General Counsel and Chief Risk Officer

Position Summary:

The General Counsel & Chief Risk Officer is responsible for working with a broad range of leaders in the organization across multiple jurisdictions to maintain the legal integrity and mitigate risk in our complex and evolving organization.

Among other responsibilities, the General Counsel will (1) work with management and program leaders to ensure Youth Guidance’s policies, procedures, and programs are developed and applied in full recognition of legal and regulatory requirements, implications, and risks; (2) provide legal guidance to the organization and manage relationships and legal matters with outside counsel; (3) provide leadership, design, and oversight of risk management & compliance function, supervise the Compliance Officer; and (4) ensure that legal affairs of Youth Guidance are attended to effectively and efficiently and that all legal records are properly compiled and securely maintained. When applying, note that you found this job at GoInhouse.com.

Essential Duties/Responsibilities:

Legal Issues

• Determine the organization’s position and provide guidance relating to significant legal issues, including but not limited to, employment, labor, contracts, compliance, data sharing agreements, regulatory compliance, government relations, privacy, litigation, and governance.
• Review, evaluate, and coordinate with appropriate organizational leadership regarding legal and reputational risks associated with operation of the agency, including third-party vendors and other relationships.
• Identify and manage relationships with outside legal counsel, both pro bono and fee-based, as needed.

Contract Management & Compliance

• Oversee the negotiation and drafting of all agreements entered into by Youth Guidance. Periodically assess Youth Guidance’s contract review and signature policies and processes and work with appropriate function heads to update and/or amend such policies as necessary; manages vendor due diligence and procurement processes; contractual terms and conditions; execute off-boarding procedures for vendors and contingency planning for vendor failure.

Risk Management

• Proactively identify, analyze, and mitigate legal risks across the Agency's operations.
• Partner with various departments and leaders to develop and implement effective risk management strategies, ensuring compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.
• Conduct legal audits and assessments to identify potential legal risks associated with the Agency's services and other operations, including its third partner vendor and customer relationships; analyzes the impact of legal risks and develops strategies to mitigate or eliminate them, including drafting and implementing risk management policies and procedures.
• Conduct legal training for employees on relevant topics to raise awareness of legal risks and promote a culture of compliance; prepares legal reports and presentations for senior management on risk management activities and legal matters.
• Supervise Compliance Officer and ensure compliance with applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations.

Board of Directors

• Serve as Assistant Secretary and legal advisor to the Board of Directors, maintaining corporate records, and drafting resolutions. Responsible for final review of minutes of all official proceedings.

Special Projects

• Undertake special projects as requested by the CEO.

Minimum Qualifications:

Education/Experience/Training

• JD from an accredited law school and at least (10) ten years of professional experience
• Prior in-house legal experience preferred
• Risk management experience preferred
• Board presentations and advice preferred
• Nonprofit and pro bono experience preferred
• Active Illinois Bar License, or in-house exemption

Skills/Abilities

• Ability to use Microsoft Office software (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook) and to navigate other web-based software systems.
• Ability to interpret laws and regulations and offer business units creative solutions based on new and changing laws and regulations.
• Risk assessment and management.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to interact professionally with a culturally diverse staff and to communicate effectively with people outside the organization.
• Must be able to demonstrate time and task management (multi-tasking) proficiency to meet multiple and often tight deadlines while maintaining attention to detail.

Available Benefit Offerings:

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• Medical, Dental, Vision and Pharmacy Plans
• FSA: Medical, Dependent and Transportation/Parking Plans
• Paid Holidays, Vacation, Personal and Sick Time
• Basic Life Insurance Coverage
• Basic AD&D Coverage
• Wellness Program
• Employee Assistance Programs
• Employee Discount Programs
• 401k Participation
• Voluntary Benefit Plans
• You may qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF)

Core Competencies

• Communication:Uses effective written and oral communication with internal staff, teams, and community served; demonstrates empathy and listening
• Equity mindset:Understands and is committed to goals of equity, consistently brings an equity mindset to the organization’s work and workplace
• Growth mindset:Views growth as important for personal and professional development; seeks out opportunities to expand skills, even if the change is required, demonstrates curiosity and eagerness to learn
• Mission drive:Demonstrates commitment to the missing of the organization as a whole and alignment with organization values

Leadership Core Competencies (Supervisor & above roles)

• Continuous improvement-minded: Takes initiative to identify and execute strategies and processes to continuously improve one’s leadership to strengthen organization’s overall impact.​
  
• Strategic thinking and resource management: Considers the future of the organization proactively and responsively; weighs diverse inputs to inform strategies; identifies innovative opportunities when relevant; makes and communicates decisions that effectively balance tradeoffs between financial sustainability and impact​
• Team building: Builds strong relationships with teams and colleagues; fosters effective teams and collaborative interactions​

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear.
• The employee frequently is required to sit and stand for sustained periods of time; walk; use hands and fingers to handle or feel; and reach with hands and arms.
• The employee may occasionally lift and/or move up to 20 pounds.

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines. This role is hybrid with occasional travel required.

DEIB Statement

At Youth Guidance, we understand that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEIB) are fundamental to realizing our vision of bright and successful futures for all young people. We celebrate the diversity of youth and recognize them as empowered leaders, problem-solvers, and experts of their own experiences. At the same time, we acknowledge that many systems and institutions meant to support youth are inequitable and unjust.

As such, we are committed to advancing DE&I through our words and our actions, both internally and externally, by:

• Strengthening cultural competence as well as policies, practices, and organizational structures that foster belonging and leverage the unique backgrounds and talents of staff;
• Offering youth-centered programs that are accessible and responsive to people from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, abilities, sexual identity, gender identity and expression, language, and cultural and religious beliefs and practices;
• Influencing systems that youth, their families, and communities are impacted by, such as schools, organizational networks, governmental bodies, researchers, and the funding community, to apply approaches that embrace DEI in addressing the needs and supporting the aspirations of young people.

Youth Guidance is an equal opportunity employer and proudly values diversity, equity, inclusivity, and belonging. Youth Guidance does not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law and is committed to creating a dynamic work environment that values diversity along all of these lines. People of all backgrounds are encouraged to apply.