AVP, Employment Litigation & Consulting

If you're passionate about being part of a diverse organization that enables a Fortune 100 company with nearly $70 billion in annual sales to deliver innovative business solutions with excellence, then Nationwide's Legal team could be the place for you! At Nationwide®, “on your side” goes beyond just words. Our customers are at the center of everything we do and we’re looking for associates who are passionate about delivering extraordinary care.

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Job Description Summary

Would you thrive in an environment where you can deliver top-quality legal services to support the mission of a Fortune 100 insurance and financial services company? If you enjoy having a diverse workload, are adaptable, highly skilled and bring a collaborative approach to complex and important legal work, we want to hear from you.

As an Associate Vice President, you’ll lead Nationwide’s Employment Consulting & Litigation team and be responsible for Nationwide’s employment law strategy and support across the enterprise. This role leads a trusted team of employment law professionals who provide practical, risk-balanced guidance to HR, business leaders, and other Legal partners on complex workforce issues across the associate lifecycle. You’ll oversees high-impact employment litigation and agency matters, guides the approach to sensitive investigations and disputes, and helps design policies, processes, and tools that promote consistent, equitable, and legally compliant people practices. You’ll serves as a key strategic partner on major workforce initiatives, ensuring employment risks are proactively identified and managed in alignment with Nationwide’s values and risk appetite.

Job Description

Key Responsibilities: 

• Directly leads, oversees, and coordinates the provision of employment law services in support of HR and business partners across the enterprise.

• Provides proactive and reactive advice and guidance on hiring, performance management, discipline and termination decisions, accommodations and leaves, wage and hour compliance, investigations, and other associate-related issues, including multi-jurisdictional matters.

• Oversees strategy for employment litigation, agency charges, and high-risk pre-litigation disputes, including management of outside counsel and alignment on enterprise positions.

• Monitors and interprets evolving federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations and translates them into practical policies, playbooks, decision frameworks, and guidance for client use.

• Partners with senior HR leaders, business executives, and other Legal partners on major workforce initiatives such as reorganizations, new work models, acquisitions and divestitures, global employment matters, pay transparency and equity, and the responsible use of AI and analytics in HR tools and decisions.

• Leads workforce strategy and organizational change for the Employment Consulting & Litigation team and contributes informed employment law perspectives to enterprise strategies affecting talent, culture, and risk posture.

• Leads and develops attorneys and legal professionals by setting expectations, coaching performance, building succession capability, and fostering a culture of collaboration, integrity, accountability, and continuous improvement.

• Designs and continuously improves scalable, data-informed processes for service delivery, documentation standards, intake and triage, metrics and reporting, and decision-making.

• Builds trusted relationships across HR, the business, and Legal and influences outcomes through sound judgment, collaboration, credibility, and clear communication of risk, options, and trade-offs.

• Serves as a member of the broader legal leadership team to help drive strategic priorities and overall department execution.

May perform other responsibilities as assigned. 

Reporting Relationships:  Reports to VP, Employment & Tax Legal. Leads a team of three legal professionals.

Typical Skills and Experiences: 

Education:  Juris Doctorate from an American Bar Association-accredited law school. 

License/Certification/Designation: Associates reporting within Nationwide’s Office of the Chief Legal Officer (OCLO) who are functioning in attorney roles must be fully licensed in accordance with OCLO policy, in good standing and in compliance with all continuing legal education requirements at all times in the state(s) in which they practice. 

Experience:  Typically 15 years of employm