Chief Legal and Administrative Officer

Job DetailsJob Location: Richmond, VA 23219Position Type: Full TimeEducation Level: Juris DoctorateTravel Percentage: NegligiblePosition Description

The Chief Legal and Administrative Officer (CLAO) is a key member of the Executive Leadership Team and serves as the senior executive responsible for legal strategy, governance, and enterprise stewardship across the organization’s administrative and people-centered functions. Operating within a mission-driven, healthcare-adjacent, and federally regulated environment, the CLAO ensures the organization maintains the highest standards of legal integrity, regulatory compliance, ethical conduct, and operational excellence.

 

Reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer, the CLAO is a trusted strategic partner and enterprise integrator, providing clear, actionable counsel on complex legal, regulatory, and organizational matters. The role oversees Legal, Compliance & Risk, strategic oversight of Human Resources, Communications & External Affairs, Facilities, and shared administrative operations. By translating complexity into decision-ready guidance, the CLAO enables informed leadership decisions and supports sustainable growth, modernization, and public trust. The CLAO exercises broad discretion and independent judgment in advising executive leadership on complex, sensitive, and high-impact organizational matters, balancing legal requirements, organizational values, and strategic objectives

 

Key Responsibilities

Legal Strategy, Governance & Enterprise Risk


Serve as the organization’s chief legal advisor, establishing legal strategy and philosophy aligned with mission, fiduciary responsibilities, and regulatory obligations.
Oversee corporate governance, including Board and committee support, bylaws, governance policies, delegated authorities, and executive governance processes.
Manage enterprise legal matters, including contracts, litigation and investigation strategy, intellectual property, and external counsel relationships.
Proactively identify, assess, and mitigate legal, regulatory, operational, and reputational risks across the enterprise.
Anticipates and prepares the organization for evolving legal, regulatory, workforce, and governance requirements as the organization grows, adapts, and responds to external scrutiny


CEO Partnership & Executive Decision Enablement


Act as a primary thought partner to the CEO, anticipating legal, regulatory, organizational, and reputational implications of strategic initiatives and decisions.
Translate complex legal and regulatory requirements into practical options and recommendations that enable timely, confident decision-making.
Support enterprise transformation, modernization, and growth initiatives by identifying risks early and designing mitigation strategies that enable progress.


Compliance, Ethics & Data Governance


Lead the organization’s compliance and ethics framework, including regulatory readiness, monitoring, and internal audit coordination.
Oversee data governance, privacy, and information-sharing practices to ensure responsible stewardship of sensitive, healthcare-related, and federally regulated data.
Ensure compliance with applicable employment laws, privacy and security standards, and industry-specific federal and state regulations.
Serve as a senior interface on matters involving federal oversight and external accountability, ensuring adherence to both the letter and spirit of regulatory expectations.
Leads the integration of enterprise legal, compliance, governance, people, and reputational risk into a cohesive organizational risk framework, in partnership with the CEO and Board.


Human Resources Oversight (Strategic, Not Operational)


Provide executive-level oversight of Human Resources, partnering with the Senior Director of Human Resources to align workforce strategy, organizational design, and talent planning with enterprise objectives.
Support CEO and Board decision-making related to executive compensation philosophy, employment agreements, succession planning, and leadership development.
Champion a high-engagement, values-driven culture while ensuring appropriate governance, controls, and legal risk mitigation across people practices.


Communications & External Affairs


Oversee Communications & External Affairs to ensure consistent, transparent, and mission-aligned messaging across internal and external audiences.
Partner with executive leadership to manage reputational risk, stakeholder engagement, executive communications, and issues management.
Ensure communications strategies reinforce public trust, organizational credibility, and alignment with values and regulatory responsibilities.


Administrative & Shared Services Leadership


Provide executive leadership for administrative and shared services functions, including facilities and internal operations, driving ef