Associate General Counsel

Georgia Institute of Technology; Atlanta (GA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 175,000; Full time

Job summary

Georgia Tech seeks an Associate General Counsel to lead high-impact legal matters, provide sophisticated guidance, and shape institutional policy. This role emphasizes strategic leadership over people management and requires strong experience in complex regulatory and compliance arenas.

The position focuses on enterprise-wide risk management, negotiation of high-value contracts, and collaboration with senior leadership to address evolving legal challenges within a premier public research

Qualifications

• Juris Doctorate from an accredited law school.

Responsibilities

• Lead provision of sophisticated legal advice on high-impact, institution-wide legal, regulatory, and compliance issues.
• Own and drive enterprise-wide legal risk management and mitigation strategies for significant institutional matters.
• Lead negotiation and drafting of complex, high-value contracts, institutional policies, and governance documents.
• Interpret evolving laws and regulatory changes, providing strategic guidance to leadership on legal implications and institutional responses.
• Represent the institution in complex legal proceedings, negotiations, and regulatory interactions, managing external counsel as needed.
• Monitor and forecast legislative, regulatory, and industry trends to inform and influence institutional strategy and policy development.
• Lead the design and implementation of institution-wide legal education and compliance initiatives.
• Provide thought insight on emerging legal issues, ethical standards, and best practices to shape institutional policies.
• Collaborate with senior leadership and cross-functional teams to resolve complex legal challenges and lead strategic initiatives.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Skills

Negotiation

Risk management

Regulatory compliance

Contract drafting

Education

Juris Doctorate

Job description

Job ID

304084

Location

Atlanta, Georgia

Contract

Full-Time

Regular

About Us

Georgia Tech prides itself on its technological resources, collaborations, high-quality student body, and its commitment to building an outstanding and diverse community of learning, discovery, and creation. We strongly encourage applicants whose values align with our institutional values, as outlined in our strategic plan. These values include academic excellence, diversity of thought and experience, inquiry and innovation, collaboration and community, and ethical behavior and stewardship. Georgia Tech has policies to promote a healthy work-life balance and is aware that attracting faculty may require meeting the needs of two careers.

About Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech is a top-ranked public research university situated in the heart of Atlanta, a diverse and vibrant city with numerous economic and cultural strengths. The Institute serves more than 45,000 students through top-ranked undergraduate, graduate, and executive programs in engineering, computing, science, business, design, and liberal arts. Georgia Tech's faculty attracted more than $1.4 billion in research awards this past year in fields ranging from biomedical technology to artificial intelligence, energy, sustainability, semiconductors, neuroscience, and national security. Georgia Tech ranks among the nation's top 20 universities for research and development spending and No. 1 among institutions without a medical school.

Georgia Tech's Mission and Values

Georgia Tech's mission is to develop leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition. The Institute has nine key values that are foundational to everything we do:

• 1. Students are our top priority.
• 2. We strive for excellence.
• 3. We thrive on diversity.
• 4. We celebrate collaboration.
• 5. We champion innovation.
• 6. We safeguard freedom of inquiry and expression.
• 7. We nurture the wellbeing of our community.
• 8. We act ethically.
• 9. We are responsible stewards.

Over the next decade, Georgia Tech will become an example of inclusive innovation, a leading technological research university of unmatched scale, relentlessly committed to serving the public good; breaking new ground in addressing the biggest local, national, and global challenges and opportunities of our time; making technology broadly accessible; and developing exceptional, principled leaders from all backgrounds ready to produce novel ideas and create solutions with real human impact.

Job Summary

The Associate General Counsel is an individual contributor attorney role serving as the first tier into strategic legal leadership. This position focuses on leading through deep subject-matter expertise and taking ownership of high-impact legal matters, rather than through direct management of personnel. The Assistant General Counsel provides sophisticated legal guidance, spearheads compliance initiatives, and shapes institutional policies.

Responsibilities

• Job Duty 1 – Lead provision of sophisticated legal advice on high-impact, institution-wide legal, regulatory, and compliance issues.
• Job Duty 2 – Own and drive enterprise-wide legal risk management and mitigation strategies for significant institutional matters.
• Job Duty 3 – Lead negotiation and drafting of complex, high-value contracts, institutional policies, and governance documents.
• Job Duty 4 – Interpret evolving laws and regulatory changes, providing strategic guidance to leadership on legal implications and institutional responses.
• Job Duty 5 – Represent the institution in complex legal proceedings, negotiations, and regulatory interactions, managing external counsel as needed.
• Job Duty 6 – Monitor and forecast legislative, regulatory, and industry trends to inform and influence institutional strategy and policy development.
• Job Duty 7 – Lead the design and implementation of institution-wide legal education and compliance initiatives.
• Job Duty 8 – Provide thought insight on emerging legal issues, ethical standards, and best practices to shape institutional policies.
• Job Duty 9 – Collaborate with senior leadership and cross-functional teams to resolve complex legal challenges and lead strategic initiatives.
• Job Duty 10 – Perform other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• Educational Requirements: Juris Doctorate from an accredited school
• Other Required Qualifications: Member of the Georgia Bar or ability to become licensed to practice law in Georgia within twelve months of hire.
• Required Experience: 8+ years of relevant experience

Preferred Qualifications

• Additional Preferred Qualifications: Skills in specialty area(s) of legal practice. Legal experience in a large public research university or state government.
• Experience advising clients on complex regulatory, compliance, and legal risk matters.
• Experience representing or advising organizations in connection with federal agency investigations, audits, enforcement actions, or other government inquiries.
• Experience handling matters involving the False Claims Act, federal grant and contract requirements, research compliance, or other regulatory frameworks applicable to federally funded organizations.
• Demonstrated ability to provide practical, business-oriented legal advice that enables organizational objectives while managing legal and compliance risks.
• Experience partnering with executive leadership and senior decision-makers on high-impact legal, regulatory, compliance, and strategic matters.
• Experience developing risk-based solutions to complex legal and operational challenges involving multiple stakeholders.
• Experience managing litigation, government investigations, or disputes involving external counsel, regulators, or government agencies.
• Strong record of translating complex legal and regulatory requirements into actionable guidance, policies, procedures, and training.
• Experience advising large, complex organizations, public entities, institutions of higher education, research institutions, or other highly regulated environments.
• Demonstrated ability to build collaborative relationships across business, compliance, audit, research, finance, and operational functions to address enterprise-wide issues.

Proposed Salary

Proposed Salary: $140,211 - $175,00. Commensurate with education and experience.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities

Skills This job requires professionally advanced knowledge of the law, especially as applied within a higher education and research oriented environment. Such knowledge shall be in a particular area of the law that is essential to the function of the Institution. Additionally, the ability to communicate effectively with tact and diplomacy are required as are skills in negotiation, strategy development, multi-tasking and relationship building. Use of office and legal related computer applications is required. The person in this position will be expected to work at the highest professional level with integrity, judgment and attention to detail and work as a contributing member of the legal team.

USG Core Values

The University System of Georgia is comprised of our 25 institutions of higher education and learning as well as the System Office. Our USG Statement of Core Values are Integrity, Excellence, Accountability, and Respect. These values serve as the foundation for all that we do as an organization, and each USG community member is responsible for demonstrating and upholding these standards. More details on the USG Statement of Core Values and Code of Conduct are available in USG Board Policy 8.2.18.1.2 and can be found on-line at https://www.usg.edu/policymanual/section8/C224/#p8.2.18_personnel_conduct.

Additionally, USG supports Freedom of Expression as stated in Board Policy 6.5 Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom found on-line at https://www.usg.edu/policymanual/section6/C2653.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. The Institute is committed to maintaining a fair and respectful environment for all. To that end, and in accordance with federal and state law, Board of Regents policy, and Institute policy, Georgia Tech provides equal opportunity to all faculty, staff, students, and all other members of the Georgia Tech community, including applicants for admission and/or employment, contractors, volunteers, and participants in institutional programs, activities, or services.

Equal opportunity and decisions based on merit are fundamental values of the University System of Georgia ("USG") and Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech prohibits discrimination, including discriminatory harassment, on the basis of an individual's race, ethnicity, ancestry, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, disability, genetics, or veteran status in its programs, activities, employment, and admissions. Further, Georgia Tech prohibits citizenship status, immigration status, and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing, and recruitment, except where such restrictions are required in order to comply with law, regulation, executive order, or Attorney General directive, or where they are required by Federal, State, or local government contract.

Other Information

• This is not a supervisory position.
• This position does not have any financial responsibilities.
• This position will not be required to drive.
• This role is not considered a position of trust.
• This position does not require a purchasing card (P-Card).
• This position will not travel.
• This position does not require security clearance.

Background Check

A successful candidate must be able to pass a background check. Please visit: https://usg.policystat.com/policy/19298143/latest