Senior Counsel, Technology & Privacy

Overview

This role supports the organization’s data governance program with a focus on privacy, data protection, and product counseling. Reporting to the Deputy General Counsel, Commercial & Business Affairs, the Senior Counsel, Technology & Privacy will provide practical, risk-based guidance, lead critical privacy and data initiatives, and help build systems that enable responsible innovation while meeting evolving regulatory and ecosystem expectations.

Responsibilities

Privacy & Data Protection Counseling

• Monitor and assess evolving privacy and data protection laws, regulatory guidance, and enforcement trends, and advise on business impacts
• Assess the organization’s compliance posture under applicable privacy and data protection laws
• Lead the development and maintenance of scalable governance processes, documentation standards, monitoring approaches, and reporting practices
• Provide practical, business-focused guidance on the collection, use, sharing, retention, and protection of personal data and health data across products and operations
• Respond to data sharing and ecosystem questions, including governance and contractual expectations
• Support data governance uplift efforts, including roadmap development, milestone tracking, stakeholder alignment, and executive reporting
• Work cross-functionally with IT and Product teams to advise on, develop, and deliver privacy training and awareness
  • Identify training needs, define content expectations and target audiences, and create/update course materials

Product & Technology Counseling

• Partner with Product, IT, Sporting, and Soccer Services teams to embed privacy considerations into design, development, and deployment of products and platforms
  • Implement practical, scalable controls across the product lifecycle
• Review and advise on privacy implications of new products, features, technologies, and data uses, including conducting and supporting privacy impact and risk assessments
• Counsel on data-driven initiatives, including analytics, marketing technologies, and emerging technologies such as AI, from a privacy and data governance perspective

Commercial & Vendor Support

• Draft, review, and negotiate technology and data-related agreements, including:
  • SaaS agreements
  • Cloud services agreements
  • Software development and licensing agreements
  • Master services agreements, statements of work, and technology integration agreements
  • Data processing and information security agreements
• Review, draft, and negotiate privacy and data protection provisions in commercial agreements, including data processing agreements and vendor contracts

Regulatory & Risk Management

• Own the cybersecurity and privacy legal strategy and operating model
  • Establish standards, playbooks, escalation paths, and risk tolerances aligned to company goals
• Advise on responses to data subject requests, regulatory inquiries, and privacy-related incidents
• Lead legal readiness for enterprise incident response (tabletops, playbooks, training) and advise on third-party breach response
  • Serve as lead legal point of contact for significant cybersecurity incidents and privacy incidents
• Lead regulatory readiness, audits, and internal assessments related to privacy and data security compliance

Other Transactional Support

• When needed, assist other transactional lawyers by drafting, reviewing, and negotiating agreements supporting business operations, including:
  • Services agreements
  • Event-related agreements
  • Content acquisition agreements
  • Licensing
  • Facility-related agreements
• Assist with developing and maintaining contract templates and playbooks to streamline technology and other contract processes

Expectations for the Legal & Corporate Affairs Department

• Serve as a supportive mentor by sharing professional and industry knowledge, providing guidance on professional development to more junior staff, and contributing to a culture of intellectual curiosity and high standards
• Provide thought leadership on legal operations, including efficiencies, use of technology, serving internal clients, and controlling costs
• Contribute to the creation and maintenance of the standard forms library
• Treat others with respect, kindness, patience, and empathy

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications

• J.D. from an accredited law school and an active license to practice law in at least one U.S. jurisdiction, in good standing
• Minimum 8-10 years of legal experience, with significant focus on privacy, data protection, and technology-related matters
• Demonstrated experience providing product counseling and advising engineering, product, and technical teams
• Solid understanding of data protection, cybersecurity, and information security principles
• Minimum 5 years in-house experience
• Strong ability to translate complex legal and regulatory requirements into clear, actionable guidance for technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Knowledge of HIPAA and other healthcare privacy requirements preferred
• Familiarity with security frameworks and control environments (NIST, ISO 27001)
• Experience designing and implementing policies, standards, controls, and metrics in a complex organization
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment
• Exceptional drafting, negotiation, analytical, and communication skills
• High level of commitment to quality work product and organizational ethics, integrity, and compliance
• General knowledge of soccer
• Ability to work in fast-paced and demanding environments
• Ability to connect “micro” details to the “macro” vision and mission
• Proficient experience with Microsoft Suite (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook)

Preferred Qualifications

• Sports industry experience
• Experience in an engineering or technical project management role

Compensation & Benefits

• Comprehensive compensation package
• Casual work environment
• Inclusive culture
• Professional development opportunities

Equal Opportunity

The organization is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, citizenship, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, genetic information, military status, political belief, or any other characteristic protected under the law.

Location

Not specified in the provided description.