NRDC is a non-profit environmental advocacy organization. We use law, science, and the support of 3.1 million members and online activists to protect the planet's wildlife and wild places and to ensure the rights of all people to clean air, clean water, and healthy communities. NRDC was founded in 1970 and our people helped write some of America's bedrock environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act and many of the implementing regulations. Today, our team of more than 700 lawyers, scientists, economists, policy advocates, communications experts, and others work across the United States and the globe from our offices in Beijing; Chicago; New Delhi; New York; San Francisco; Santa Monica; and Washington, D.C. 

Position Summary 

The General Counsel serves as the chief legal advisor to NRDC and NRDC Action Fund, providing strategic guidance, legal expertise and risk management support in order to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations, align legal strategies with broader institutional goals, and foster effective governance, operational excellence and ethical and transparent practices throughout. Additionally, a critical aspect of this role will be overseeing the implementation of NRDC’s first Collective Bargaining Agreement, as well as serving on the Management Bargaining Team.

The General Counsel reports to the President and CEO, is part of the Executive Leadership Team and, in such capacity, provides advice and counsel to both senior staff leadership and the Board of Trustees of NRDC/the Board of Directors of the NRDC Action Fund. The General Counsel currently oversees a geographically dispersed team of 15, organized in six areas: institutional support; international operations; political law, lobbying and ethics; legal operations and ethics; contracts; and employment, labor and benefits.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the following essential functions:

Legal Strategy & Engagement with Stakeholders

• Provide strategic legal counsel to the President & CEO, the Executive Director and other members of the Executive Leadership Team, as well as to the boards of NRDC and NRDC Action Fund, ensuring alignment of legal strategies with the organization’s mission and strategic goals and objectives.
• Develop and maintain relationships with stakeholders across the organization, building trust in and positioning the Office of General Counsel as a key support for decision-makers.
• Develop and maintain relationships with partner groups and other stakeholders in the environmental and broader not-for-profit sector.

Risk Management

• Oversee the development and implementation of an institutional risk management process, including the identification of key risks, the implementation of risk management strategies and projects, the reporting to stakeholders, and the development of learning and feedback systems.
• Develop legal strategies for crisis management and serve as the key advisor for navigating legal challenges during crises.
• Strengthen internal compliance policies, processes and practices to ensure adherence to applicable laws and best practices.
• Manage institutional (non-advocacy) litigation, investigations, and similar processes.

International

• Oversee legal support and compliance for international operations and advocacy, including in China, India and Africa.
• Oversee support for advocacy and fundraising teams with strategic and tactical legal advice on international projects.
• Develop and maintain relationships with funders and partners in order to ensure compliance with applicable laws and funding documents. 

General Compliance

• Oversee organizational compliance with federal, state and local laws governing exempt organizations, including those relating to tax, lobbying, political law, FARA and charitable solicitation
• Oversee the provision of legal support to all NRDC programs/departments, including advocacy, accounting and finance, facilities, IT, communications and development, to support operational excellence.

Employment, Labor & Benefits

• Oversee the provision of support to the People and DEI team on all compliance matters relating to employment, labor and benefits matters.
• Oversee the legal support for employee relations matters, and oversee and manage any litigation, investigations, disputes, or claims.
• Together with the Chief People and DEI Officer, oversee the implementation of NRDC’s first collective bargaining agreement with the NRDC Union and serve on the Management Bargaining Team.

Governance

• Support the Executive Office on corporate and board governance matters in compliance with New York State not-for-profit corporation law and best practices.
• Serve as staff liaison to various board committees.

Legal Operations

• Oversee the development and implementation of organization-wide legal operations policies, processes and practices, including (without limitation) those relating to conflicts, ethics, and matter management.

Contracts

• Oversee the process for drafting, review, negotiation, approval, tracking, and issue resolution regarding all institutional contracts.

Team Management

• Manage the Office of General Counsel, ensuring appropriate staffing, supporting team members’ professional development and ensuring overall team cohesion.
• Implement and manage systems that support legal operations, document management, and legal analytics to improve departmental efficiency.

Other

• Oversee relationships with external legal advisors and vendors.
• Oversee the development and provision of training to staff on a variety of legal issues.
• Engage with professional networks and legal industry groups to stay current on legal developments and emerging regulatory issues.

The above list of duties is not comprehensive but generally demonstrates the types of matters under this position’s responsibility. Other duties may be assigned.

Minimum Education & Experience:  

• Law degree from an accredited law school
• Minimum 15 years of related experience, ccessfully managing a team
• Preferred: Non-profit management and in-house legal institutional risk management or other relevant legal experience
• Experience with at least some of the broad range of federal and state legal issues in the exempt organization field, including tax, political law and lobbying, contracts, international operations, employment, labor and benefits matters, governance, charitable contributions and fundraising, oversight of litigation, libel and defamation, and legal operations
• Proven ability to effectively design and implement legal compliance strategies and processes
• And/or equivalent education or experience

Skills, Abilities, Competencies

• Proven ability to lead and manage large teams of people, large-scale projects, and relationships in a complex and matrixed organizational structure.
• Strong aptitude for innovative thinking, problem solving and executing results, even in the face of complexity and ambiguity.
• High-level of emotional intelligence and ability to collaborate across diverse teams and stakeholders.
• A deep appreciation for and commitment to NRDC’s mission, values and DEI principles.
• Demonstrated achievement in complex, transformative environments.
• Proven success in change and transformation management, strategic mindset balanced by an action-oriented and reasoned approach to problem-solving.
• Strong stakeholder engagement skills, including effective engagement with senior management and the Board.
• Ability to communicate complex legal concepts clearly and succinctly, including to lay audiences, in both formal training and informal advising.
• Excellent drafting, research, and written and oral communication skills.
• Competence with and commitment to diversity and inclusion; ability to be an effective partner with diverse colleagues, leaders and partners.
• Strong negotiation, diplomacy and influencing skills.
• Ability to travel to NRDC U.S. based offices as needed, approximately 15-20%

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 position. 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 of this position within the described work environment.

Frequently: Perform desk-based computer tasks

Frequently: Ability to interact and communicate with employees and others as necessary

Frequently:  Attend planned meetings and collaborate with management and coworkers

Frequently: Ability to attend events and activities in the office or offsite
Frequently: Ability to perform work after hours and accommodate different time zones.

Work is sometimes performed primarily in office.  The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet in office settings and moderate in other situations.  Hours of employment may sometimes require working flexible and/or longer hours, including nights and weekends, when necessitated by projects. The job includes work-related situations such as those involving challenging, important, urgent, time-sensitive, or multiple matters.

NRDC is committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, both in our work and in our workplace. We believe that celebrating and actively welcoming diverse voices and perspectives is essential to solving the planet's most pressing environmental problems, and we encourage applications from candidates whose identities have been historically under-represented in the environmental movement. 

We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.  

We offer competitive salaries, excellent benefits, and a supportive working environment. Salary is based on a nonprofit scale and is commensurate with skills and experience. Internal equity will be reviewed and considered to determine a final offer. For this position, the salary range is $375,000 to $425,000.  

NRDC operates under a hybrid work model. Employees are required to come to the office 8 days per month. 

As a science-based organization, NRDC aims to do our part to help contain the COVID-19 public health crisis. For the sake of health, safety, and equity, we ask that people be vaccinated unless they have an approved medical or religious accommodation or other exemption in accordance with state and local law. We consider a person to be vaccinated two weeks after receiving one full course of a CDC-approved vaccine. In accordance with state or local law, new hires will be asked to attest to vaccination, those wishing to do so may request medical or religious accommodations or other exemptions via NRDC Employee Relations. NRDC treats all vaccine-related data confidentially, in keeping with local, state, and federal laws. 

To apply, visit www.nrdc.org/careers and upload your résumé and cover letter. Please mention where you saw this posting and upload any additional materials that showcase your abilities. Due to the high volume of applications, we will contact only those candidates we would like to interview. Please no phone calls, emails, or in-person résumé drop-offs. 

If you experience technical problems while applying or if you are a person with a disability and need assistance applying online, please reach out to iCIMS Customer Care at 1-800-889-4422. 

For more about NRDC, visit www.nrdc.org.