Senior Paralegal

Overview

A mission-driven organization focused on developing high-quality, knowledge-rich curricula in math, science, and English Language Arts is seeking a Senior Paralegal to join their Legal Team. This role involves managing the full contract lifecycle, negotiating agreement terms, assessing legal risk, and advising internal stakeholders across various departments including Sales, Product, Technology, Digital, and Finance. The Senior Paralegal will operate with significant autonomy and serve as a senior resource within the contracts function.

Responsibilities

• Draft, redline, and negotiate commercial contracts of moderate to high complexity, applying sound judgment on risk allocation, liability, indemnification, compliance, and other legal terms within delegated authority.
• Advise business stakeholders on contract risk exposure and recommend appropriate actions.
• Proactively identify potential contract issues such as deadlines, deliverables, and compliance risks, coordinating early interventions to prevent disputes or delays.
• Resolve disputes, delays, or breaches, escalating to Senior Managing Counsel or outside counsel only when necessary.
• Translate business objectives into contract language that protects organizational interests and supports strategic goals.
• Review, approve, and advise on contract documentation to ensure accuracy, legal risk management, and compliance tracking before and after execution.
• Identify patterns of risk or inefficiency in the contract portfolio and recommend improvements to templates, playbooks, negotiation positions, and contract management processes.
• Guide and delegate administrative tasks related to contract repository maintenance to the Legal Administrative Assistant.
• Prepare regular contract portfolio analyses and summaries for Senior Managing Counsel beyond routine status reporting.

Requirements

• Minimum 5 years of progressive paralegal experience with independent ownership of commercial contract negotiation from drafting through execution.
• Strong knowledge of contract risk areas including restrictive covenants, indemnification, limitation of liability, data privacy, intellectual property ownership and licensing, AI risk, and termination provisions.
• Demonstrated ability to exercise independent judgment on legal risk and escalate complex issues appropriately.
• Proven experience negotiating directly with external counterparties to protect organizational interests.
• Experience managing and advising on complex contract management systems, recommending process improvements, and efficiently using technical platforms.
• Ability to manage competing priorities across multiple cross-functional stakeholders in a fast-paced environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in K-12 education, B2B SaaS, and/or educational publishing industries involving state and local government engagements.
• Experience serving as a subject matter expert or escalation point on a legal team.
• Notary certification is a plus.
• Experience with Agiloft contract management system is a plus.

Education

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent required.
• 5+ years of relevant paralegal experience.

Compensation & Benefits

• Full-time position.
• Expected base salary range: $85,000 - $94,000, with actual offer dependent on factors such as location, experience, skills, and internal equity.
• Salary does not include benefits or other incentives.

Location

• Remote

Additional Information

• A cover letter and resume are required for consideration.
• Successful completion of a background check is required for new employees.
• The organization is an equal opportunity employer committed to fair employment practices without regard to race, religion, color, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), national origin, disability, age, genetic information, or any other protected status under applicable laws.