Location: Flexible within the US

Priority Application Review Deadline: January 11th, 2025

Summary:

Relay Graduate School of Education (Relay) is an accredited not-for-profit institution of higher education serving thousands of educators from across the country, from pre-service teachers to system-level leaders. Our mission is to ensure that all students are taught by excellent educators, in order to build a more just world where every student has a clear path to a fulfilling life.

The Vice President, Legal will be primarily responsible for contract management, compliance, and collaboration with internal teams and external counsel to mitigate risks and support organizational objectives. Reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer, this role supports Relay’s mission by providing high-quality legal advice and ensuring robust legal systems to navigate the complexities of nonprofit and educational law. 

Role’s Contributions (Duties and Responsibilities): 

The essential responsibilities of this position, while not limited to the following, will include: 

Contract Management (30%)

  • Lead contract operations through the entire contract lifecycle, including competently executing the preparation, analysis, revision, negotiation, and maintenance of all contract documents from initial pursuit through contract closeout in alignment with organizational goals
  • Create templates and tools to streamline the contracting process and mitigate risks, such as standardized agreement formats, checklists for compliance review, and automated workflows that integrate with existing document management systems.
  • Serve as a strategic partner, collaborating with key internal stakeholders, to ensure contractual compliance and recommend risk mitigation paths.

Internal Compliance and Regulation (30%)

  • Advise management and staff on various legal issues, including but not limited to contracts, intellectual property, data privacy, employment and labor, student affairs, corporate governance, regulatory compliance, tax, and litigation.
  • Monitor and resolve disputes that may lead to litigation, anticipate potential issues, and make strategic recommendations to mitigate risks while achieving organizational objectives.
  • Collaborate with external counsel as needed, ensure efficient communication and decision-making, while refining and implementing processes to effectively manage outside counsel engagements.
  • Lead and manage legal projects from inception to completion, demonstrating innovation and efficiency in solving legal issues and improving institutional processes.

Vision and Strategy Setting (20%)

  • Set the vision for Relay’s long-term legal strategy that aligns with the mission and organizational objectives.
  • Develop and implement innovative legal practices and systems to support the institution’s growth and sustainability.
  • Develop a forward-looking approach to anticipate emerging legal trends, particularly in education and nonprofit sectors, and proactively address potential challenges.
  • Drive initiatives to build a culture of compliance and ethical decision-making across the organization.

Legal Operations (20%)

  • Act as liaison with external legal counsel, fostering strong partnerships to leverage expertise and efficient solutions
  • Foster productive relationships with internal departments such as HR, operations, and program leadership to ensure cohesive support for legal matters.
  • Encourage cross-functional collaboration to advance legal understanding across the organization and implement streamlined legal processes.
  • Establish and maintain efficient legal systems and document management structures.

QUALIFICATIONS

First and foremost, the Vice President, Legal must share the Relay community’s commitment to working together to improve student growth and achievement through phenomenal teacher preparation grounded in diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism. This includes providing teacher preparation programs that set novice teachers up to succeed in the classroom from day one; leadership programs that train new and veteran school and district leaders to best serve their school communities; and teacher-facing professional education that provides ongoing learning to educators. Additionally, for this position we’re looking for candidates that possess a combination of the following skills:

  • J.D. degree from an ABA-accredited law school
  • 8+ years of experience practicing law 
  • Active membership in at least one U.S. state bar with ability to qualify for New York in-house registration.
  • Passion for applying legal practice to advance educational equity.
  • Experience facilitating and negotiating a variety of agreements, drafting associated language and terms, revising agreements, proposing strategic language, negotiating with third parties and opposing counsel, and briefing and representing internal colleagues.
  • Experience training non-attorneys on how to identify and mitigate legal risks and working cross-functionally.

Preferred Qualifications: 

  • Experience developing legal systems and structures and applying best practices in the industry.
  • Experience as internal or external counsel to institutes of higher education or PK-12 schools.

Relay prepares teachers and school leaders to teach students of all identities and backgrounds in order to push toward a time when this country no longer faces stark educational inequities. We recruit, develop, support, and retain a diverse staff, faculty, and graduate student body because we are committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, and actively anti-racist institution. We know, and the data supports, that diversity, equity, and inclusion cultivate an environment in which people of all backgrounds can thrive and this is critical to achieving our mission of educational excellence and equity.

To fulfill that commitment, Relay encourages applicants of all backgrounds and identities to apply for roles that align with their own interests and career trajectory. If you meet a majority of the qualifications and see yourself in this role, we would love to see your application!

COMPENSATION

Relay is committed to creating and maintaining a compensation and benefits system that supports our ability to recruit and retain a diverse and talented team. As we make decisions about compensation, we will be guided by the following values: clarity, consistency, and internal equity. The salary range for this role is $152,896-206,409. New hires will be offered a salary at the starting point of the range, $152,896 to allow for an equitable starting salary process and continual salary growth during an employee’s time at Relay GSE.

To ensure internal pay equity:

  • Relay does not currently differentiate starting salary offers based on years of experience,
  • All staff salaries will be capped at the salary range maximum, and
  • Relay does not negotiate salary offers.

Relay offers a comprehensive total rewards package. For full-time roles, this includes health insurance benefits, disability and life insurance, retirement plan, professional development, gym reimbursement, adoption assistance, paid time off (PTO), parental leave, etc. To learn more about Relay’s benefits, please visit here.   

WORK LOCATION POLICY

Employees must have a primary work location within the U.S., where they are legally authorized to work. Relay is a registered employer in the following states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington State and Washington DC. Please note that Relay Graduate School of Education's headquarters are in New York City. Employees who choose to perform work from states not listed here will be subject to NYC state withholdings.

COVID-19 VACCINATION POLICY

Relay highly encourages all employees to be fully vaccinated with an FDA or WHO authorized vaccine. Relay abides by each state’s requirements, and acknowledges those may change over time. If moved forward to the phone screen stage, you will have the chance to ask your recruiter more about this policy. 

Relay Graduate School of Education provides equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees.

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Relay is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, and actively anti-racist institution. We know, and the data supports, that diversity, equity, and inclusion drive our organizational health. Cultivating an environment in which people of all backgrounds can thrive is critical to achieving our mission of educational excellence and equity. We cultivate and recruit diverse candidates for our staff and faculty, ultimately seeking to mirror the representation in the communities we serve.

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