Associate/Deputy General Counsel

At The New York Foundling, we trust in the power and potential of people, and we deliberately invest in proven practices. From bold beginnings in 1869, our New York-based nonprofit has supported hundreds of thousands of our neighbors on their own paths to stability, strength, and independence.  We help children and families navigate through and beyond foster care. We help families struggling with conflict and poverty grow strong. We help individuals with developmental disabilities live their best lives, and we help our neighbors access quality health and mental health services—core to building lifelong resilience and wellbeing. Together, our interrelated programs provide a whole-person, whole-family, and whole-life approach that unlocks solutions for a lifetime.

The Deputy General Counsel will manage legal matters for The New York Foundling and report to the Chief Legal Officer. This position is a unique opportunity to join The New York Foundling as the organization builds its in-house legal team to support the organization’s mission and expansion of services. The Deputy General Counsel will play a pivotal role in creating and executing the organization’s legal strategies; advising on various legal, policy, and operational matters; and addressing legal risks

The Deputy General Counsel will manage legal matters for The New York Foundling and report to the Chief Legal Officer. This position is a unique opportunity to join The New York Foundling as the organization builds its in-house legal team to support the organization’s mission and expansion of services. The Deputy General Counsel will play a pivotal role in creating and executing the organization’s legal strategies; advising on various legal, policy, and operational matters; and addressing legal risks.

The Deputy General Counsel will offer proactive legal advice and counsel aligned with the organization’s mission and priorities to safeguard the organization’s integrity, ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations, manage legal risk, and partner with leadership and staff to advance initiatives that improve client outcomes and strengthen community impact. The selected candidate will work on a variety of complex issues related to litigation, contracts, compliance and policy, risk mitigation, data privacy and security, nonprofit governance, labor and employment law, tax, intellectual property, and other areas. This position will require providing strategic and practical legal guidance to executives, the Board of Trustees, and employees in support of the organization’s mission of delivering high-quality, equitable social services to the community. The Deputy General Counsel will assist in managing the in-house legal team, the organization’s Compliance Unit, and outside counsel. This role will also involve cross-functional work across programs within the organization. 

Core Responsibilities: 

• Provide legal advice to the executive leadership team, Board of Trustees, program teams, and administrative departments on matters including but not limited to legal, regulatory, and policy compliance, litigation, contracts, employment law, investigations, governance, privacy, lobbying and fundraising, and risk management.
• Represent or manage outside counsel representation of the organization in litigation and administrative proceedings, including employment disputes, and participate in discovery, strategy, and motion practice.
• Review, draft, and negotiate a wide range of contracts including agreements relating to vendor services, government programs, leases, and Memoranda of Understanding.
• Assist with oversight and management of The New York Foundling’s compliance program, including providing guidance and support related to development of policies that ensure compliance, ethical conduct, and operational efficiency; monitoring of internal controls and regulatory compliance; performance of audits and investigations; training of employees on legal, regulatory, and policy requirements; and overall risk management.
• Manage The New York Foundling legal team and outside counsel, and develop processes to assist with efficiency and workflow
• Ensure regulatory and statutory compliance with federal, state, and local laws related to social services, including licensing, client confidentiality, mandated reporting, data privacy, and service delivery requirements.
• Support the development of The New York Foundling’s public policy strategy, including development of legislative and regulatory initiatives, and advancement of intergovernmental communications to implement these strategies and initiatives.
• Protect the organization’s integrity and reputation by conducting proactive legal analysis, exercising judgment, and deploying risk management approaches.

The New York Foundling is committed to attracting and retaining a diverse employee population, the Foundling will honor your experiences, perspectives and unique identity. Together, our community strives to create and maintain working and learning environments that are inclusive, equitable and welcoming.

• Juris Doctor (JD) from an US accredited law school and active license to practice law in New York State
• 10+ years of progressively responsible legal experience in the nonprofit sector, government, and/or at a private law firm; experience advising large nonprofit, government, or government-funded agencies is strongly preferred.
• Experience with litigation, negotiation of contracts, investigations, employment law counseling, governance, privacy, and regulatory compliance issues affecting human-services organizations.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Takes initiative, proactively identifies issues, and can effectively work both independently and collaboratively across multidisciplinary teams in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to communicate complex legal concepts in clear terms to non-legal staff.
• Demonstrated strong commitment to safety.