General Counsel

Salary Range:

$165,000.00 To 175,000.00 Annually

Organization Description

Tides Advocacy, a 501(c)(4) exempt organization, is a team of political, legal, and financial experts that identify, connect, and fuel movements for social justice and the health of our democracy. We leverage our 25-year progressive network, navigate the rules, and solve problems in order to make advocacy effective.

Tides Advocacy has over 85 partners who represent activists, donors, movement leaders, lawyers, and researchers who are promoting equity, justice, and dignity for all. They are engaged in ballot measure, electoral, and legislative campaigns as well as public education and charitable activities.

From providing funder advised funds to fiscal sponsorship, grants management to risk management and more, Tides Advocacy gives members of the nonprofit and philanthropic community freedom to focus on the change they want to see. For more information, please visit tidesadvocacy.org.

Position Summary

The General Counsel is a member of the Legal, Risk and Compliance (LRC) Team that supports the Tides Advocacy 501(c)(4) entity, its employees and partners (fiscally sponsored projects) on a wide array of legal and compliance matters in collaboration with the Tides 501(c)(3) entities. The General Counsel will provide strategic legal advice to advance Tides Advocacy’s mission. They will oversee the risk mitigation initiatives, resolve claims, and support with a number of other legal and compliance matters and provide periodic staff training. The General Counsel will assist Tides Advocacy and its fiscally sponsored projects with tax law matters related to Tides Advocacy’s 501(c)(4) status, employment, intellectual property, contract, and general legal matters. This also includes campaign finance laws, federal and state lobbying compliance and jurisdictional reporting, political action committees, and other applicable laws to political engagement and strategy.

The General Counsel must be able to think proactively and creatively, work cross-departmentally and support and manage strategic initiatives, including in connection with staff and partner education. They will work in close collaboration with the other members of the LRC department to support consistent and effective consultation to partners in the Tides and Tides Advocacy ecosystem.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Strategic Initiatives, Governance and Training

Develop and manage creation and implementation tools and policies to enhance and support effective corporate governance.

Support Tides Advocacy Board, as needed, in understanding legal and compliance risk associated with different types of programmatic activities, including through drafting memos and other materials.

Support team in advancing legal analysis required to support strategic projects related to entity structure and framework operations.

Actively assist the larger LRC Team in developing effective legal, risk and compliance education and training tools and memos for fiscally sponsored projects and staff.

Identify areas of partnership with Tides and Tides Advocacy staff, train staff and partners on legal topics relevant to the organization, including internal policies and procedures and compliance with applicable laws. Assist in updating and creating new training sessions as needed and offer solutions to help achieve desired outcomes.

Issue spot and work with other service and operational teams, including HR, finance and operations, to support outcomes that support partners, that support internal operations, and that mitigate risk.

Maintain working knowledge of trends in progressive, 501(c)(4), movement-building and funding spaces and develop strategic partner relationships.

Engage in continuing education to ensure that Tides Advocacy remains compliant with respect to changing areas of the law.

Compliance and Risk Management

Advise senior leadership team regarding structural and operational risks associated with programs or operations and support implementation of substantive updates.

Maintain and support awareness regarding core risk and compliance policies.

Investigate and/or evaluate the legal implications of compliance issues and recommend operational changes or alternative policies and procedures.

Identify practical tools to support internal and project staff in understanding and complying with risk management policies and procedures.

Ensure effective policy roll-out and input, as needed.

Ensure compliance program for contracts and grant agreements, insurance management, new partner vetting, partner separations, and internal investigations.

Help to manage compliance regarding proper separation between Tides Advocacy and other Tides entities, and compliance related to agreements amongst the entities.

Fiscally Sponsored Project Guidance and Support

Manage LRC support for fiscal sponsorship programs of Tides Advocacy.

Identify and develop engagement strategies to support risk management partnership with fiscally sponsored projects.

Oversee and educate projects on tools and requirements for legal compliance.

Work with and coordinate outside legal advice to support success and compliance of fiscally sponsored project work.

Provide legal framework for advising partners on campaign finance law, develop legal structures to support effective electoral campaigns and build BIPOC, progressive power in partnership with the Compliance Manager and Political Director

Track, research, and help structure and resolve any legal issues raised by new partnership opportunities.

Support development of cohesive guidance and advice relating to full set of LRC work areas – contracts, insurance, jurisdictional reporting and registrations, as well as issue spotting and resolution of legal and compliance issues.

Partner with Compliance Manager to ensure effective systems to comply with lobbying and ethics rules, grant agreement restrictions, and other regulatory or contractual obligations.

Track risk and compliance inquiries/issues, recommend solutions, and escalate appropriate issues to other departments

Oversee contact and grant management systems; manage escalations in partnership with LRC team and service team members

Department Support

Manage day-to-day legal operations related to Tides Advocacy.

Supervise members of the Tides Advocacy LRC team

Support establishment of priorities, ensuring attention to day-to-day obligations and long-term goals.

Support continuing professional development and well-being of individual members of the LRC team; identify opportunities for team members to build skills and knowledge that contribute to their successful performance and job satisfaction.

Other duties as assigned by Chief Executive Officer.

Knowledge, Skills, and Experience

Juris Doctor and Law License required.

6-8 years’ experience in the areas of general corporate, tax, and/or nonprofit law.

4+ years’ experience with tax law related to Tides Advocacy’s 501(c)(4) status, campaign finance laws, lobbying disclosure laws and/or other laws applicable to political engagement and strategy.

Experience supervising attorneys and legal work.

(Preferred) Experience advising or participating in BIPOC-led organizations, grassroots movement-building organizations, progressive elections campaigns (whether candidate, party, or independent), labor movement organizations, or political action committees.

Commitment to Tides Advocacy’s mission

Excellent oral and written communication skills; ability to understand and communicate effectively with different stakeholders in different fields of expertise.

Detail-oriented, with ability to understand and appreciate and integrate larger goals and objectives

Strong ability to cooperate and work collaboratively toward solutions.

Adaptable, with ability to hold self and others accountable for high-quality, timely, and effective results

Ability to work with a variety of stakeholders and to respond to the varying needs of the organization, uplifting partner voice while maintaining a strong voice for legal compliance

Working familiarity with 501(c)(4) and progressive electoral infrastructure

Exercise excellent judgment in handling confidential information and other potentially-sensitive matters.

High-level and consistent work ethic.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Tides Advocacy is an equal opportunity employer. We strongly encourage and seek applications from women, people of color, and bilingual and bicultural individuals, as well as members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities. Applicants shall not be discriminated against because of race, religion, sex, national origin, ethnicity, age, disability, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, color, marital status, or medical condition including acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and AIDS-related conditions.

Applicants with Disabilities

Reasonable accommodations will be made so that qualified disabled applicants may participate in the application process. Please advise in writing of special needs at the time of application.