Senior Director, Legal, Global Contracts

Job description

Who are we? Equinix is the world’s digital infrastructure company®, shortening the path to connectivity to enable the innovations that enrich our work, life and planet. A place where bold ideas are welcomed, human connection is valued, and everyone has the opportunity to shape their future. A career at Equinix means being at the center of shaping what comes next and amplifying customer value through innovation and impact. You’ll work across teams, influence key decisions, and help shape the path forward. You’ll find belonging, purpose, and a team that welcomes you—because when you feel valued, you’re empowered to do your best work. Job Summary We are more than legal professionals protecting Equinix’s interests. We are valued business partners, known as responsive, consistent and proactive. We take customer service seriously and strive for excellence in our execution. Equinix’s dynamic growth trajectory keeps us on our toes and constantly learning. Our strong relationships with our internal clients, fueled by our solution-driven orientation and creative yet practical advice, bring us to the table early and often and lead to interesting and rewarding work in support of Equinix’s overall business objectives. Our global Legal department may span four continents, but we are One Legal - a true team working together across borders in support of our shared strategic objectives. We work hard but take time to celebrate our accomplishments – both professional and personal, with a healthy dose of fun thrown in along the way. We look forward to coming to work every day to support Equinix and each other and highly value the “team first” culture we have created. We are proud that our collective effort has led to Equinix One Legal being named as one of the Top Innovative Law Departments in North America by the Financial Times. This open role of Senior Director, Americas will be responsible for supporting the one of the 2 Strategic accounts teams and is the leader of the Global Contracts Americas region team. Responsible for the team’s contracting support for named accounts and as lead representing the Americas Region, this role is instrumental in leading these teams and closing complex, strategic deals and keeping abreast of the legal developments in the region. This role advises the business in alignment with corporate goals and objectives and risk thresholds in a manner that supports the objectives for the global business. Adept at using and leveraging technology to better scale the organization, this role oversees deals which have significant impact to the business, specifically the Americas business and is charged with building relationships with our Americas stakeholders and in concert with others in the Global Contracts team, to take charge of specialized areas which are entrusted to them by the Vice President Global Contracts or the Chief Legal Officer as the case may be. Location Americas-based. The role must be positioned to provide effective leadership and senior stakeholder coverage across Americas working hours, while operating globally across time zones. Reports to Vice President, Legal, Global Contracts. Responsibilities This role is a senior people leader, commercial lawyer and trusted business adviser responsible for these mandates: Americas leadership Lead and coordinate Global Contracts’ presence and engagement across the Americas, representing GC with Americas business leadership and ensuring that regional priorities are understood, translated into clear legal support strategies and delivered effectively Translate Americas priorities and risks into clear legal support plans, ensuring GC is engaged early and support is responsive, consistent and commercially pragmatic Provide senior escalation support on significant Americas and strategic matters (including complex customer negotiations, strategic opportunities, disputes, public-sector opportunities outside the US Federal business), coordinate Americas-based GC colleagues, and manage external counsel where required Leadership of Strategics team and its named-account portfolio Lead the team, setting its vision, strategy and operating model, with overall accountability for legal support to its portfolio of named AI, Neocloud, SaaS and semiconductor accounts, Channel/OEM accounts Maintain close oversight of account strategy, pipeline, risk, resourcing and escalations, and ensure effective delivery across the full deal lifecycle Partner with the Channel Lead on Channel go-to-market support, collaborate with other GC and One Legal leaders where needed and/or portfolios intersect, and shape the team's future structure as it matures Complex deal leadership and negotiation Personally lead or oversee the most complex, strategic and high-value transactions, operating as an experienced and credible negotiator across customers, partners, external counsel and senior stakeholders Balance commercial, legal and operational considerations, present clear recommendations to executives, and drive matters to closure Convert deal experience into scalable positions, templates and training, while mentoring the team to build negotiating capability and domain knowledge People leadership and capability development Lead, coach and develop a team of lawyers and contracts professionals, setting a clear vision, objectives and a collaborative, high-performing "team first" culture Provide clear direction, candid feedback and meaningful development; manage performance fairly and recognise strong contribution Close capability gaps through mentoring and succession planning, and develop future leaders able to work across boundaries Global Contracts leadership Act as a full member of the GC leadership team, contributing to strategy, operating model, talent, culture and resourcing Work with peer leaders to build consistency across teams while respecting portfolio and regional differences Support global initiatives (policy, process, technology, transformation) and model enterprise leadership across GC and One Legal Technology, transformation and scale Champion technology, including AI tools, to improve service delivery, reporting and decision-making, and drive standardisation to increase capacity Ensure the team adopts GC platforms, processes and knowledge resources, using data to monitor workload, risk and performance Lead transformation in a way that builds team capability and confidence, not just system adoption Governance, risk and operational excellence Work with the VP, Global Contracts to apply practical risk frameworks, policies and escalation paths, ensuring consistency with Company policy and governance Oversee work allocation, resourcing, budget and external counsel use, with clear reporting on significant matters and risks Promote collaboration with shared-services teams and drive operational excellence through accountability and continuous improvement Qualifications The successful candidate will bring: A law degree and admission to practise in a relevant jurisdiction (e.g. a state in the United States of America) Substantial post-qualification legal experience appropriate for a Senior Director role, preferably including at least 15 years of experience in a similar role (having at least five years of strong law-firm experience is a preference) Deep experience in negotiating and in commercial contracting and in leading complex, strategic, high-value and high-impact transactions Demonstrated success as a people leader, with a genuine interest in managing, coaching and developing lawyers and contracts professionals A clear leadership vision and experience evolving a team’s capabilities, structure, operating model or strategic direction Experience supporting senior business leaders in an international, fast-moving and commercially demanding environment Experience operating successfully in a matrix organisation and working across functions, reporting lines, geographies and time zones Strong commercial and legal j