Closing Date: 28th February, 2026
Description:
Job Summary:Reporting to the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), the VP, Corporate Employment Attorney serves as the enterprise's senior‑most legal authority on all labor and employment matters. This newly created senior leader partners closely with the CHRO, Chief Legal Officer (CLO) and Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) to shape employment‑law strategy, guide organizational decision‑making, and ensure the company maintains a strong, compliant, and values‑aligned culture. The role requires a seasoned attorney with extensive experience operating at scale in a highly regulated, multi‑state healthcare environment, particularly within Skilled Nursing Facilities and related post‑acute care settings.
This senior-level Employment Attorney will build and lead a team, oversee outside counsel, manage budgets, and build process and systems that enhance visibility, accountability, and operational excellence across the organization.
Key Responsibilities:
Strategic Counsel
Employment Law Guidance & Issue Management
M&A, Growth, and Organizational Transactions
HR Compliance Stewardship
Training, Education & Change Leadership
Team Leadership & Talent Development
Budget, Vendor Management & Operational Excellence
Cross‑Functional Collaboration
Partner closely with Operations, Compliance, Finance, Benefits, and Communications to ensure employment‑related risks are identified early and addressed effectively.
Qualifications & Experience:
Required:
Preferred:
Leadership Success Profile (What “great” Looks Like)
Work Location:
This role is based at PACS Headquarters in downtown Salt Lake City, UT. Relocation assistance is available for qualified candidates who reside outside the greater Salt Lake City area.
- Serve as the primary legal advisor on all labor and employment matters across the enterprise.
- Provide strategic guidance to the CHRO and HR leadership on employment-related risks.
- Anticipate emerging legal issues and proactively develop strategies to mitigate risk and support business objectives.
- Advise HR partners and business leaders on day‑to‑day employment matters including hiring, discipline, termination, harassment, discrimination, retaliation, accommodations, leaves of absence, wage and hour issues, restrictive covenants, conflicts of interest, independent contractor classification, and related topics.
- Provide legal support for internal investigations (Employee Relations and Compliance), ensuring thorough, consistent, and legally sound processes.
- Provide strategic legal counsel on compensation philosophy, program design, pay transparency requirements, and enterprise‑wide pay practices to ensure compliance and alignment with organizational goals.
- Represent the company before administrative agencies (EEOC, DOL, state and local agencies), prepare position statements, and manage outside counsel as needed.
- Advise on labor relations matters, including collective bargaining strategy, contract interpretation, grievance handling, and union‑related negotiations.
- Provide legal guidance on employee benefits matters, including ERISA compliance, plan administration, and coordination with internal benefits subject matter experts.
- Draft, review, and update employment policies, handbooks, and employee benefit plan documents to ensure legal compliance and alignment with organizational objectives.
- Advise on the employment‑law dynamics for acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, and other strategic transactions.
- Partner with HR, Operations, Finance, and Compliance to ensure smooth employee transitions, including WARN analysis, onboarding, communications, and post‑close alignment of policies and practices.
- Develop scalable processes and playbooks for employment‑law components of future transactions.
- Litigation & Dispute Resolution
- Manage employment and labor litigation, with support from outside counsel and internal team, including strategy development, fact gathering, and recommendations at key decision points.
- Manage outside counsel relationships to ensure high‑quality, cost‑effective representation.
- Develop and lead HR compliance strategy, including building and managing an HR Compliance team in partnership with Corporate Compliance.
- Oversee compliance audits and risk assessments, including auditing HR data, responding to internal audit requests, and managing inquiries from government agencies.
- Ensure adherence to employment laws and regulations, through policy development, monitoring programs, and proactive risk mitigation.
- Collaborate with HR and executive leadership to maintain a compliant, inclusive, and ethical workplace culture.
- Develop and deliver training on employment law topics for HR, leadership, and operational teams.
- Support organizational change initiatives, restructurings, and acquisitions by advising on employment‑law implications and ensuring compliant execution.
- Lead, mentor, and develop a high‑performing team of employment law professionals.
- Establish clear priorities, foster collaboration, and build a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
- Oversee the labor and employment legal budget, including forecasting, tracking, and reporting.
- Manage external counsel spend, negotiate fee arrangements, and ensure efficient allocation of resources.
- Implement and maintain dashboards and reporting mechanisms to track key employment‑related metrics (e.g., litigation trends, ER issues, compliance indicators, outside counsel spend).
- Regularly present insights and trends to executive leadership to drive informed decision‑making.
Partner closely with Operations, Compliance, Finance, Benefits, and Communications to ensure employment‑related risks are identified early and addressed effectively.
Qualifications & Experience:
Required:
- Juris Doctor (JD) degree and active bar membership in at least one U.S. jurisdiction, with the ability to obtain in‑house counsel registration or equivalent status where required.
- 12+ years of progressively responsible employment law experience, preferably including substantial in‑house or law firm experience advising multi‑state healthcare or similarly regulated clients.
- Prior experience serving as the senior or lead employment attorney for an organization of comparable scale and complexity.
- Experience with unionized environments or labor relations strategy.
- Demonstrated experience building and leading enterprise‑level HR compliance programs, including audits, risk assessments, and ongoing monitoring to ensure adherence to employment laws and regulations.
- Demonstrated experience managing teams, leading enterprise‑level initiatives, and partnering with senior executives.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, with a track record of advising at the executive level.
Preferred:
- Experience practicing labor and employment law within Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF) and the post‑acute care sector.
- Strong working knowledge of California employment law, including wage and hour, leaves, and compliance frameworks.
- Familiarity with employment‑related data analytics, legal technology, or case management systems.
- Demonstrated success serving as the senior employment law advisor within a complex, multi‑state organization.
- Proven ability to influence and partner with C‑suite leaders on high‑impact workforce decisions.
- Significant experience leading legal teams, managing outside counsel, and overseeing budgets and operational processes.
- Expertise in building and maintaining enterprise‑wide compliance frameworks, dashboards, and reporting systems.
- Strong strategic acumen with the ability to anticipate legal risks and guide organizational strategy.
- Exceptional communication skills, including the ability to distill complex issues into clear, executive‑ready insights.
- High integrity, sound judgment, and the ability to navigate sensitive issues with discretion and cultural competence.
Work Location:
This role is based at PACS Headquarters in downtown Salt Lake City, UT. Relocation assistance is available for qualified candidates who reside outside the greater Salt Lake City area.