companies.
• Deep expertise in FDA, USDA Organic, FTC, and Prop 65 compliance.
• Successful track record in leading organizations through IPOs, M&A transactions, and developing strong corporate governance.
• A trusted advisor to CEOs and Boards, skilled at balancing legal risk with business strategy.
• Entrepreneurial and mission-driven, ready to build a high-impact legal function.

The Task At Hand

The Corporate General Counsel will report directly to the President & CFO and lead the company's legal function through its next phase of rapid growth and IPO readiness. As a key member of the Executive Leadership Team, this role will oversee all legal, regulatory, and governance matters, with a specific focus on:

• Food law compliance (FDA, USDA Organic, FTC, Prop 65)
• Corporate governance
• M&A
• SEC readiness
• Risk management

The ideal candidate will bring 10+ years of experience in the CPG or food industry, with a proven track record in IPOs, public company transitions, and PE-backed exits. This executive will serve as a strategic advisor, build and lead a lean legal team, and ensure legal strategies align with the company’s mission.

Responsibilities

• Serve as chief legal advisor to the President & CFO, CEO, executive leadership, and Board of Directors on all corporate, regulatory, transactional, and strategic matters.
• Lead legal strategy and execution for IPO readiness, including S-1 preparation, SEC filings, governance structuring, disclosure controls, and compliance frameworks.
• Ensure full compliance with U.S. and international food industry regulations, including FDA, USDA Organic, FTC, CFIA, California Prop 65, and child-targeted product advertising laws.
• Oversee substantiation of product claims, packaging, labeling, and advertising to minimize legal risk and support brand trust.
• Act as Corporate Secretary, managing Board and committee governance, charters, resolutions, meeting logistics, and recordkeeping.
• Lead and manage all commercial legal matters, including vendor, supply chain, co-manufacturing, distributor, licensing, IP, retail, and influencer agreements.
• Direct legal support for M&A, strategic partnerships, and equity/debt transactions, including due diligence, negotiation, integration, and post-close governance.
• Design and implement an Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework to proactively identify and mitigate operational, financial, and reputational risks.
• Oversee company response to litigation, product recalls, regulatory actions, and customer concerns.
• Manage outside counsel relationships to ensure quality, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness across litigation, regulatory, transactional, and specialty matters.
• Guide intellectual property strategy, including trademarks and brand protection in domestic and international markets.
• Provide legal support on employment matters, internal investigations, executive compensation, and equity plan governance.
• Ensure compliance with evolving data privacy and consumer protection laws (e.g., CCPA, GDPR) across digital, DTC, and marketing platforms.
• Partner with Finance and ESG leaders on sustainability initiatives, risk disclosures, and regulatory compliance with ESG reporting requirements.
• Support investor relations and external communications to ensure consistency in legal disclosures during capital raises.

Application Instructions

• [Specific application instructions would typically go here, but are not provided in the original text.]

Company Information

• [Company information would typically go here, but is not provided in the original text.]