Description:
Overview:Salary Range:
$125,000.00 - $165,000.00 Salary/year
Position Type:
Full Time
Description:
Golden Gate University
Position Title: Assistant General Counsel
Department: Office of the General Counsel
Reports To: General Counsel, Chief of Staff & Secretary the Board
Classification: Full-Time, Exempt (part-time arrangement considered)
Location: Remote
Salary Range: $125,000 – $165,000 annually (prorated for a part-time arrangement)
About Golden Gate University
Golden Gate University is a private, nonprofit university in San Francisco focused on AI and built for working adults. The University serves a diverse community of students across its academic programs and is committed to providing an accessible, high-quality education for working adults.
Position Summary:
The Assistant General Counsel serves as a trusted advisor to leadership and administrators across the University, providing practical, business-minded legal counsel on the full range of issues facing a modern higher education institution. The Assistant General Counsel's practice spans contracts and transactions, higher education regulatory compliance, employment and labor, governance and general corporate matters, and the University's international programs and partnerships.
The position reports to the General Counsel, Chief of Staff & Secretary to the Board.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
- Contracts and Transactions
- Draft, review, and negotiate a broad range of contracts, including vendor and procurement agreements, technology and software licenses, sponsorship and affiliation agreements, and consulting arrangements.
- Advise business units on contract structure, risk allocation, and negotiation strategy, and support the continuous improvement of University templates and contracting processes.
- Regulatory Compliance
- Advise on regulatory and compliance matters affecting higher education, including FERPA, Title IX, Title IV and federal financial aid, the Clery Act, ADA/Section 504, state authorization, and accreditation requirements.
- Monitor changes in federal and state law and regulatory guidance affecting the University, and ensure that University policies and practices remain compliant.
- Develop and deliver training to University stakeholders on legal risk and compliance topics.
- Employment and Labor
- Counsel administrators and Human Resources on employment and labor matters, including hiring, performance management, workplace investigations, accommodations, separations, and dispute resolution.
- Governance and General Corporate
- Support institutional governance, including board and committee matters, institutional policy development and review, and corporate and entity matters.
- Manage outside counsel and assist in overseeing litigation, government inquiries, and pre-litigation disputes.
- International
- Support the University's international programs and partnerships, including study-abroad and exchange agreements, international student and scholar matters (F-1/J-1 visa compliance, SEVP), cross-border transactions, and export control considerations.
Qualifications:
Required:
- Juris Doctor degree and active membership in good standing in the State Bar of California.
- Five or more years of legal experience representing or advising higher education institutions, gained in-house, at a law firm, or in a government or regulatory setting.
- Demonstrated experience in several of the following areas: commercial contracting, higher education regulatory compliance, employment law, governance, and international or cross-border matters.
- Exceptional drafting, negotiation, and communication skills, with the ability to translate complex legal issues into clear, actionable guidance for non-lawyers.
- Sound, pragmatic judgment and the ability to manage a varied, fast-moving workload independently in a remote environment.
Preferred:
- Prior in-house experience in a college or university general counsel's office.
- Experience with international education programs, immigration matters affecting students and scholars, or export controls.
- Familiarity with data privacy laws (e.g., GLBA, GDPR) as they apply to higher education.
