Overview
Serves as an integral member of the Office of General Counsel (OGC) providing legal support across global corporate and program operations. This role supports corporate entity management, governance and compliance, contract drafting and management, corporate transactions, trademark administration, litigation management (including matters in foreign courts), and corporate insurance program support.
Provides legal advice on non-U.S. law matters within the scope of their foreign licensure. For U.S.-law-adjacent matters, conducts legal research, analysis, and draft recommendations under the supervision of attorneys admitted to practice in the United States. Maintains recurring corporate compliance processes and proactively completes related work.
Partners with Legal Operations to support core OGC operations such as matter tracking, records management, and maintenance of OGC legal resources and service portals in internal systems.
Responsibilities / Duties
Complex legal support and problem solving
- Draft, review, and revise contracts and other legal documents, and support contract management activities.
- Provide legal analysis and guidance on non-U.S. legal issues within the scope of foreign licensure; escalate matters requiring U.S.-licensed attorney review.
- Conduct legal and factual research and draft memoranda and recommendations for review by attorneys admitted to practice in the United States.
- Administer and oversee corporate insurance program support activities, including documentation management and review of contractual insurance requirements.
- Support cross-border INGO operations by advising (or drafting guidance for U.S.-licensed attorney review as appropriate) on donor compliance requirements, subaward/partner risk clauses, and contract flowdowns common in international development work.
- Draft corporate governance documents (e.g., articles of incorporation, bylaws, operating agreements) and maintain minute books and corporate records for subsidiaries and affiliates.
- Prepare corporate minutes and resolutions for subsidiaries and affiliates.
- Support corporate transactions by organizing due diligence materials and preparing closing documents.
Litigation, investigations, and compliance operations
- Select and manage outside counsel conducting litigation in foreign courts on behalf of the organization and maintain a litigation tracker.
- Organize and track files for internal investigations and administrative proceedings, including creating and maintaining document databases.
- Maintain the schedule of registered trademarks and assist with preparation of renewal applications.
- Oversee domestic corporate registrations and charitable solicitation licenses, including annual reports and renewals, for the organization and/or subsidiaries and affiliates.
- Prepare annual state and federal income, business, and franchise tax filings for the organization and/or subsidiaries under the oversight of attorneys licensed to practice in the U.S.
- Maintain an annual schedule of corporate filings and recurring compliance processes (e.g., COI updates) and complete related work without prompting.
- Support legal-hold and record-retention processes by coordinating preservation steps and maintaining privileged repositories in alignment with OGC direction.
Legal resources and special projects
- Update and maintain OGC legal guidance resources for internal clients in internal collaboration tools (e.g., SharePoint).
- Undertake special projects as requested by attorneys admitted to practice in the United States.
Privacy, data protection, and local legal presence
- Support privacy and data-protection risk management by assisting with cross-border data transfer and data privacy issue spotting.
- Support country office legal presence and local regulatory compliance workstreams (e.g., registrations/renewals, local counsel coordination, required filings) for jurisdictions aligned to the role’s licensure and expertise.
Discretion and collaboration
- Independently identify and resolve problems in a timely manner within established OGC priorities and commitments.
- Differentiate between matters that can be handled independently and those requiring escalation for direction and/or resolution.
- Address issues in accordance with the priorities, policies, and commitments of the General Counsel.
- Assist attorneys admitted to practice in the United States with oversight and implementation of company policies, including revising and updating corporate policies as needed.
- Handle sensitive information, including investigation documentation and privileged materials, with discretion and professionalism.
- Support legal compliance execution through timely corporate filings, renewals, and records maintenance for the organization and its affiliates.
Interaction with internal teams and external counsel
- Assist attorneys admitted to practice in the United States in providing legal support to internal clients in departments and business units.
- Liaise with outside counsel and legal vendors and review and process invoices for payment.
- Engage foreign local counsel and maintain an OGC directory of approved counsel in internal systems.
- Coordinate with relevant internal departments to compile information needed for insurance applications and renewals.
- Obtain and track certificates of insurance and support review of contractual insurance requirements.
- Maintain frequent contact with individuals representing other departments and outside organizations regarding sensitive matters.
- Communicate clearly and professionally with internal clients, outside counsel, and vendors in writing and verbally.
- Establish clear, routine partnering cadences with Programs, Finance, Compliance, Security/Safety, and People and Culture to support consistent contract, compliance, and investigations workflows in global operations.
- Manage local counsel and maintain structured organizational practices (budgeting expectations, fee arrangements, performance standards, and matter status reporting) aligned with OGC oversight.
Management & supervision
- Collaborate with Legal Operations to support OGC departmental operations such as matter tracking, records indexing and storage, and maintenance of OGC legal resources and service portals.
- Organize, preserve, and file legal documents and maintain OGC filing systems (hardcopy and SharePoint) to ensure proper indexing and retrieval.
- Receive instructions from attorneys admitted to practice in the United States for immediate tasks and manage longer-term projects with regular status check-ins.
- May lead and provide guidance to lower-level personnel.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
Requirements
Knowledge, skills, and abilities
- Knowledge of corporate law, corporate governance, litigation in foreign courts, and compliance requirements, including the ability to locate and apply relevant resources.
- Ability to analyze legal and other documents and source materials and synthesize findings into clear recommendations.
- Strong initiative, resourcefulness, and problem-solving ability; willingness/ability to learn quickly.
- Strong organizational skills with the ability to prioritize, manage multiple projects, and adapt quickly to changes and deadlines.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills; ability to handle situations with diplomacy and tact.
- Advanced knowledge of administrative and organizational procedures, including business correspondence and records management.
- Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office and experience with SharePoint or ability to quickly gain proficiency.
- Excellent attention to detail.
- Working knowledge of general contract law and employment law.
- Must be able to read, write, and speak fluent English.
- Demonstrated ability to manage outside counsel in foreign jurisdictions, including scoping, budgeting, and performance monitoring.
Minimum qualifications
- Admitted to practice law in a country other than the United States.
- Minimum of 3-5 years of experience as an attorney practicing outside the United States (in a law firm, in-house legal department, or comparable setting).
- Requires a law degree (or international equivalent) consistent with licensure requirements in the applicable jurisdiction(s).
Certifications
- License to practice law in a country other than the United States.
Preferred Qualifications
- Non-governmental organization (NGO) experience.
- Experience supporting multi-jurisdiction corporate governance and charitable solicitation compliance.
- Experience working with international counsel networks and cross-border compliance matters.
- Additional language proficiency relevant to organizational footprint (beyond English) when business needs require.
Compensation & Benefits
- US Based Hiring Salary Range: 89,000 - 114,000 USD
- Base salary is only one component of the offer:
- Employer contributes 7% of monthly base pay to a money purchase pension plan account.
- Full-time US-based staff (40 hours/week) receive 18 days of paid vacation per year, 12 sick days per year, and 11 holidays per year (PTO is reduced pro rata for less than full-time schedules).
- International hiring ranges will differ based on location.
- Final compensation determined in accordance with applicable law and organizational policy.
Location
- US Based
- Travel: Less than 10%
Typical Physical Demands / Work Environment
- Typical office environment.
- Constantly uses a computer and other office productivity equipment (e.g., calculator, copy machine, computer printer).
- Must be able to remain in a stationary position 50% of the time.
Technology
- Computer/Laptop, Microsoft applications (i.e., Office 365, SharePoint, Zoom/Teams), cell phone/mobile technology, and standard office equipment.
Equal Opportunity and Screening
Offers are subject to appropriate screening checks, including reference, criminal record, and terrorism finance checks. The organization participates in the Inter-Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme (MDS) and may request information from prior employers about substantiated findings of sexual abuse, exploitation and/or harassment.
Note
This posting summarizes the main duties of the job and does not prescribe or restrict the exact tasks that may be assigned. Management may review and revise the document at any time.