Principal Officer, Legal Affairs and Senior Counsel

Principal Officer (Hybrid)

Position Overview

The principal officer and senior counsel serves as a subject-matter specialist responsible for advising on legal issues that arise from Pew’s work as a global impact philanthropy and section 501(c)(3) public charity (such as those related to fundraising, charitable giving, grantmaking, and tax), and on the legal and governance structures of complex gifts, grants, collaborations, and transactions. The principal officer delivers risk-informed legal counsel and legally informed business counsel to Pew’s Partnerships department and serves as the legal department’s liaison to Pew’s corporate subsidiary, Pew Research Center. In addition to advising cross-functional teams on appropriate structures for complex transactions and impact partnerships, the principal officer is part of a team of senior attorneys that is trusted to support and lead the negotiation, and execution of these partnerships and transactions on behalf of Pew.

This position requires significant experience advising in-house counsel and their clients on the laws unique to public charities and philanthropy (including charitable solicitation law, nonprofit corporation law, and federal tax laws regulating charitable giving) and significant experience guiding cross-functional teams to structure, memorialize, and execute sophisticated grants, charitable giving vehicles (such as legacy gifts, charitable trusts, and donor-advised funds), and complex transactions and collaborations (such as strategic partnerships, joint ventures, and impact investments).

This position reports to the Senior Director and Deputy General Counsel for Operations and Tax; is based in Pew’s Washington, DC office; and is eligible for hybrid work (two in office days).

Responsibilities

Fundraising and Philanthropy

• Serve as a subject-matter specialist in legal and tax issues arising from Pew’s donor engagement activities, including charitable solicitation law and laws regulating philanthropic investing, planned giving, gifts in-kind, and donor-advised funds.

• Structure and review agreements, communications and other documents related to public support of Pew, including but not limited to grant agreements, issue funds, charitable trusts, program-related investments, donor-advised funds, planned giving vehicles and other gift arrangements, to assure compliance with applicable laws.

• Review and provide advice on the content of fundraising collateral, press releases, and other documents intended for public dissemination.

• Review and revise institutional policies and procedures related to gift acceptance and fundraising matters.

Partnerships and Impact Collaborations

• Serve as the primary source of in-house counsel for Pew’s Partnerships unit, which leads Pew’s fundraising efforts, develops strategic partnerships for the organization, and, through Pew’s office in the United Kingdom, seeks opportunities to enhance Pew’s reputation in Europe.

• Advise cross-functional teams regarding the structuring, governance, financing, and execution of complex institutional partnerships and programmatic collaborations with external parties; review and draft legal agreements in support of these partnerships.

• Serve on a small team of senior attorneys that is entrusted to support and lead the legal work to develop and memorialize complex partnerships and collaborations on behalf of Pew.

• Advise cross-functional teams as requested regarding the disposition of charitable programs, projects, and assets, and aid in the transition of Pew-funded projects, as requested, when Pew chooses to wind-down lines of work or projects.

Institutional/Departmental

• Serve as the legal liaison to the Pew Research Center, Pew’s corporate subsidiary, a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world.

• Serve as the legal liaison to Pew’s grantmaking and fellowship programs.

• Serve as a subject matter specialist on tax laws applicable to gifts, bequests, and vehicles for tax-efficient charitable wealth transfer, and on other tax issues that apply to section 501(c)(3) public charities engaged in international charitable work.

• Assist in structuring, drafting, negotiating and reviewing a broad range of agreements in connection with Pew's work.

• Identify and assess legal and business risks to the organization; help identify business and reputational risks.

• Develop and implement trainings on legal topics for Partnerships staff; develop and implement trainings on legal topics for other attorneys and their clients as requested.

• Lead and participate in department