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Associate General Counsel, Program Advisory

Open Society Foundations
Posted Nov 19
Full Time
New York

Role Title

Associate General Counsel, Program Advisory

Grade Level

Level F, Grade 13

Reporting To

Legal Division Director, Program Advisory

Role Purpose

The role of Associate General Counsel sits within the Program Advisory division. The Program Advisory division provides advisory partnering and generalist legal support to Programs (hereinafter: Programs), and facilitates co-creation and contextualization between their respective Programs, OGC and other relevant units of global policies, standards, processes including local calibration of risk tolerance.

Key Responsibilities

As Associate General Counsel you will:

  • Act as a strategic partner to enable effective planning to maximize impact and realize strategy within regulatory framework and organization-wide policies/standards/processes including understanding the work of the Region/Global assigned Programs and identifying, and anticipating where possible, legal needs
  • Coordinate delivery of legal and regulatory support to the Programs in collaboration with other OGC divisions and/or external counsel when needed and coordinating advice as appropriate to ensure it is fit for the organization
  • Provide legal advice and counsel to the Programs including but not limited to advocacy, grant-making (international and US), corporate transactions (including services agreements, consultancies, leases, software agreements, vendor agreements, and financial transactions), employment law matters, general non-profit corporate advice (including the establishment of entities and governance)
  • Assist Programs in securing legal advice on employment law, intellectual property, defamation and data protection issues
  • Monitor/understand the Programs’ contexts, strategic priorities, challenges and issues, local legal and political changes, to facilitate the OGC’s offering of support priorities/enhancements for the coming period
  • Facilitate local contextualization of organization-wide organizational standards/processes and risk tolerance; and the development, applicability and implementation of policies to the Program in alignment with organization-wide requirements
  • Engage and instruct external counsel when needed and co-ordinate advice as appropriate to ensure it is fit for the organization

People Responsibilities (Total Team/DRs)

None

Key metrics

N/A

Key internal relationships

Associate Directors, Global Operations

Key external relationships

External counsel providing advice in local jurisdictions where OSF operates

Qualifications

Essential :

  • Law degree or equivalent from an accredited university (law school)
  • Admission to practice law in the Open Society global office location in which you would be based

Essential

Experience

  • A minimum post-qualification experience of 5 years at a law firm and/or in-house, including experience with acting as a generalist legal counsel
  • Experience and record of accomplishments with drafting and negotiating in matters requiring keen attention to detail with excellent follow-through
  • Experience with providing legal advice on a range of matters including one or more of the following: advocacy, grant making (international or US), corporate transactions (including services agreements, consultancies, leases, software agreements, vendor agreements and financial transactions), employment law matters, general non-profit corporate advice (including establishment of entities and governance), intellectual property, defamation and data protection issues
  • Experience engaging and instructing external counsel when needed and coordinating advice as appropriate to ensure it is fit for the organization

Desirable

  • Experience working in the non-profit field a plus

Competencies

Functional Competencies

  • Demonstrated ability to communicate (verbal and written) legal and strategic advice with stakeholders who are not lawyers including in a virtual environment
  • A practical, business-oriented approach to problem-solving, tempered by an appreciation for legal complexity and risk
  • Demonstrated ability to apply creative thinking, strong judgment and analytical skills, combined with a record of integrity, professional discretion and the ability to work under pressure, prioritize and handle sensitive/confidential matters
  • Demonstrated ability to build relationships, with experience managing inter and intra organizational relationships in complex organizational environments

Personal Competencies

  • Commitment to continuous learning and growth in the areas of diversity, equity, inclusion, antiracism and social justice
  • Commitment to listening and working with humility; ways of working that are respectful to all people; and that support space and voice for all diverse perspectives in our workplace

Languages

An excellent knowledge of English. Knowledge of other languages would be an asset

The salary range for this role in the U.S. is $145, 100 - $275, 700 (USD). The final offer is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set and level of experience