Vice President, Deputy General Counsel

Base Pay

$199,200.00 – $249,000.00 / Year

We strongly encourage people of color, transgender and non-binary people to apply. HRC is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes everyone, including non-LGBTQ+ people, to join our team.

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that people from marginalized communities are less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At HRC, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Position Summary

The Deputy General Counsel partners with the General Counsel in providing responsive, comprehensive, and high-quality legal services to all programs, activities, and operations of the Human Rights Campaign, its affiliated entities (including PACs), and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (jointly “HRC”).

The Deputy General Counsel’s principal responsibilities will be supporting compliance with federal and state laws, providing strategic legal advice to HRC senior leadership and staff where and as needed, and building and managing a deep bench of outside counsel and experts. Additionally, the Deputy General Counsel will manage significant portions of the General Counsel’s legal docket and advise the organizations on matters including, but not limited to, enterprise risk management, data security and privacy, contract negotiations, employment and labor law, c3/c4 compliance, and intellectual property law, in compliance with all legal, regulatory, and professional obligations.

This role is responsible for serving as a partner to senior leadership and sits on the organization’s leadership team. This role requires a problem solver, collaborator, and strong communicator.

Position Responsibilities

The following is a detailed review of the Deputy General Counsel’s primary areas of responsibility. These areas may evolve over time as related to business needs. This role may also be responsible for other duties as assigned.

• Enterprise Risk Management: Work at the direction of the General Counsel to identify, manage, and support the mitigation of risk across the organizations.
• Privacy: Take a lead role in ensuring compliance with privacy rules in coordination with the Security, IT and Data Analytics team, and People Strategy.
• Policies & Procedures: Assist in the identification, support, development, and review of policies and procedures as directed by the General Counsel and senior HRC staff.
• Impact Litigation: Support the impact litigation team by drafting and negotiating co-counsel agreements, expert agreements, and client retainers. Serve as the in-house legal ethics expert and provide guidance on questions regarding privilege.
• General Legal Work: Assume responsibility for portions of the general legal work for the organization and provide advice and counsel as determined by the General Counsel, in other matters including, but not limited to, employment law, intellectual property, and contract negotiation, including complex commercial, SAAS, vendor, and licensing agreements.
• Board Relations: By appointment of the Boards of Directors, serves as the Assistant Secretary (a Corporate Officer) of the Human Rights Campaign and Human Rights Campaign Foundation.

Position Qualifications

• A law degree from an accredited law school and licensure to practice law in the District of Columbia (or in the process of obtaining such a license) with a minimum of ten years of relevant practice experience.
• Knowledge and experience with the broad range of issues that come up in a general counsel’s office in the context of a non-profit organization.
• Experience in working with an array of stakeholders and colleagues to craft innovative solutions to complex problems.
• Experience managing outside counsel and serving as a liaison on legal issues with nonlegal stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability and experience in project management with legal and nonlegal stakeholders.
• Ability to work independently as well as in a collaborative environment as needed.
• Excellent writing skills, computer and internet proficiency, and strong verbal communication skills.
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and able to handle multiple projects simultaneously in an extremely fast-paced environment.
• A background or experience in LGBTQ+ rights is preferred; the successful candidate will have a demonstrated commitment to HRC and to advancing HRC’s goals and objectives.
• Strong ethics, judgment, and ability to maintain confidentiality.
• Unflappable in the face of challenging situations.

All positions at the Human Rights Campaign and/or the Human Rights Campaign Foundation may require travel on a regular or periodic basis. Where the need arises for business travel, appropriate compensation as outlined by the Fair Labor Standards Act will apply.

Employer is the Human Rights Campaign, Inc., an I.R.C. 501(c)(4) non-profit entity.

No phone calls or emails, please. Due to the volume of applications we receive, we are unable to respond to queries about application status.

Learn more here