Legal & Operations Associate

About us

Vow is a food company - a very different one. We're creating real meat products from animal cells instead of the animal itself.

We're bringing together cutting-edge innovations in science, engineering, culinary and design to make sustainable food that's both irresistible and available to billions of people worldwide.

The role:
You'll spend time diving into a variety of commercial, regulatory, compliance, financial, and employment topics, but we'll also look to you to identify key areas of risk for the business and to serve as a legal advisor for us on how to best mitigate and address these.

To start, you'll be nested within our Operations function, working closely with our BizOps and Regulatory functions and reporting directly to our COO.

The experience you will bring:

- 4-8+ years of experience at a top-notch law firm, ideally Senior Associate levels or higher.
- Experience and / or keen, demonstrated interest in startups.
- A willingness to dive into and own all legal processes. You're a self-starter who's eager to build from scratch and own things end to end.
- An ability to understand Vow's risk tolerance and preference for speed, serving as a thoughtful advisor to us, based on our preference and appetite for risk.
- Superb time management and prioritisation skills.
- The ability to translate "legal speak" into layman's speak. You draft documents and briefs your mum could understand. We're not legal experts, and we need someone who can articulate complex topics in a clear, simple way.

You will:
Own the development and execution of all things legal at Vow, ranging from commercial and regulatory, to investment and financing, to employment and BAU activities.

**This may include (but is not limited to) the following**:

- Reviewing commercial contracts and NDAS
- Supporting our regulatory processes for novel food products (i.e., safety dossier submissions, discussions with regulators, ensuring compliance)
- Assist with legal questions and compliance around property and / or site expansion
- Supporting company directors in understanding legal risks and complying with corporations act
- Diving into the legal side of future capital fundraises (i.e., preparing for a fundraise, running legal DD, term sheet reviews, running closing activities)
- Managing compliance and reporting associated with Vow's ESOP
- Owning employment contracts and variations
- Leaning in on people-related situations which require legal guidance
- Supporting quality and safety protocols
- When necessary, owning partnerships with external legal expertise for specific topics and guidance.

What success looks like after 1 year:

Vow, more than just a job.

Who we are and why join:

- ** We are building a diverse, mission-led dream team of "Vowzers."** Our mission is to make food products for everyone. To do that well we need a workforce that's representative of the people we serve. We celebrate multiple approaches and points of view - so we're building a culture to match. Be yourself and come as you are.
- ** Work on cutting-edge technology. **We're bringing together cutting-edge innovations in science, engineering, and food, to recreate the world's most tantalising and unique culinary experiences. All without compromising on ethics or our planet along the way. Since our inception in 2019, we have held the title of being the first startup to cultivate meat from the cells of an undomesticated animal, and have served up our exotic meats ranging from kangaroo dumplings to alpaca sliders in tastings with world-renowned chefs.
- ** Work with and learn from the best. **Our team includes some of the world's top scientists, innovators, operators, and creatives with decades of industry experience. Despite our experiences though, we all strive to build, break, learn, and repeat. We see the impossible as temporary and strive to learn and support our company and fellow Vowzers' growth as much as possible.
- ** We're fully funded and ready to go. **We are a growing Aussie biotech start-up backed by Square Peg Capital, Blackbird Ventures, Grok Ventures, Tenacious Ventures, P7 Ventures, Toyota Ventures, and PeakBridge VC. _Read more about why our investors are so excited about the future of Vow _here_._

Vow perks and benefits:

- ** Everyone is an owner. **In addition to competitive base salaries, each and every 'Vowzer' owns equity in the company so we can all benefit from our hard work and future success.
- ** Generous paid parental leave. **We offer 12 weeks for primary carers and 4 weeks for secondary carers.
- ** Generous relocation budget & support.** Support for interstate or overseas team members and their families (including pets)
- ** Flexible working hours and location.** We value work-life balance. While we're mostly back in the office, you're free to choose the best way for you to work.
- ** Unlimited Personal Leave. **At Vow we recognise that sometimes you need tim