Senior Director / Vice President, Deputy General Counsel - National Office (Remote)

YMCA of the USA • Chicago, IL

1d • $177,000 - $298,000 • Remote

About The Position

The Senior Director / Vice President, Deputy General Counsel is a senior legal advisor responsible for managing Y-USA’s litigation portfolio, providing enterprise legal guidance, negotiating complex contracts, and overseeing the effective engagement of outside counsel.
This role exists to protect Y-USA from legal, financial, fiduciary, and reputational risk by applying experienced legal judgment early, consistently, and at scale across a complex nonprofit and federated environment. The role extends the capacity of the CLO by independently managing sophisticated legal matters while escalating issues that carry enterprise-level or Board-level risk.
This position emphasizes early risk identification, litigation strategy, and enterprise-level legal judgment to enable proactive, efficient legal decision-making.
YMCA of the USA (Y-USA) embraces a remote-first working environment which means most employees work remotely from a home office within the continental United States.

Requirements

• Juris Doctor or equivalent legal training.
• Active license to practice law in at least one U.S. jurisdiction.
• Minimum of 12 years of experience required
• Deep functional expertise and functional thought leadership
• Oversees a department or function
• Highly strategic and operational decision-making authority
• Mid- to long-term strategic planning for department or functional area
• Internal and external communications, executive level, high influence on department vision and strategy
• Management-level autonomy; no daily supervision from manager; goal achievement is typically accomplished through performance of direct and/or indirect reports
• Strong background in employment law, contracts, and nonprofit or regulated environments.
• Demonstrated ability to exercise independent judgment on high-risk, sensitive matters.
• Executive presence and comfort advising senior leadership

Responsibilities

• Litigation Management and Risk Mitigation
• Serve as the primary internal lead on litigation strategy, posture, motion practice, discovery coordination, and resolution.
• Apply disciplined judgment regarding jurisdictional challenges, early dismissal strategies, settlement posture, and escalation thresholds.
• Coordinate insurance alignment, notice obligations, and claims strategy in partnership with Finance and Risk.
• Prepare concise, executive-ready briefings on litigation exposure, trends, and outcomes, focused on risk and impact rather than procedural detail.
• Conduct portfolio-level analysis of litigation trends to identify systemic risk drivers and recommend preventive or corrective action.
• Serve as a front-line legal risk assessor, providing early triage of emerging disputes, workforce issues, and operational risks before they escalate into litigation, regulatory scrutiny, or reputational harm.
• Advise on when matters should be resolved early, escalated, or formally litigated, consistent with Y-USA’s risk tolerance and enterprise priorities.
• Provide legal guidance to executive leadership and business teams on operational, employment, governance, and risk-related matters.
• Advise on sensitive personnel issues, internal disputes, and escalated workplace matters in coordination with HR and Compliance.
• Stay abreast of nonprofit legal developments affecting governance, tax-exempt status, employment, fiduciary duties, and regulatory exposure.
• Identify emerging legal risks and escalate appropriately to the CLO.
• Lead negotiation of complex, high-risk contracts, including:
• Strategic vendor and services agreements
• Employment and executive separation agreements
• Technology, data, and SaaS agreements
• Sponsorship, partnership, and licensing arrangements
• Design and apply contract risk standards related to indemnification, limitation of liability, insurance, termination rights, and dispute resolution.
• Establish escalation thresholds for non-standard or high-risk contract terms and advise when deviations require executive or Board awareness.
• Support and guide contract intake and review processes without owning operational workflows.
• Provide legal oversight and risk analysis related to emerging technologies, including AI-enabled tools, automated decision-making systems, and data-driven platforms.
• Assess contractual, liability, governance, and regulatory implications of technology adoption in coordination with Privacy, Compliance, IT, and business stakeholders.
• Monitor legal and regulatory developments affecting technology use and advise leadership on associated legal exposure.
• Select, manage, and oversee outside counsel across litigation and specialized legal matters.
• Control legal spend through disciplined scope management, budgeting, and performance oversight.
• Promote effective use of alternative fee arrangements where appropriate.
• Ensure outside counsel advice is practical, aligned with Y-USA’s risk posture, and defensible in regulatory or litigation contexts.
• Support the CLO in preparing executive leadership and the Board for high-impact legal issues.
• Contribute to scenario planning for potential legal, regulatory, or litigation events with enterprise-wide implications.
• Partner closely with the CLO, CCPO, HR, Finance, IT, and operational leaders.
• Mentor legal staff and contribute to the development of internal legal capabilities.
• Support continuous improvement of OGC processes, playbooks, and institutional knowledge.

Benefits

• We offer a full benefits package including medical, dental, vision, defined benefit plan (retirement savings), defined contribution plan (403(b) plan, life and disability insurances, technology stipend, and generous paid time off, all in a work from anywhere within the continental U.S. workplace.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive
• Education Level: No Education Listed