Assistant General Counsel

KC Current; Riverside (MO); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

KC Current is seeking an experienced Assistant General Counsel to join our legal department. You will provide practical, business-oriented legal advice across commercial, regulatory, governance, employment, and operational matters to support growth and governance of the game globally with integrity.

You will draft and negotiate key agreements, advise on international matters, and partner with business units to manage legal risk across multiple jurisdictions.

Qualifications

• Juris Doctor or equivalent law degree from an accredited institution.
• Active license to practice law in at least one relevant jurisdiction.
• 8-10 years of relevant legal experience, preferably including law firm training and in-house sports/entertainment experience.
• Demonstrated experience drafting, reviewing, and negotiating complex commercial agreements.
• Strong understanding of governance, compliance, risk management, investigations, and dispute resolution.
• Experience advising senior executives and cross-functional teams on legal and business issues.
• Excellent judgment, discretion, written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Draft, review, and negotiate a broad range of complex commercial agreements.
• Advise internal stakeholders on legal issues affecting international competitions, tournaments, events, and partners.
• Support corporate governance matters including boards, policies, and delegations of authority.
• Provide guidance on regulatory matters including competition rules, transfers, and player-related issues.
• Identify, assess, and mitigate legal and regulatory risks across jurisdictions.
• Support dispute resolution, investigations, and litigation management with outside counsel.
• Advise on data privacy, IP, marketing, and brand protection matters.
• Develop, update, and implement policies, templates, and training materials.
• Monitor legal developments in global sport and governance; report to senior leaders.
• Build trusted relationships with senior leaders and cross-functional teams.

Skills

Legal drafting

Negotiation

Cross-functional collaboration

Advising executives

Risk assessment

Communication

Education

Juris Doctor

Job description

Join the Team.

At KC Current, everything we do is in service of our fans, partners, community, and players. Our employees are stewards of that responsibility, working together to elevate the game and deepen our connection to Kansas City and beyond. With a best-in-class training facility and one of the first stadiums built specifically for a women’s sports team, KC Current is writing the next chapter with world-class talent and ambition.

Our employees are a team of competitive, passionate, and driven people who are dedicated to this sport, this team, and this community. We aim high, embrace challenges, and take action to get it done. We believe great things happen when we are united. We are seeking individuals who want to march on this mission with us as the world’s eyes are watching. We are making history in Kansas City and desire like‑minded, high energy, driven individuals to join us on our journey.

Who are we hiring?

The Assistant General Counsel will serve as a key member of the legal department for a global soccer organization, providing practical, business-oriented legal advice across commercial, regulatory, governance, employment, and operational matters. This role will support the General Counsel and senior leadership in managing legal risk, strengthening compliance, and enabling the organization’s mission to grow and govern the game globally with integrity, transparency, and excellence.

Key Responsibilities

• Draft, review, and negotiate a broad range of agreements, including sponsorship, media, licensing, vendor, event operations, venue, merchandising, technology, employment, and services agreements.
• Advise internal stakeholders on legal issues affecting international competitions, tournaments, events, national associations, clubs, players, commercial partners, and vendors.
• Support corporate governance matters, including board and committee materials, policies, resolutions, delegations of authority, and organizational compliance requirements.
• Provide guidance on soccer-specific regulatory matters, including competition rules, eligibility, transfers, player-related issues, disciplinary processes, safeguarding, anti-doping, betting, and match manipulation risks.
• Partner with business units to identify, assess, and mitigate legal, reputational, operational, and regulatory risks across multiple jurisdictions.
• Support dispute resolution, investigations, claims, disciplinary proceedings, arbitrations, and litigation management, including coordination with outside counsel.
• Advise on data privacy, intellectual property, consumer protection, marketing, ticketing, digital platforms, and brand protection matters.
• Assist in developing, updating, and implementing legal and compliance policies, templates, playbooks, training materials, and procedures.
• Monitor legal and regulatory developments affecting global sport, soccer governance, commercial rights, employment, safeguarding, sanctions, and international operations.
• Build trusted relationships with senior leaders and cross-functional teams, delivering clear, timely, and pragmatic legal advice in a fast-paced environment.

Required Qualifications

• Juris Doctor or equivalent law degree from an accredited institution.
• Active license to practice law in at least one relevant jurisdiction and good standing with applicable bar or regulatory authority.
• Minimum of 8-10 years of relevant legal experience, preferably including law firm training and in-house experience with a sports, media, entertainment, league or global commercial organization.
• Demonstrated experience drafting, reviewing, and negotiating complex commercial agreements.
• Strong understanding of corporate governance, compliance, risk management, investigations, and dispute resolution.
• Experience advising senior executives and cross-functional teams on practical legal and business issues.
• Excellent judgment, discretion, written and verbal communication skills, and ability to manage sensitive and confidential matters.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with soccer, international sports governance, event operations, sponsorship, media rights, and/or athlete/player regulatory matters.
• Familiarity with FIFA, federation, league, club, and tournament structures and regulatory frameworks.
• Experience working across multiple jurisdictions, cultures, time zones, and legal systems.
• Knowledge of integrity, safeguarding, anti-doping, sanctions, and international compliance programs.
• Fluency in one or more languages in addition to English.

Core Competencies

• Business-minded legal judgment with the ability to balance risk, opportunity, and organizational priorities.
• High integrity, professionalism, and sound discretion in handling confidential and sensitive matters.
• Strong drafting, negotiation, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to translate complex legal requirements into practical guidance for non-lawyers.
• Collaborative working style and ability to build credibility with diverse stakeholders.
• Comfort operating in a fast-paced, international, mission-driven environment.
• Excellent organizational skills and ability to manage multiple priorities under tight deadlines.

Reporting Relationship

This position reports to the General Counsel and works closely with senior leadership, ownership, operations, finance, human resources, communications, technology, and other functional teams.

Work Environment and Travel

The role may require work outside standard business hours to support global operations, major events, urgent legal matters, and stakeholders in multiple time zones. Domestic and international travel may be required for meetings, competitions, events, and other organizational needs.

We value diversity and seek world-class employees of all backgrounds.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, sexual and reproductive health choices, national origin, citizenship, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status. In addition to federal law mandates, we comply with all applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in all locations and will consider requests for reasonable accommodations as required.