Assistant, Athlete Ombuds

Overview

The organization is seeking an Assistant Athlete Ombuds to support the Team USA Athlete Ombuds Office in providing confidential, independent, and impartial guidance and dispute-resolution support to Team USA athletes.

This role is designed for an attorney with strong problem-solving and dispute-resolution capabilities who wants to develop expertise in athlete rights and Olympic and Paralympic sport.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with the Athlete Ombuds, Senior Associate Athlete Ombuds, and other Office staff to provide trusted, athlete-centered support consistent with the Office’s mission and statutory responsibilities.
• Help create and maintain an environment that is accessible, supportive, safe, competent, inviting, and resourceful for athletes and other constituents.
• Uphold the Office’s core principles: independence, impartiality, and confidentiality.
• Provide confidential consultations to athletes regarding their rights, responsibilities, options, resources, and available dispute-resolution pathways.
• Research and analyze applicable laws, rules, policies, procedures, precedent, and other relevant information to support accurate and timely athlete guidance.
• Assist athletes with identifying issues, evaluating options, preparing for difficult conversations, and determining appropriate next steps.
• Support resolution of athlete concerns and disputes through problem-solving, conflict coaching, facilitated communication, mediation, and other appropriate dispute-resolution approaches.
• Identify opportunities for early intervention and informal resolution before concerns escalate into formal disputes.
• Support intake and triage of athlete inquiries, including routine and lower-complexity matters, and escalate matters requiring greater experience or specialized expertise.
• Support athletes in high-impact areas including team selection, anti-doping, athlete safety, commercial matters, benefits and services, and Games-related issues.
• Assist with administration and delivery of specialized athlete resources, including the Legal Aid Program and Athlete Commercial Agreements Resource (CAR) Program, helping connect athletes with appropriate external expertise when needed.
• Review athlete-facing policies, procedures, and dispute pathways and identify opportunities to improve clarity, fairness, timeliness, accessibility, and consistency.
• Use recurring athlete experiences to identify systemic issues and opportunities for improved processes, education, coordination, prevention, and organizational learning.
• Maintain accurate, consistent, high-quality case and program data and strengthen Office data-management practices.
• Help identify information and data needed to understand workload, athlete experiences, emerging issues, program effectiveness, and Office impact.
• Analyze case and program information to identify patterns, trends, and opportunities for earlier intervention or systems improvement.
• Support development and improvement of dashboards, reports, case-management tools, knowledge resources, and data-tracking practices.
• Help evaluate and implement responsible uses of AI, automation, and other technologies to improve research, knowledge retrieval, triage, reporting, and Office efficiency while protecting confidentiality and preserving human judgment.
• Translate case, program, and data insights into clear reports, presentations, and recommendations for appropriate audiences while protecting confidential information.
• Support Office and cross-functional initiatives designed to strengthen athlete-facing systems, operational readiness, and Games preparation.
• Coordinate with Office staff in providing support to athletes at the Olympic, Paralympic, Pan American, Parapan American Games, and other protected competitions.
• Develop and maintain strong working relationships with athletes, the Team USA Athletes' Commission, NGBs, organization colleagues, outside counsel, and other relevant stakeholders.
• Represent the Athlete Ombuds Office professionally and provide support in urgent or time-sensitive athlete matters, including outside regular working hours as needed.
• Contribute to a culture of learning, experimentation, continuous improvement, and exceptional athlete service.
• Perform other duties as assigned consistent with the mission of the Office.

Requirements

• Juris Doctor from an accredited law school (required).
• Early-career legal experience demonstrating strong research, analysis, writing, judgment, and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrated interest in mediation, conflict resolution, facilitated problem-solving, or alternative dispute resolution.
• Experience working with individuals navigating complex, sensitive, high-stakes, or emotionally charged matters.
• Demonstrated ability to learn complex regulatory, policy, or governance frameworks quickly.
• Exceptional listening, empathy, discretion, interpersonal judgment, and ability to establish trust quickly.
• Ability to remain impartial and non-judgmental while helping individuals evaluate difficult choices.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including distinguishing legal, procedural, relational, and practical issues and identifying underlying interests.
• Developing capability in mediation, facilitation, negotiation, and conflict management, with sound judgment about when to resolve, facilitate, escalate, refer, or seek additional expertise.
• Excellent legal research, writing, verbal communication, and presentation skills.
• Ability to communicate effectively and respectfully with individuals from diverse backgrounds and across organizational levels.
• Curiosity about and respect for the athlete experience and the Olympic and Paralympic Movement, with ability to work effectively in fast-moving, high-pressure environments.
• Comfort with technology and demonstrated ability to learn new systems quickly.
• Ability to work thoughtfully with structured information and data, identify patterns, and translate findings into useful insights.
• Interest in using AI, automation, case-management systems, and knowledge tools to improve quality and efficiency; advanced technical development skills are not required.
• Ability to bridge professional practice needs and technical solutions and work effectively with technical partners.
• Demonstrated integrity, independent judgment, prudence, and discretion in dealing with sensitive and confidential matters.
• Intellectual curiosity and willingness to improve how work gets done.
• Fast, resourceful learner with strong adaptability, initiative, and follow-through.

Preferred Qualifications

• Training or demonstrated experience in mediation, negotiation, conflict resolution, or alternative dispute resolution.
• Additional education or experience in data analytics, technology, business, sport management, or a related field.
• Experience in Olympic or Paralympic sport, collegiate athletics, professional sport, athlete representation, sport governance, or another athlete-facing environment.
• Personal experience as a competitive athlete or demonstrated ability to build credibility and trust with athletes.
• Experience using case-management systems, data-analysis or visualization tools, AI-enabled tools, or technology to improve professional workflows.
• Experience identifying patterns or trends across matters and translating information into actionable insights.

Compensation & Benefits

• Hiring pay range: $85,000 - $95,000 per year.
• Position type: Full-Time, Exempt (intended to work 40 hours per week).
• Bonus: Eligible for the Annual Incentive Award Program with a 15% target. The organization may change or eliminate the program at any time at its sole discretion.
• Benefits: Eligible for organization benefits.

Location

• Remote - US

Work Conditions

• Standard office equipment and technology platforms.
• Non-traditional work hours and schedule as required, including extended hours during urgent athlete matters and Games periods.
• Some domestic and international travel.
• Regular attendance at work is an essential job function.

Application Deadline

This job posting will close at 12:00pm MT on 10/30/2026.