Description:

Position Summary:
The Chief Legal Officer, the General Counsel, plays a pivotal role in advising both management and the Board on the legal and risk implications of all organizational activities. This position involves providing strategic counsel for decision-making, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements, and fostering a culture of integrity. The General Counsel integrates legal expertise with a strategic mindset to support the organization in achieving its objectives while safeguarding its interests.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Provide strategic counsel on utility industry, corporate, and litigation strategies aligned with the organization's mission
Collaborate with executive leadership, board members, and departments to mitigate risks, ensuring organizational goals are met
Support board of directors, management and business lines with expert and strategic counsel
Stay current on federal, state, and local laws affecting electric cooperatives, guiding the organization's compliance efforts
Develop short- and long-term strategies impacting the organization.
Collaborate with members of the executive management team to align departmental strategy or direction with the overall goals of the organization
Anticipate and identify legal issues, counsel officers and management to develop business strategies and solutions
Represent the organization in legal proceedings, ensuring adherence to quality standards and deadlines
Ensures organizational operations and practices are in compliance with applicable laws and regulations at all times, and recommends changes to organizational policies or procedures with the goal of minimizing risk
Implement corporate goals and procedures while supervising legal, regulatory, and corporate functions
Designs, establishes, and maintains an organizational structure and staffing to effectively accomplish the organization's goals and objectives
Supervise legal, regulatory and other corporate functions to ensure adherence to quality standards, deadlines and proper procedures, correcting errors or problems
Draft, review, and negotiate contracts, documents, legal inquires, providing guidance on potential risks
Ensures management understands the potential risks associated with current internal policies and procedures
Attend and support all board of directors meetings, including preparing and reviewing reports and supporting materials
Select and manage outside legal counsel to mitigate legal and reputation risks
Mitigate legal and reputation risk to the business, including by evaluating and overseeing all physical and liability insurance coverage
Provide guidance to employees in handling complex problems and resolving escalated complaints
Oversee and interpret work procedures, company policies, and operating procedures.
Manage the General Counsel Department budgets, establishing work priorities.
Recommend promotions, transfers, hires, and disciplinary actions
Prepare and present status of Legal Department programs to Board of Directors committees and the Board of Directors
Maintain the security of confidential information
Stay abreast of advances in technology
Demonstrate regular and prompt attendance
Performs other related duties as necessary or assigned.

Supervisory and/or Leadership Responsibilities
A full range of supervisory activities, training, evaluation, counseling and recommendation for termination. This includes, but is not limited to, effectively communicating organizational policies and other information to subordinates, ensuring that employees have a clear understanding of their responsibilities.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Knowledge of business and management principles including strategic planning, resource allocation, leadership techniques and budgeting
Knowledge of legislative and administrative regulatory developments.
Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer service
Skilled in oral and written communication.
Skilled in strategic thinking.
Skilled in monitoring and managing performance
Skilled in establishing and communicating performance expectations and metrics
Skilled in prioritizing and managing changing priorities
Skilled in anticipating, identifying, analyzing and resolving conflict and problems
Ability to build collaborative relationships.
Ability to develop and mentor others.
Ability to drive strategic direction.
Ability to listen and understand information verbally and in writing

Minimum Qualifications - (Education, Experience, Certification, & Licensing)

Juris Doctor
License to practice law within the State of Texas
Fifteen or more years of experience, including progressive experience in senior level management position(s)
Seven or more years of experience working in the Texas electric regulatory markets, including at the Public Utility Commission of Texas, ERCOT and Texas Reliability Entity.
Three or more years of experience in NERC and FERC transmission operations requirements and standards, including Critical Infrastructure Protection standards for the bulk electric system
Demonstrated experience in managing risk and compliance for electric utility system
Valid Texas driver's license

Physical Demands and Work Environment:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The employee may be required to stand; reach with hands and arms, stoop and kneel
The employee may be required to sit or stand for long periods of time
The employee may be required to lift, carry, push, pull or move up to 25 pounds
The employee may be required to travel
Exempt employees receive a fixed bi-weekly salary to compensate them for all hours worked during each pay period
This position may be required to work more than 40 hours per week

This description is intended to indicate the kinds of tasks and levels of work difficulty required of the position given this title and shall not be construed as declaring what the specific duties and responsibilities of any particular position shall be. It is not intended to limit or in any way modify the right of management to assign, direct and control the work of employees under supervision. The listing of essential duties and responsibilities shall not be held to exclude other duties that may be assigned based on the needs of the Cooperative.