Enterprise Community Partners

Enterprise is a national nonprofit on a mission to make home and community places of pride, power and belonging for all. To make that possible, we operate the only organization designed to address America’s affordable housing crisis from every angle: we develop and deploy programs and support community organizations on the ground; we advocate for policy on a nonpartisan basis at every level of government; we invest capital to build and preserve rental homes people can afford; and we own, operate and provide resident services for affordable communities. All so that people not only make rent, they build futures. With this end-to-end approach, 40 years of experience and thousands of local partners, Enterprise has built and preserved 793,000 affordable homes, invested $61 billion in communities and changed millions of lives.

Enterprise offers career opportunities in our offices across the country with an exceptional benefits package.

Job Description Summary

The Chief Legal Officer is an organization-wide position that reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer of the organization and, in her or his capacity as Corporate Secretary, to the board of trustees. The Chief Legal Officer serves as: 1. the chief legal officer for Enterprise, representing and advising all divisions, senior leaders, and all functional leads, and managing and overseeing all legal work across the organization, and 2. as a key manager of enterprise risk, responsible for implementing policies and procedures to minimize or manage enterprise-wide risks.

The Chief Legal Officer leads the 10-person legal department, provides oversight to the Internal Audit four- person team, and oversees all outside legal counsel retained to represent the organization. As a member of the eight-person Operating Committee, along with the Chief Executive Officer, the three business division Presidents, the Chief Financial Officer, the Chief Operating Officer and the Chief People Officer (the “Operating Committee”), the Chief Legal Officer will be a key legal, policy, risk, and governance advisor on matters of importance to the Chief Executive Officer, other members of the Operating Committee and other senior leaders, including participation in strategic discussions and major transactions. Her/his office will also be involved in all matters across the organization’s operations, including, contract management and business management, corporate finance transactions, employment and labor matters, intellectual property, litigation and disputes, regulatory compliance, and cybersecurity. The Chief Legal Officer will also serve as Corporate Secretary to the board of trustees. In this role, she/he will be the governance advisor to the board and is responsible for implementing governance matters involving the board. The Corporate Secretary also performs or supervises the usual duties of a corporate secretary, including being the official record keeper for the proceedings of meetings of the board of trustees.

In the last five years, Enterprise has experienced a lot of growth. In the Fall of 2019, it recruited a new Chief Executive Officer and, in 2020, Enterprise completed its next five-year strategic plan. A key goal of the new strategic plan is to align Enterprise’s operating model to facilitate execution of the “One Enterprise” business strategy. As such, the Chief Legal Officer, with other members of the Operating Committee, will be a key participant in this process to identify opportunities to best achieve our shared strategic priorities, maximize our balance sheet and financial resources, collaborate across the entire Enterprise platform, manage risk at an enterprise-wide level, leverage data to measure impact and improve business analysis, achieve process improvements (including in our third party vendor contracting practices, document retention policies, data management, etc.), and increase the effectiveness of our delivery for stakeholders. In addition, in 2021, the board of trustees engaged the National Association of Corporate Directors to conduct a board governance assessment and to make recommendations to a new board governance model for the enterprise-wide family of companies. The Chief Legal Officer, in her/his role as Corporate Secretary, will play a critical role in implementing this new board governance model. Finally, 2020 has highlighted that an organization of Enterprise’s scale and many component parts requires a Chief Legal Officer who brings the fortitude, critical thinking, empathy and breadth of experience required to advise on de-novo issues like returning to the office, leading on social justice and racial equity issues, managing cyber threats and data breaches, counseling on a politically divided environment and the many other unanticipated and emerging challenges and risk.

Job Description

RESPONSIBILTIES

As a Senior Vice President and member of the Operating Committee, the Chief Legal Officer is functionally responsible for all legal affairs for the entire organization.  The Chief Legal Officer acts as legal advisor and strategic partner to the Chief Executive Officer, other members of the Operating Committee, the board of trustees and other senior executives, and provides analysis, counsel and guidance in areas of significant organization-wide impact and in the formulation of strategic and operating plans and decisions. In addition, s/he is expected to monitor and advise on emerging trends in an evolving legal, regulatory, policy, employment, intellectual property, cyber security, data privacy, housing finance, and business environment.  The position will also help lead risk management for the organization and be responsible for the overall monitoring and reporting of the enterprise-risk program, working closely with Internal Audit, Finance and each of the division Presidents and business leads; assuring compliance with all applicable legal and regulatory requirements and commitments; defining standards and practices for business operations; and assessing, advising on and managing legal and regulatory risk.  The Chief Legal Officer also works closely with the Chief Executive Officer and members of the Operating Committee to ensure a culture of integrity and compliance across the organization while fostering the growth and success of the business and the furtherance of Enterprise’s mission.

Other key accountabilities of the role are summarized below:

• Responsible for the legal department that manages all legal work for the organization, including, but not limited to, corporate governance, insurance, leases, borrowing facilities, corporate finance, grants and contracts, corporation transactions, fund development and management, policy matters, lobbying, intellectual property/branding, real estate development and financing, transactions, M&A, tax, cybersecurity, compliance, litigation and employee matters.
• Manage risk management strategies and operations, including compliance with corporate polices, audits and regulatory requirements, as well as security-related issues (including IT security and data breaches, internal auditing, financial auditing, insurance, fraud prevention, business continuity and similar corporate internal investigations), and supervise Enterprise’s risk mitigation and identification procedures.
• Work closely with business leads and the Chief People Officer regarding all organizational employment matters throughout the employee life-cycle, including counsel for self-insured benefits programs, managing personal-identifiable information, managing internal employee related investigations, litigation and employment matters, such as workers’ compensation, and other related compliance and regulatory matters.
• In conjunction with the business leads, ensure appropriate procedures and processes are in place to select, manage and coordinate all outside counsel, assuring the delivery of high-quality, cost-effective, timely legal services and support.
• Provide assurance that all corporate governance, business license filings and documentation regarding all entities are maintained and managed.
• Work closely with the Chief Operating Officer and the Operations Management department to guide, organize, centralize the management of all contracts, third party vendors and procurement.
• Lead effort to further improve how Enterprise minimizes, manages, and mitigates primary risks and then monitors the progress of these efforts.
• Ensure compliance and understanding with applicable regulations, including but not limited to of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Treasury Department and IRS requirements, FINRA rules, and other national, state, and local statutes and ordinances.
• Serve as corporate secretary to the board of trustee, and provide leadership for board governance, board committees, and associated meetings.
• Establish strong relationships throughout the organization, as well as with relevant regulators and commissions.
• Ensure career development for legal staff and be a strong people manager who is committed to building diverse teams.
• Lead internal legal teams and provide sound coordination with outsourced legal counsel as needed and seek input from division presidents and business leads as to the quality, timeliness, and responsiveness of legal support.
• Work with the Chief People Officer in the development and implementation of the enterprise-wide diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
• Serve on Enterprise committees, representing strategic risk management and stewardship for sound business practices. 
• Prepare and manage the legal department’s budget and evaluate the legal risks to which the organization may be exposed to allow these risks to be accurately reflected in the organization’s financial statements.

The Chief Legal Officer must be able to delegate and work closely with the general counsel responsible for the real estate transaction and other corporate work associated with Enterprise’s Capital and Communities divisions, as well as with the Internal Auditor to be better able to leverage his/her ability to manage the responsibilities of the legal department and the enterprise risk program, as well as serve as Corporate Secretary to the board.

QUALIFICATIONS

The ideal candidate for Chief Legal Officer will be a seasoned lawyer with broad and deep experience, from a combination of litigation, employment matters, corporate governance, and risk management.  Ideally, the candidate should have board/corporate governance expertise, and must have knowledge and experience in managing and organizing enterprise-risk programs across complex organizations. Senior legal, risk or compliance leadership positions in the financial services industry (i.e., banking or insurance) or law firm are a plus.  Real estate development, financing and transactions is also a plus, but not required. Previous experience in a corporate in-house legal department is desirable but not required. While confident and assertive in driving solutions for the entire Enterprise platform, the candidate must possess excellent interpersonal and communication and time management skills. The candidate must have strong executive presence and high emotional intelligence and must work well under-pressure. She/he must think globally, be a problem-solver and solutions-focused. The candidate must also be a systems thinker, who can help senior management handle the array of issues that might arise.  S/he must also be well-respected, collaborative, business savvy and highly intelligent. With a businessperson’s, solutions-oriented mindset, the final candidate will have a natural tendency to make things happen and the ability to find creative solutions where none initially appeared to exist.

The Chief Legal Officer will also be:

• a practical and proactive problem solver, who provides critical thinking and empathy, who possesses a high degree of emotional intelligence and able to interact at all levels within the organization, including with board members.
• a well-rounded, engaging, and personable individual with demonstrated leadership ability who can influence and educate (without being condescending) and will be well-received within and outside the organization.
• an exceptional critical thinker who possesses strong business acumen, analytical and quantification skills, and will be able to be strategic as well as analytical, a true partner to the business.
• adaptable, flexible, comfortable with the “grey.”
• an advocate for IT and able to advocate for IT improvements for the legal department and risk identification and management.
• a quick study with the ability to distill complex issues clearly and help devise solutions in a direct manner. 
• an excellent negotiator with strong influencing skills.
• highly driven to serve and succeed, and adept at navigating ambiguity and complexity as well as divergent opinions.
• committed to the Enterprise mission, recognizing and distilling business oriented legal counsel with a commitment to productive work culture, positive community impact, and to diversity, equity, and inclusion within Enterprise and in the work we deliver.

PLEASE NOTE: We are not able to provide sponsorship or relocation for this position.

Please apply here: https://wd5.myworkdaysite.com/en-US/recruiting/enterprisecommunity/EnterpriseCareers/job/New-York-NY/SVP--Chief-Legal-Officer_REQ449-2