Procurement & Privacy Counsel

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Summary    

This position is responsible for providing legal guidance and support for matters procurement matters, including data privacy, data security, and other related areas of contract law. Oversees the contract review processes, ensuring compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and firm policies. Reviews and negotiates contracts with vendors through to successful completion. Provides legal advice and counsel to internal stakeholders related to procurement. Responsibilities for these associated functions may change over time.

Location

This position can sit in any of our US offices and offers a hybrid work schedule.

Responsibilities  

• Review and negotiate vendor contracts, ensuring alignment with firm priorities and objectives and compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

• Ensure that all firmwide legal contract obligations, risks and required standards for all assigned agreements are met.

• Ensure timely execution of assigned agreements and keep stakeholders informed of progress regularly.

•  Identify any legal and business risks inherent to a proposed vendor, service, or product assigned third-party agreements.

• Collaborate with firm management and stakeholders to understand their procurement needs, provide guidance, and establish effective communications to ensure coordination and alignment of legal activities.

•  Facilitate department guidance to stakeholders to resolve complex risk, regulatory and legal obligations via vendor negotiations and applying industry and domain knowledge and legal expertise where necessary.

•  Navigate and answer specific questions related to privacy and data security laws, rules, and regulations as they pertain to contractual provisions.

•  Coordinate with the applicable stakeholder group requesting services to ensure that risk assessments for all technology and related contract purchases are performed.

• Triage vendor contracts, working closely with Deputy General Counsel, Executive Director, New Business Intake & Procurement, and Director, Procurement & Vendor Management to make decisions around levels of review.

•  Advise on procurement related data privacy and data security issues, including, but not limited to, CCPA, GDPR, and HIPAA.

•  Provide legal advice and guidance on procurement matters to internal stakeholders.

• Develop, implement, and maintain procurement policies, procedures, and practices that align with relevant laws, regulations, and firm policies.

•  Conduct legal research and stay up to date with relevant laws, regulations, and industry trends related to procurement, privacy and contracting.

•  Manage a steady portfolio of active agreements, prioritizing work using effective judgment to ensure contracts are completed quickly and the process feels efficient to end customers.

• Liaise with key operational resources and processes including vendor management, project management, information security, data privacy and the general counsel offices, as applicable.

•  Conduct periodic contract review meetings in collaboration with key procurement and business process owners, where necessary.

•  Keep organized control of versions and retains documents in accordance with record retention policies and use of firm systems; enters contracts into a designated repository.

•  Create and maintain measures to track contracting speed, quality, and effectiveness.

• Support vendor governance processes including onboarding, relationship management and offboarding of vendors.

•  Provide training and educational programs to firm staff regarding procurement matters.

• Manage other firm projects and other duties as assigned.

Desired Skills   

Significant experience reviewing and negotiating contracts, including data processing agreements and data security terms. Excellent understanding of data privacy and data security law is necessary. Demonstrated analytical and critical thinking aptitude and ability to create innovative solutions. Operational experience in procurement operations or supply chain management is highly desired. Experience working with support staff in a Professional Services organization desired. The ideal candidate is also a self-starter with the ability to prioritize in a multi-tasking environment. Also, detail orientated, highly organized,