Coughlan Companies LLC - Director of Contracts

The Director of Contracts is a key leadership role responsible for shaping and strengthening Capstone’s contracts and compliance functions during an exciting period of growth and innovation. This position plays an important role in helping the business move quickly and strategically while ensuring strong legal and regulatory compliance across state, federal, and international environments.

This leader will drive best practices in contract management, improve compliance processes, and help build scalable systems that support the organization’s continued growth. Working cross-functionally with teams across sales, marketing, digital product development, content development, finance, and executive leadership, the Director of Contracts will help ensure contracts align with business goals while thoughtfully managing risk.

The role also oversees contract negotiation and administration, intellectual property compliance, and supports royalty-related processes in partnership with finance. We’re looking for someone who is both strategic and hands-on — a collaborative problem solver who enjoys building processes, improving operations, and working in a fast-paced, evolving environment.

Our preference is for this role to be hybrid, based out of either our Eden Prairie, MN or North Mankato, MN locations. 

Why You’ll Want to Join Capstone

We support teaching and learning with amazing content that engages students, inspires teachers, and connects families and communities to move literacy forward. Capstone is a fast-paced growth company committed to cultivating a love of reading and learning. We know that Learning is for Everyone.

For over 30 years, Capstone has been a national leader in K-5 educational content including digital products (PebbleGo, PebbleGo Next, PebbleGo Create, Capstone Interactive, Capstone Connect) and award-winning books. We combine a passion for helping foster a powerful love of reading and learning with the talent to create amazing content. 

We are a mission-driven company that provides opportunities for professional learning and development and a culture of inclusion and belonging.

YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES

Leadership

• Serves as the senior leader overseeing contracts and compliance, responsible for developing and executing functional strategies that optimize contracting and risk management practices. 
• Builds, develops, and leads a high-performing team; fosters a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement. 
• Acts as a trusted advisor and cross-functional partner to sales, marketing, digital product, content, finance, and executive leadership. 
• Communicates effectively with external vendors, partners, and regulatory agencies. 
• Proactively identifies, assesses, and mitigates risk; communicates key risks and leads mitigation efforts across the organization. 
• Establishes organizational best practices, tools, and processes for contract management and compliance. 
• Operates as a “strategic doer,” balancing leadership with hands-on execution. 
• Navigates a complex and evolving regulatory landscape with transparency and adaptability. 
• Demonstrates strong emotional intelligence, responsiveness, and a solution-oriented mindset. 
• Delivers clear, effective communication tailored to diverse audiences. 

Contracts

• Drafts, reviews, negotiates, and has oversight over a wide range of agreements, including but not limited to content licensing, foreign rights, technology and SaaS agreements, distribution agreements, master service agreements, NDAs, and intellectual property licenses. 
• Reviews and approvals of legal documents executed by the Company, collaborating with outside counsel as needed. 
• Oversee trademark and copyright processes, including preliminary clearance and coordination with external counsel on registrations. 
• Evaluates intellectual property assets and provides recommendations on usage and risk. 
• Supports business development initiatives by assessing contractual risk and structuring agreements, accordingly, including those related to partnerships and M&A activity. 
• Leads the development, standardization, and continuous improvement of contract templates, playbooks, and workflows. 
• Manages departmental budget and external legal spend. 

Compliance

• Designs, implements, and continuously improves compliance frameworks aligned with applicable laws and regulations. 
• Evaluates internal systems and processes to ensure adherence to legal, regulatory, and policy requirements. 
• Develops, updates, and communicates company policies related to contracts, data privacy, and compliance. 
• Partners with internal stakeholders to educate and reinforce compliance standards across the organization. 
• Establishes and monitors risk management strategies to maintain acceptable levels of compliance risk. 

Education, Experience, and Skills desired: 

• Bachelor’s degree in business, legal studies, paralegal studies, or related field (or equivalent experience). 
• 6+ years of experience in contracts, compliance, and/or data privacy. 
• Demonstrated experience leading and developing teams. 
• Experience in publishing, K-12 education, or EdTech industries preferred. 
• Strong knowledge of contract law, intellectual property, and regulatory compliance. 
• Excellent negotiation, analytical, and problem-solving skills. 
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, including virtual communication. 
• High attention to detail with strong organizational and project management capabilities. 
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (especially Outlook and Excel); experience with contract lifecycle management tools is a plus. 
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment.

Travel Requirements

Approximately 5-10% travel may be required in the future.

Inclusion & Belonging

Capstone embraces equal opportunity and a culture of belonging for all employees and applicants. We are an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer. All candidate information will be kept private according to EEO guidelines. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request to hrservices@capstonepub.com.

The pay range for this role takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered surrounding compensation including but not limited to: skill sets, experience and training, work location, and other business and organizational needs. A reasonable estimate of the current range is $115,000-$145,000.

Capstone strives to provide comprehensive and market-competitive benefits to meet the needs of our employees and their families. Click here to see our benefits. 

Pre-Employment Background Check Required.

California Applicants: 

Applicants from California can access our California Privacy Notice here. 

Employment Authorization: 

At this time Capstone unfortunately cannot sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa. To be considered for one of our roles, applicants must be authorized to work in the United States.