Assistant Corporate Counsel Real Estate, Senior Director

Serving the needs of all families with young children, Carter’s Inc. is the largest North American apparel retailer exclusively for babies and young children, encompassing Carter’s, OshKosh B’gosh, Skip*Hop and Little Planet brands. Meaningful work, constant learning, genuine people, and a community guided by core values that promote inclusion and innovation is in everything we do. There are many reasons to build your career at Carter's.

How you’ll Make an Impact:

Are you looking for a new home to demonstrate your leadership skills and refine your legal capabilities in Real Estate?

Carter’s is seeking a highly motivated and experienced Real Estate Senior Director, Assistant Corporate Counsel, to join our team and help us maintain momentum in growing our 1000+ store portfolio. Ideally, you will have a strong understanding of real estate law and practices and experience in various legal areas, including leasing, risk management, e-commerce, planning, operations, and more. As the Senior Director, Corporate Counsel, you will need to be a strong communicator and team player, able to work effectively with various stakeholders and act as a leader and business partner for all matters related to Carter’s real estate portfolio.

This position reports to the Vice President, Associate General Counsel for Carter’s, in a hybrid on-site schedule located in Buckhead, Atlanta, Georgia.

55% Real Estate, North America Retail Portfolio

• Provide strategic leadership and legal counsel on all aspects of real estate, risk management, lease administration and related processes for the company’s North American Retail (U.S., Mexico, and Canada) portfolio

• Act as a key liaison between internal stakeholders, ensuring that various strategic initiatives and needs of all stakeholders are adequately represented in the real estate lease negotiation process

• Navigate sophisticated and complex real estate negotiations in coordination with key business partners within Carter’s

• Provide commercially sound, accurate, and timely legal advice and solutions to the Real Estate Team and related stakeholders, e.g., Construction, Finance, E-Commerce, Marketing, and Store Operations

• Act as lead attorney for the real estate team, managing the flow of deals and construction timelines and advise appropriate teams on all construction-related matters

• Facilitate continuous improvement in Carter’s processes and procedures related to lease negotiations, innovations in new store designs and concepts, and the creation of new store models

• Participate in, and carry the voice of the legal team during, meetings of Carter’s real estate committee and portfolio management committee

• Support Real Estate Team in managing relationships with large portfolio landlords, advocating for the Real Estate Team and other Carter’s internal stakeholders

• Assist Real Estate Team in establishing and updating retail leasing standards and legal strategy for the U.S., Canada, and Mexico

45% Legal Operations

• Oversee and manage compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act, including within Carter’s eCommerce, store locations

• Provide advice and guidance on insurance and risk management programs including processing of casualty and stock thru-put insurance claims

• Assist in the annual renewal process for the Company’s insurance program

• Proactively identify and advise key risks impacting Carter's Retail business, including new real estate opportunities and solutions providing advice and guidance regarding lease disputes and litigation

• Provide advice and counsel to cross-functional teams in support of business objectives of Retail business, including developing strategies for handling legal issues and building processes that address risk and allow the business flexibility and freedom to move quickly

• Negotiate, draft, and finalize new leases and amendments for corporate offices, distribution centers, and other locations worldwide, and various real-estate legal matters related to those locations, including, but not limited to, storage leases, and lease disputes

• Manage litigation matters related to Carter’s real estate portfolio, including property or casualty litigation related to the company’s distribution centers and/or retail stores

We’d Love to hear from you if: (Requirements section)

Must have:

• 10+ years managing high volume real estate leasing (Retail or Law Firm experience preferred)

• Demonstration of providing practical solutions and service-oriented advice in your practice of law

• Continuously improve processes, practices, and procedures around review and completion of new and renewed leases

• Superior communication skills (verbal and written)

• Ability to handle multiple tasks and meet deadlines

• Ability to manage outside counsel expenditures to budget and track and report on outside counsel spend

• Success in establishing and maintaining business relationships with key stakeholders

• Bachelor’s and Juris Doctorate Degrees

• Licensed to practice law in the United States

Preferred skills and experience:

• Willingness to be flexible, to act as a team player, and to demonstrate leadership qualities in working together to successfully complete a project

• A wide variety of past experiences

• Fluent or conversant in Spanish preferred

Our Team Members:

• Lead Courageously: Have a strong sense of personal values that align with our Company values

• Collaborate Broadly: Build cooperation, trust, and thrive in a consensus driven environment

• Customer Focus: Proactively seek opportunities to leverage data and fact-based insights to serve customers and/or internal clients

• Drive Growth: Set aggressive goals and implement plans precisely

• Cultivate Innovation:  Respectfully challenge the “we’ve always done it this way” mentality and explore new ways to achieve desired outcomes

Make a career at Carter’s:

• Career Development: Success starts from within, and we have several paths from which you can choose to enhance your career evolution. From Carter’s University to Toastmasters to mentorship programs and more, we encourage you to utilize these tools to elevate your professional prowess.

NOTE:  This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. The duties described may be changed or reassigned at the discretion of management, and the employee may be required to perform duties that are not listed in the job description.

#LI-Hybrid

Carters is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local law.