Vice President of Legal and Compliance Services and General Counsel

SUMMARY UnidosUS (formerly NCLR) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that serves as the nation’s largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization. Since 1968, we have challenged the social, economic, and political barriers that affect Latinos through our unique combination of expert research, advocacy, programs, and anAffiliate Networkof more than 300 community-based organizations across the United States and Puerto Rico. We believe in an America where economic, political, and social progress is a reality for all Latinos, and we collaborate across communities to achieve it. Reporting to the CFO, the Vice President of Legal & Compliance Services and General Counsel is the organization’s senior legal and compliance advisor providing expert legal counsel and strategic guidance to the Board of Directors, Audit Committee, Leadership, and Management. This position will possess a deep and broad understanding of the law, especially laws governing tax exempt organizations, including 501-c-3s, 501-c-4s, and 501-c-6s. This position will be able to translate their knowledge and experience into clear, concise, and practical legal advice that aligns with the organization’s mission, strategy, and goals. This position will be able to proactively identify legal risks and offer solutions to mitigate them, potentially saving the organization from costly litigation and regulatory fines. This position will understand the organization inside and out and will possess the ability to translate complex legal issues into targeted strategies, and be able to work closely with the CEO, COO, CFO, and other top executives to align legal strategies with organizational objectives. This position is responsible for a broad portfolio of legal and compliance functions, including (i) ensuring legal compliance with federal and state, laws, regulations, and grants; (ii) advising the Audit Committee on matters pertaining to enterprise risk management; (iii) providing advice about legal issues pertaining to program, policy, advocacy, legislative affairs, voter registration, immigration, as well as regulatory and tax compliance matters; (iv) representing the organization in litigation and court matters; (v) ensuring compliance with the document retention policy; (vi) supporting the disaster recovery and business continuity program; (vii) administering all federal and state business registrations such as state solicitation and fundraising registrations; (viii) advising on the adequacy of directors and officers and other business insurance coverages; (ix) ensuring compliance with procurement, contracting, grant-making, and other policies and procedures; and (x) securing specialized legal and compliance advice from third-party experts whenever necessary. This position is a member of the UnidosUS Leadership Team and is responsible for collaborating with designated employees within each department from across the organization in a matrixed structure to procure goods and services; to enter into and ensure compliance with contracts, inbound and outbound grants, and other legal agreements; and to deliver other legal and compliance services. Location: This position is hybrid, and will be based in Washington, DC. UnidosUS policy is to work onsite at least two days per week or as needed to fulfill the duties of the position. Salary: $270,000-$300,000 Essential Functions: Legal & Compliance Management: Create and operate an internal function that serves as a centralized center of excellence for all legal and compliance matters, including designing a matrixed process with governing policies and procedures that requires each department and its designated employees to first seek the legal department’s advice, counsel, review, and approval before a) procuring goods and services, b) entering into any type of legal agreement, c) responding to a subpoena or request for information, d) engaging in litigation matters; and e) concluding on matters of legal or regulatory compliance, corporate governance, intellectual property rights, cybersecurity attacks, and other enterprise risk management areas. Expert Legal Advice and Counsel: Provide legal advice and strategic guidance to the Board, Cabinet, Leadership Team, and Management on a wide variety of complex legal, governance, regulatory, compliance, program, policy, advocacy, and operational matters. Outside Legal Counsel Management: Maintain partnerships with a network of reputable law firms and legal professionals who have specialized knowledge, niche expertise, and requisite subject matter expertise that may be required from time to time to address unique or unusual legal, regulatory, and compliance matters and to develop ongoing strategies to protect and defend the organization from a variety of new and emerging business risks and threats. Matrixed Management: This position currently does not directly manage any staff. In recognition that internal legal and compliance services are delivered through a matrixed structure in which much of the creation and management of contracts, grants, subgrants, and other legal agreements are created and managed by employees outside of the legal department, this position will be required to demonstrate a variety of soft skills, including enterprise-wide collaboration, excellent communication, effective listening and comprehension, motivation and influencing, conflict resolution, time management, prioritizing and multi-tasking, and cross-functional teamwork. Enterprise-wide Compliance: Ensure compliance with a wide variety of legal, governance, regulatory, contractual, and operational matters, including compliance with (i) IRS regulations; (ii) legal agreements; (iii) OMB’s guidance for federal awards; (iv) governing documents that delineate each entity’s legal structure, governance requirements, operational guidelines, and state reporting obligations; and (v) all laws, regulations, and internal policies. Procurement of Goods and Services: Create and maintain a centralized procurement compliance function that is governed by procurement policies and procedures that all employees must adhere to in order to procure goods and services with and without federal funds, including formal RFP requirements and authorization limits. Legal Contracts for Goods and Services: Create and maintain a centralized contracting compliance function designed around nonprofit best practices, policies, and procedures that require the use of mandatory contract terms and conditions, pre-approved contract templates, and authorization limits. Outbound Grant Agreements: Create and maintain a centralized outbound grantmaking compliance process designed around nonprofit best practices, polices, and procedures that require the use of mandatory terms and conditions, pre-approved grant agreement templates, and authorization limits. Inbound Grant Agreements: Create and maintain a centralized inbound grants management compliance function that ensures terms and conditions are reasonable; certifications and acknowledgments are accurate; and federal grants are in compliance with OMB Uniform Guidance. Solicitation of Funds: In close collaboration with the Resource Development team, ensure the organization is in compliance with state laws that regulate the solicitation of funds for charitable purposes. Risk Management and Mitigation: In collaboration with the Audit Committee, ensure the organization’s enterprise risk management function supports the organization’s mission, strategic goals, and objectives while identifying and mitigating risks; and providing crisis management guidance. Pre-litigation and Litigation: In collaboration with outside counsel, lead and manage litigation, and other legal disputes involving the organization, including (i) preparing for and representing the organization in court proceedings; (ii) safeguarding the organization’s rights and interests; (iii) conducting legal research and analysis; (iv) engaging in negotiation and settlement discussions; and (vi) advocating on the organization’s behalf during trial. Subpoenas, Information Requests, & Investigations: Lead the organization’s strategic response to subpoenas, information requests, depositions, testimonies, and investigations, including (i) determining the organization’s proper response to information and public access requests; (ii) preparing the organization for investigations; (iii) properly handling the production of records in response to subpoenas and other requests; and (iv) advising employees how to prepare for a deposition or testimony under oath before a trail. Document Retention: Ensure the organization’s document retention policy is consistent with best practices and being adhered to, including properly retaining documents long enough to ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and legal obligations and discarding designated documents in a timely and secure manner. Business Insurance Coverage: Ensure insurance coverage is commensurate with each associated risk and is a strategic component of the organization’s overall enterprise risk management program. Also, assist in the design of insurance terms such as coverage limits and deductible amount, and contribute to the negotiation of insurance premiums. Apply tot his job