General Counsel, Animal Welfare Nonprofit

Summary

Description

WHO WE ARE

The Humane League (THL) is a global nonprofit ending the abuse of animals raised for food. THL fosters a high-energy culture of teamwork and mission-driven problem solving, and we have earned recognition as Top Charity from Animal Charity Evaluators for all of their rating periods. Over the past few years, we’ve grown to a staff of 100+ talented individuals dispersed across the country and around the world. At THL, how animals are treated in the food system is at the forefront of our everyday work. As such, many of our staff are vegan by personal choice, and all of our THL-hosted events offer fully vegan menus. We welcome all mission-aligned candidates to apply, no matter where you are in your journey to end the abuse of animals raised for food.

YOUR OPPORTUNITY

As General Counsel, you play an integral role in furthering THL’s mission to end the abuse of animals raised for food. You are responsible for ensuring that THL operates within the law while still maximizing the effectiveness of our campaigns, offering counsel on legal issues, serving as an effective guardian of the organization, and facilitating programmatic and operational strategies, ensuring legal compliance and managing risk exposure. 

You are familiar with the accountabilities of a legal team in the nonprofit and campaigns & organizing space. You comprehend that there is more to lawyering than identifying risk, and you think creatively to generate solutions that allow THL to maximize impact. You are comfortable exercising and utilizing strategic judgment to help navigate tricky situations. You believe that win-win solutions exist and have to be prioritized, particularly when it comes to employee relations issues. You also bring a strong personal commitment to THL’s mission and a strategic approach to supporting our corporate campaigns work.

This is a full-time, remote position, reporting to the CEO. This position may require domestic and/or international travel, equivalent to 2 or more trips per year.

This position is based in the United States. The successful candidate must be authorized to work in the United States.

This position has a priority application deadline of Tuesday, June 10th, 2025 at 11:59 pm EST. Applications received after this date will be reviewed on a rolling basis. If you are experiencing technical issues, please contact careers@thehumaneleague.org prior to the deadline. Please submit applications and all supporting documents in English. All application questions and materials need to be submitted here through the application submission, we do not accept applications through our careers email.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Governance, Compliance, and Risk Management

• Ensure the organization's compliance with all applicable federal, state, local, and international laws and regulations governing nonprofit organizations, including corporate governance, finance and tax, charitable solicitation, commercial co-ventures, international grantmaking, and lobbying.  

• Develop, implement, and maintain comprehensive risk management policies and procedures to identify, assess, and mitigate legal and operational risks across the organization while maximizing the effectiveness of our campaigns.  

• Support and advise the Board of Directors, including by drafting and revising corporate policies, bylaws, minutes, agendas, and resolutions, ensuring adherence to governance best practices.  

• Manage the organization’s insurance portfolio to ensure adequate coverage and minimize financial risk.  

• Address data privacy and security issues, provide training, and ensure compliance with relevant regulations, including US data privacy laws and GDPR.  

Strategic Legal Leadership

• Serve as a key member of the Senior Leadership Team, providing expert legal counsel and strategic guidance to the CEO, Vice Presidents, and the organization as a whole, ensuring alignment with THL's mission, values, and strategic objectives.  

• Provide visionary thought leadership and contribute to the development and execution of organizational strategies, integrating legal considerations into decision-making processes.  

• Monitor and analyze legal, regulatory, and policy developments relevant to animal protection, food systems, and the nonprofit and campaigning sector, proactively advising THL’s leadership on potential impacts and opportunities.  

• Collaborate with programmatic teams to understand their initiatives and provide legal guidance that supports mission-related campaign activities while ensuring legal compliance and prioritizing ethical considerations.  

Internal Stakeholder Engagement

• Serve as a collaborative and trusted advisor to the CEO, Senior Leadership Team, and staff on a wide range of legal and strategic matters.  

• Build and maintain strong, collaborative relationships with internal stakeholders across all departments, fostering a culture of legal awareness and proactive risk management.  

• Advise the People team on federal, multistate, and international employment law to inform the employee handbook and policies, contingent workforce compliance, employee training, and investigations. Promote fair and equitable employee relations.  

• Support the development of staff and volunteer training materials and guidance documents on legal and compliance matters.  

External Relations and Legal Representation

• Direct THL’s international legal portfolio, including international liability and international labor and employment, ensuring compliance with relevant foreign laws and regulations.  

• Draft, review, and negotiate a wide variety of contracts for all aspects of the organization, ensuring favorable terms and conditions while mitigating risk.  

• Establish and manage relationships with pro bono attorneys and outside counsel, ensuring cost-effective and high-quality legal representation when needed.  

• Manage the organization’s intellectual property portfolio, including trademarks and other proprietary rights.  

Legal Operations and Team Management

• Manage, develop, and mentor a small Legal team. Provide vision and role clarity, guidance, coaching, training, and accountability to foster a high-performing and engaged team.  

• Set long-term strategic vision and priorities for the Legal team in alignment with the organization's overall goals.  

• Manage the Legal team’s budget and spending, ensuring resources are allocated effectively and efficiently.  

In addition to the above essential job duties, other duties may be assigned as business needs arise. These may include non-essential, marginal job duties.

REQUIRED SKILLS

• JD degree and active bar membership in any U.S. state or the District of Columbia.

• Legal Knowledge and Experience: 

  • 7+ years of experience as an attorney are required. 2+ years of experience as in-house counsel at a nonprofit are preferred, with an additional preference for in-house experience with a campaigning organization.

  • Ideal candidates will have one or more of the following: experience with national or regional policy and advocacy campaigns; experience with legal efforts that support social movements; an understanding of how to build collective power and advance systemic solutions through organizing, legal strategy, and advocacy on the local, regional, and national levels; experience developing, designing, and managing a legal department that supports the vision and objectives of a large advocacy organization.

  • Strong understanding of nonprofit compliance areas. Proven ability to lead both litigation and administrative aspects of a legal function within a nonprofit setting. 

  • Familiarity with federal, multistate, and international employment law. 

  • Exposure to data privacy and security concepts, including U.S. data privacy and GDPR.

• Leadership and Management: 3+ years of people management experience. Demonstrated leadership skills, with the ability to lead high-performing teams, mentor and motivate staff, and delegate effectively. Drives initiatives to foster a positive, inclusive work environment. Ability to represent THL positively to external stakeholders, shaping the organization's reputation and executive presence on a broad scale.

• Problem Solving and Decision Making: Exceptional analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to provide sound legal advice on complex issues and adapt to diverse legal systems. Influences organizational decision-making and crisis management practices, shaping responses to critical challenges and ensuring that the organization can respond effectively to crises while maintaining resilience and continuity across all operations.

• Initiative, Proactivity, and Adaptability: Drives organization-wide change and innovation, leading transformational initiatives to advance strategic objectives. Proactively addresses challenges and empowers teams to respond swiftly to changes.

• Verbal and Written Communication: Excellent communication skills, with the ability to clearly and persuasively convey legal information to diverse audiences, both verbally and in writing. Communicates with confidence and professionalism in high-pressure situations. Drives organizational communication strategies and sets standards for effective communication.

• Collaboration and Interpersonal Skills: Ability to influence organization-wide cultural shifts, address systemic challenges, and resolve disagreements through compassionate leadership. Drives collaborative efforts and partners effectively with external stakeholders, the Board of Directors, and all levels of staff.

• Organization: Excellent organizational skills, with the ability to manage a high volume of work, prioritize effectively, and adapt to evolving needs. Influences organizational priorities and sets standards for internal systems and processes, ensuring consistency and efficiency across all business units.

• Strategic Thinking: Skilled strategic thinker with the ability to anticipate problems, identify patterns, challenge assumptions, and adapt to new information. Shapes the organization’s strategic direction and sets standards for strategic planning and policy practices. Develops and oversees the implementation of organization-wide strategies and policies, ensuring alignment with organizational vision, global regulations, and industry standards.

• Financial Oversight: Provides leadership in financial planning, analysis, and risk management on a global scale. Influences organization-wide financial practices and sets standards for financial management, ensuring alignment with organizational objectives and regulatory requirements.

• Global Perspective: Ability to effectively engage with diverse, cross-cultural teams and shape the organization’s approach to global issues, ensuring that global perspectives are embedded in strategic decision-making. Drives the adoption of global best practices and maintains a focus on international trends and regulations.

Hiring Timeline

Once your application has been reviewed, you will be notified via email with further details on the status of your application. If a candidate is moved forward, the interview process will be as follows:

• Work Simulation Exercise (completed remotely)

• Interview (via video call)

• Second Interview (via video call) 

Each stage is expected to last a week or two on average. For full details of our full-time position recruitment process please review this document (this will vary for temporary roles, please see the above bullet points for this role's specific stages).

Compensation and Benefits

The annual compensation range for this role is $178,955 – $218,723 USD. At The Humane League, we believe in maintaining a fair and nondiscriminatory work environment for all employees. As part of this commitment, we have implemented a job architecture framework, which levels all of our roles according to size and complexity, as well as a compensation step system, which allows us to account for an individual's total years of related experience when determining their compensation. In addition, we have adopted a no negotiation policy for salaries. To determine a job's level, we carefully consider a variety of factors, including a job's size and complexity, required experience, knowledge, and/or skills, internal comparability, and market data. To determine final compensation, experience will be measured by considering prior work in jobs or activities that are related to the role at THL. Candidates whose experience places them at step 5 or above of their job level within our compensation structure will be awarded a senior designation. These practices are aligned with our organizational values and help us ensure we maintain clear, consistent, and transparent HR processes.

Employees enjoy full medical coverage, optional dental and vision packages, paid sick leave, a 401(k) retirement plan with matching, pet care & Rx discount plans, working from home, up to 16 weeks of paid parental leave for eligible employees, wellness benefits, paid holidays, flexible vacation time, professional development, and the supportive environment at The Humane League!

Equal Employment Opportunity

THL is an equal opportunity employer. THL does not discriminate on the basis of any legally protected classifications, including but not limited to race, color, age, national origin, ethnicity, religious creed or belief, physical or mental disability, marital or familial status, legally protected medical condition, genetic information, military or veteran status, gender, sexual orientation, citizenship status, or any other status or classification protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. THL is committed to the importance of non-discriminatory practices within the nonprofit sector, as well as all workplace environments, and strongly encourages all interested candidates to apply.

Reasonable Accommodations

The Humane League is committed to fully supporting all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, THL provides reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws throughout the hiring process and employment if hired. If a reasonable accommodation is needed, please contact the People team at accommodations@thehumaneleague.org to initiate the interactive process. THL complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and all other applicable state and local laws.

AI Policy

Original work and thought are essential in the hiring process and allow us to evaluate you based on your own skills and competency. Therefore, the use of artificial intelligence (ChatGPT, Gemini, Rytr, Google Assistant, etc) to generate responses is strictly prohibited. By submitting this application you agree to comply with our AI Policy. Violations of this policy in any part of the recruitment process will result in being dismissed from consideration. If you need a reasonable accommodation to this policy, please see above for more information.

Communications From Greenhouse During Hiring Process

We have ocassionally had issues with emails from Greenhouse being captured by spam filters and going to the spam folder. Because we utilize Greenhouse for all notifications regarding your application, please double check your spam folder in case important communciations have been routed there. 

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