Senior Counsel (Employment & Labor Focus)

Illinois Defense Counsel; Sacramento (CA); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Tides is seeking an experienced Senior Counsel to serve as a trusted legal advisor on the Legal, Risk and Compliance team. The role focuses on employment and labor law, nonprofit corporate matters, and investigations, with responsibilities across contracts, compliance, and policy development.

The ideal candidate will have a JD, CA bar eligibility or license, 8–10 years of relevant legal experience, and a track record advising tax-exempt organizations. Strong judgment and mentorship are essential.

Qualifications

• Experience advising organizations on labor and employment laws, including union-represented workplaces.
• Significant experience representing nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations.
• Ability to translate legal requirements into clear, practical guidance.

Responsibilities

• Provide trusted legal advice to executive leadership and the LRC team.
• Advise on nonprofit governance, contracts, employee relations, and investigations.
• Interpret and advise on the CBA and related disputes; manage employment-related litigation.
• Draft, review and negotiate contracts and corporate matters.
• Lead cross-functional legal projects and staff training.
• Monitor developments in employment law and translate into strategy.

Skills

Labor and employment law

Nonprofit and tax-exempt law

In-house counsel experience

Stakeholder management

Clear written and verbal communication

Risk assessment and judgment

Mentoring and team support

Legal research

Policy interpretation

Education

Juris Doctor (JD)

California law license or eligibility for in-house admission

Job description

About Tides

Tides is a nonprofit and philanthropic organization committed to advancing social justice. We work across the social sector to shift power to communities of color and other groups historically denied power.

Centering equity and justice in everything we do, we collaborate in deep partnership with movement leaders, nonprofits, donors, foundations, and corporations to amplify the impact of their work by providing services like fiscal sponsorship, donor advised funds, grant making, and a variety of innovative solutions. Learn more at tides.org.

About this Role

Tides is seeking an experienced, practical, and thoughtful Senior Counsel to serve as a trusted legal advisor to internal clients and stakeholders. As a senior individual contributor on the Legal, Risk and Compliance (LRC) team, the Senior Counsel will advise Tides on a broad range of complex legal and compliance matters arising in its day-to-day operations. Focus areas will include employment and labor law, Tides Network’s obligations under its Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), internal investigations, and litigation and disputes, in addition to handling matters relating to nonprofit corporate law, contracts and transactions, organizational policies and procedures, and other legal issues affecting tax-exempt organizations.

Ideal candidates are resourceful, detail-oriented, and adept at managing competing priorities. They bring sound judgment to sensitive and complicated situations and are able to translate legal requirements and risks into clear, practical advice.

As a Senior Leader, the Senior Counsel is responsible for modeling and demonstrating Tides’ core competencies of Leading Self, Leading People and Leading Results.

What you will Do

• Serve as a point of contact and trusted legal advisor to Tides staff, including executive leadership, senior staff, and members of the Legal, Risk & Compliance team.
• Advise Tides on nonprofit and corporate matters, including organizational policies and procedures.
• Advise Tides on a broad range of employment and labor law matters and assist in the navigation of sensitive workplace and personnel issues; conduct and advise on workplace and other internal investigations including developing investigation strategies and ensuring they are efficient, effective and lawful.
• Interpret and provide advice regarding the CBA, as well as disputes arising from its provisions.
• Handle corporate litigation and disputes, including employee-related legal disputes, arbitrations and litigation such as matters arising out of performance management, termination and violation of policies; includes responding to subpoenas, liaising with insurance carriers on claims and engaging and overseeing outside counsel when engagement is required.
• Review, draft, revise and negotiate a wide range of contracts and other transactions and agreements.
• Lead legal projects and initiatives with cross-departmental scope, including the design and delivery of staff training on relevant legal topics within the assigned portfolio.
• Monitor legislative, regulatory, and enforcement developments affecting employment and labor practices; translate developments into strategic advice.
• Mentor and share advanced technical knowledge with LRC team members; support legal team education and management of resources.

What you will Bring

• Experience advising organizations on labor and employment laws, preferably including organizations with a union-represented workforce.
• Significant experience representing nonprofit and tax‑exempt organizations and familiarity with the laws and regulations affecting nonprofit organizations, including among others, nonprofit corporate law and federal tax‑exemption law.
• Willingness to learn and develop expertise in additional areas of nonprofit law, and interest in staying current on legal developments and trends affecting nonprofit organizations
• Leads by example and stewards commitment to Tides’ mission, impact goals, and JEDI principles.
• Holds self and others accountable for high‑quality, timely, and effective results.
• Adapts easily to working with a variety of stakeholders and to the varying needs of the organization, while maintaining a strong voice for legal compliance.
• Sound, well‑calibrated risk judgment — able to distinguish material risk from theoretical risk and advise accordingly.
• Exercises excellent judgment in handling confidential information and other potentially sensitive matters.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with ability to counsel executives and make legal concepts accessible to non-lawyers across fields of expertise.

Ideal Experience

• Juris Doctor and active California law license or eligibility for registered in‑house counsel admission is required. (Note that in‑house registration requires residency in California.)
• At least 8-10 years of relevant legal experience as a practicing attorney.
• Significant experience representing nonprofit and tax‑exempt organizations and familiarity with the laws and regulations affecting nonprofit organizations.
• Experience advising organizations on employment and labor matters, handling litigation, and transactional experience.