Staff Attorney

Elevate; Illinois; Remote; USD 95,000 - 105,000; Full time

Job summary

Elevate, a nonprofit organization in Chicago, is seeking a Staff Attorney to join their Legal, Risk, and Compliance Team. This role involves drafting and negotiating contracts, ensuring compliance with federal and state laws, and advising on legal matters related to clean energy programs. The ideal candidate will have a Juris Doctor degree, strong communication skills, and at least two years of relevant experience. This position is fully remote but requires a license to practice law in Illinois.

Benefits

Health Insurance

Vision Insurance

401(k)

Paid Time Off

Professional Development

Qualifications

• Juris Doctor degree from an ABA-accredited law school required.
• At least two years of relevant experience required.
• Clear communication skills to convey complex legal concepts.

Responsibilities

• Draft, review, and negotiate contracts for various programs.
• Provide legal advice on procurement requirements.
• Support funding opportunities and compliance matters.

Skills

Communication

Research

Client-Counseling

Adaptability

Education

Juris Doctor

Tools

Microsoft Suite

Cobblestone

Job description

2 weeks ago Be among the first 25 applicants

This range is provided by Elevate . Your actual pay will be based on your skills and experience — talk with your recruiter to learn more.

Base pay range

$95,000.00/yr - $105,000.00/yr

WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT:

Elevate is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Chicago. We design and implement programs that reduce costs, protect people and the environment, and ensure the benefits of clean and efficient energy reach those who need them most. We're pursuing our mission of a just and equitable world where everyone has affordable heat, power, and water in their homes and communities. We are growing nationally – expanding the reach of our programs, services, and research in collaboration with partner organizations.

OUR PEOPLE AND CULTURE:

At Elevate, our organization's greatest asset is the people we attract. Elevate employees co-create our energetic and collaborative environment, where constant learning and service to others take priority. We want our team to challenge conventional thinking in pursuit of innovation. We seek dynamic, hardworking individuals inspired to work with people of diverse backgrounds and perspectives. Every day we make a difference by placing our team, clients, and community partners first. From our mission to our focus on staff well-being and career development opportunities, there's no better place to grow your career than Elevate.

Staff Attorney

The Staff Attorney serves as the Legal, Risk, and Compliance Team point person for various Elevate programs, including federally funded programs, fee-for-service engagements, and matters involving federal and state laws’ intersection with American Indian Tribal law. The Staff Attorney is responsible for assisting program teams with understanding and complying with contractual requirements, including federal acquisition regulations (FARs) related to procurement and prevailing wage requirements, reviewing, drafting, and negotiating contracts, and reviewing and advising on enacted laws.

The Staff Attorney reports to the General Counsel, and works closely with senior management, program managers, and the other members of the Legal, Risk, and Compliance Team. This position is currently fully remote; however, the Staff Attorney must be licensed to practice law in Illinois.

Responsibilities

• Support Elevate’s National Strategic Engagement Team (NSET), which operates programs in multiple states including Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin. The Staff Attorney will also support other teams and projects as needed.
• Draft, review, and negotiate a wide variety of contracts including, but not limited to, public sector contracts with different governmental agencies for funding of Elevate-administered programs, grant agreements, contracts for construction services, and various vendor contracts, including technology-related contracts. Additionally, draft program terms, which will serve as the legal terms for participation in new programs.
• Support funding opportunities and other programs as needed, including assisting with responses to federal opportunities, requests for proposals (RFPs), requests for quotes (RFQs), and requests for information (RFIs); reviewing and negotiating grants and contracts and related teaming agreements, subcontracts and vendor agreements; and consulting on compliance matters.
• Lead government contract formation, including detailed reviews of solicitation and evaluation documents for source selections. This includes providing accurate and timely legal advice to all levels of the organization’s management in connection with obtaining and performing contracts and subcontracts (as either a subrecipient or contractor) on U.S. governmental programs and advising program teams on contract performance. This includes providing legal advice on procurement requirements for public sector-funded programs.
• Support Elevate’s line of credit program, which extends a line of credit to contractors working in the clean energy sector, and other lending products that Elevate may offer directly or through its administration of governmental programs. This may include assisting with applications for licensing of Elevate as a lender in states where required.
• Work on special projects as needed, including assisting with governance matters related to nonprofit organizations, advising on human resources matters and other corporate law matters applicable to the organization.
• Provide training and education for staff on legal topics relevant to their work.
• Represent and counsel Elevate’s program teams in disputes, including contract claims, investigations and disclosures, potential litigation (pre-litigation actions, and appeals.
• Counsel program teams on, and help them operationalize, procurement requirements, the organization’s conflict of interest policy, cost accounting issues, prevailing wage requirements, federal acquisition regulations, Davis-Bacon Act requirements, and other legal issues.
• Assist in responding to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and other administrative law matters and proceedings.
• Research and formulate guidance on legal issues for both internal and external constituencies.
• Review and analyze proposed and enacted legislation that impacts Elevate and its work.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications and Skills

• Juris Doctor degree from an ABA-accredited law school and an active license to practice law in Illinois (or intent to obtain such license within three months of beginning the job)
• At least two (2+) years of experience with a law firm or governmental agency in the relevant field of law required
• Clear and concise verbal and written communication skills, including ability to communicate complex legal concepts to non-legal audiences
• Ability to comprehend complex legal matters, synthesize information from varied sources and distill relevant information into contracts and legal memoranda
• Experience researching and advising on laws (including case law), rules and regulations pertinent to the organization’s work and operations
• Strong client-counseling and customer service skills
• Ability to adapt to changing priorities and work effectively within a dynamic and innovative environment
• Experience with Tribal law at the federal level and in states including Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin is useful but not required.
• Experience with nonprofit governance and lender compliance matters is helpful but not required.
• Advanced experience using Microsoft (MS) suite of applications including Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Must be able to use tracking and comment features in MS Word
• Expertise in Cobblestone contracts management software helpful but not required
• Must be willing to learn the contracts management system

Organization Description

We design and implement programs that reduce costs, protect people and the environment, and ensure the benefits of clean and efficient energy use reach those who need them most.

At Elevate, the greatest asset of our organization is the kind of people we attract. Elevate employees co-create our energetic and collaborative environment, where constant learning and service to others take priority. We empower individuals to challenge conventional thinking in pursuit of innovation and we seek dynamic, hardworking team members who are inspired to work with people of diverse backgrounds and perspectives. Every day we make a difference by placing our team, clients, and community partners first. From our mission to our focus on staff wellbeing and career development opportunities, there’s no better place to grow your career than Elevate.

Compensation

The total compensation for this position includes health and welfare benefits (medical, dental, vision, etc.), defined contribution benefit (401k with contribution), professional development, and generous paid time off policies. This is an exempt individual contributor position with a salary range of $95,000 – $105,000 based on experience.

Seniority level

• Seniority level

  Mid-Senior level

Employment type

• Employment type

  Full-time

Job function

• Job function

  Business Development, Management, and Legal

• Industries

  Non-profit Organizations, Services for Renewable Energy, and Law Practice

Referrals increase your chances of interviewing at Elevate by 2x

Inferred from the description for this job

Vision insurance

Medical insurance

Paid maternity leave

401(k)

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