Description:

Job Summary:
You will serve as the global leader specializing in Ethics & Compliance. This is a key leadership role responsible for developing, implementing, and maintaining an effective ethics and compliance program that aligns with the company's core values, legal obligations and strategic goals. The VP, Legal - Ethics & Compliance will work to foster a culture of integrity and ethical decision-making across the organization, ensuring compliance with laws, regulations, and internal policies in the increasingly regulated environment of the data center industry.

Responsibilities:

Ethics and Compliance Strategy

Compliance Strategy: Design, develop and implement a comprehensive compliance strategy that is risk based, proportionate, and aligned with the organization's goals and objectives. This includes establishing policies, procedures and controls to ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations and industry standard
Staying current: Stay up to date with relevant laws, regulations, and industry best practices to ensure the organization's compliance, particularly as the organization extends its presence in high-risk jurisdictions. Monitor changes in the ethics and compliance regulatory landscape and assess their impact on the organization's operations
Risk Assessment: Conduct regular risk assessments to identify potential compliance risks and develop strategies to mitigate them. This may involve evaluating internal processes, conducting audits, and implementing risk management frameworks. Evaluate risk-tailored resource allocation and provide updates and input on revisions based on assessment
Lessons learned: process for tracking and incorporating lessons learned from risk assessment and prior issues, including from other companies operating in the same industry/region into compliance strategy

Responsibility for Operational Integration

Develop and enforce policies addressing ethical conduct, conflicts of interest, whistleblowing, anti-bribery, and corruption
Responsible for integrating policies and procedures and ensuring employees' understanding of the policies
Evaluate how compliance policies and procedures are reinforced through internal controls, working with other relevant functions
Training key gatekeepers in the control processes to identify and escalate concerns

Build Culture and Trust

Champion an ethical culture across the organization by developing and leading training programs on ethics, compliance, and integrity
Serve as a trusted advisor to the executive team and board of directors on ethical practices, compliance matters, and emerging regulatory trends
Provide guidance and support to employees on ethical decision-making and encourage a strong compliance mindset throughout the organization. Encourage open dialogue and accountability at all levels of the organization through clear communication and accessible reporting mechanisms
Foster “open door” atmosphere across organization to ensure that concerns and issues come to the attention of the ethics and compliance organization

Ethical Risk Management

Identify and assess ethics-related risks in business activities, including supply chain operations, third-party relationships, and customer engagements. Promote and uphold the company's core values and ethical standards in all business operations

Reporting & Investigations

Evaluate effectiveness of reporting mechanisms, including employee awareness of reporting methods
Responsible for developing processes for evaluating complaints and reports and scoping investigations. Process to ensure that investigations are properly evaluated, scoped, and are independent, objective, appropriately conducted and properly documented
Work with other groups on tracking investigations and results
Lead internal investigations into alleged misconduct, ensuring thorough, unbiased, and confidential handling of issues

Monitoring and Reporting

Oversee compliance audits and monitoring activities to evaluate the effectiveness of the ethics and compliance program
Report on program effectiveness, key findings, and risk mitigation efforts to the board of directors and executive leadership
Ensure accurate and timely disclosures to regulatory authorities and stakeholders

Leadership and Collaboration

Lead and develop a team of compliance and ethics professionals, fostering a high-performance culture
Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including Legal, Human Resources, IT, and Operations, to integrate ethical standards and compliance measures into all business processes
Create a collaborative, transparent and entrepreneurial culture, in partnership with corporate leadership
Motivate employees around a shared vision and effectively manage change

Qualifications:

15+ years legal experience, with at least 10 years in a relevant practice area(s)
Deep knowledge of ethics and compliance standards, anti-bribery laws and sanctions
Strong leadership, problem-solving, and decision-making skills
Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills to effectively engage with stakeholders at all levels
Experience executing against global compliance goals and objectives
Experience building and/or operating an Ethics & Compliance program at a global company
Executive presence with the ability to influence C-suite & cross-functional executives.
High business acumen around multiple legal disciplines
Adept at balancing short-term pressures with long-term goals
Ability to inspire behavior change and motivate teams
Strategy and planning experience with the ability to designate priorities and be decisive when faced with ambiguity
Execution and results driven
Establish high performance standards, goal setting, and following through with plans while holding teams accountable for results

Certifications:

Bachelor's Degree and Juris Doctorate from an accredited law school
Relevant certifications (e.g., Certified Compliance & Ethics Professional, Certified Fraud Examiner) are highly desirable