Senior Associate General Counsel - Labor and Employment

Vitalant; Scottsdale (AZ); Hybrid; USD 230,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Vitalant, a nonprofit organization, seeks a Sr. Associate General Counsel – Labor & Employment to guide employment law, benefits, and workforce risk across states.

You will lead investigations, coordinate with HR, and manage outside counsel while ensuring compliance and strategic risk management. The role demands a JD from an ABA-accredited School and extensive in-house or law-firm employment law experience, with a focus on multi-state regulations and healthcare-related considerations.

Qualifications

• Juris Doctor required and licensed to practice law.
• Extensive knowledge of multi-state employment laws and regulations.
• Experience with employment-related investigations, disputes, and compliance.

Responsibilities

• Provide legal guidance on employment matters, benefits, and workforce risks.
• Negotiate and draft employment, separation, and staffing agreements.
• Advise on pay equity, classification, wage-hour compliance, and audits.
• Lead or coordinate internal investigations and coordinate with outside counsel.
• Support mergers, acquisitions, and post-transaction employment integration.
• Monitor regulatory developments and advise senior management accordingly.

Skills

Confidentiality

Independent work

Communication

Organization

Travel ability

Risk awareness

Education

Juris Doctor from an ABA-accredited College of Law

Job description

At Vitalant, the impact you make doing work that is purposeful, meaningful, and worthwhile is vital. As a member of our non-profit organization, you can be impact-inspired to provide vital clinical services to communities nationwide, vital products to those in need of a donor's generosity, or vital scientific research that advances blood safety worldwide.Work Shift (if applicable):Shift 1 (United States of America)Job Description:At Vitalant, our mission is to save and improve lives through blood donation, research, and innovation. The Sr. Associate General Counsel – Labor & Employment plays a key role in supporting this mission by providing strategic legal guidance on employment, employee benefits, and workforce-related matters. Partnering with Human Resources, senior leadership, and business stakeholders, this role helps navigate complex multistate employment laws, employee relations, workplace investigations, and litigation while supporting sound decision-making and organizational compliance. The position also oversees employment disputes, manages outside counsel, and monitors significant legal and regulatory developments to help protect Vitalant and its mission.Compensation: $230,000 - $260,000 + 28% target incentive plan eligibilityLocation: This hybrid position is based in Scottsdale, AZ, and requires working onsite three days per week and remotely two days per week.As the Sr. Associate General Counsel - Labor & Employment, you'll get to:Provide legal advice and guidance to Vitalant and its related entities on a wide range of multi-state employment matters, including labor and employment laws, regulatory compliance, employee relations, investigations, employee benefits, and significant employment-related risks.Negotiate and draft various agreements, including employment, separation, settlement, staffing, consulting, and other workforce-related agreements.Advise on pay equity, compensation arrangements, employee classification, wage-and-hour compliance, payroll practices, incentive compensation, and related audits and remediation efforts.Advise on traditional labor matters, as applicable, including union organizing activity, collective bargaining and labor-management relations.Conduct or advise on sensitive internal investigations, in coordination with other subject-matter advisors as appropriate.Lead and serve as the primary legal advisor for employment and benefits-related support for mergers, acquisitions, affiliations, restructurings, and other strategic transactions, including due diligence, risk assessment, agreement review, employee-transition planning, and post-transaction integration.Prepare responses to employment-related demand letters and inquiries from regulatory and governmental authorities.Analyze and assess risk related to potential and actual administrative charges, claims and/or litigation, including but not limited to, labor, employment, workers’ compensation and benefits, and assist Management in identifying potential mitigating activities.Manage and supervise outside counsel with regard to claims, administrative charges, litigation and arbitration, and establish defense and indemnity reserves for insured matters.Monitor labor and employment legal and regulatory developments, assess organizational impact, and communicate recommendations and emerging risks to Management as appropriate.Review and advise on company policies, practices, and workforce initiatives to ensure compliance with changing federal, state and local laws, regulations, executive orders, and enforcement priorities.Assist with education and implementation of policies and procedures for compliance, employee guidance, and other topics relevant to company operations as applicable.Ensure appropriate preservation, organization, and management of employment-related legal records, litigation holds, investigation materials, and privileged communications.Prepare document templates for recurrent use; standardize contracts and forms and draft legal documents unique to specific needs of Vitalant and its related entities.Advise Management on significant employment, labor, employee benefits, and workforce strategy matters that present elevated legal, regulatory, financial, or reputational risk.Provide timely and succinct legal analysis, advice, and counsel to senior management and, as appropriate, to other employees.REQUIREMENTS:KNOWLEDGE/EDUCATIONJuris Doctor from an ABA accredited College of Law required.Working knowledge of federal, multi-state, and local regulations pertaining to transfusion related or general health care services preferred.LICENSES/CERTIFICATIONSA license to practice law or eligible to be registered as in-house counsel in the State of Arizona required.EXPERIENCEA minimum of twelve (12) years of experience providing employment-related legal advice/guidance and managing/litigating employment-related disputes in a law firm and/or in-house legal department required.Six (6) years of experience working successfully with hospitals, health systems, laboratories, blood centers, biotherapies organizations, pharmaceutical or medical device manufacturers or distributors with a multi-state footprint preferred.In-depth experience in U.S. employment laws and regulations, such as Title VII, ADA, ADEA, OWBPA, FMLA, FLSA, NLRA and EEO required.Experience with ERISA preferred.Experience with California employment laws and regulations, including wage and hour preferred.Clinical research or health care regulatory experience preferred.Experience working in an in-house corporate environment preferred.SKILLS/ABILITIESMust possess the skills and abilities to successfully perform all assigned duties and responsibilities.Must be able to maintain confidentiality.Must be highly organized and able to identify and analyze complex issues and develop creative solutions.Must be able to work independently and frequently without direct supervision and establish priorities while managing multiple projects.Must have a strong customer service orientation and a high level of personal integrity.Excellent oral and written business communication skills.Able to organize, prioritize, and efficiently execute a variable workload and multiple priorities.Ability to evaluate multiple business objectives across the system and analyze large risks in light of business goals.Functions at a level of legal expertise, judgment, and business acumen that permits independent action and strategic decision-making.Ability to travel, as needed.Location:9305 East Via de Ventura Scottsdale, AZ 85258Job Category:CorporateContact Information: [e-mail] you are impact-inspired to help others, and making a difference is vital for you, you'll experience a career built on purpose, a company created to care, and a team committed to lead - together.