Chief Legal and Administrative Officer

Position 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 efficiency, scalability, and service excellence.
• Oversee budgeting and resource allocation for administrative departments, ensuring disciplined financial stewardship consistent with nonprofit fiduciary obligations.
• Lead cross-functional initiatives that strengthen internal processes, governance maturity, and overall organizational effectiveness.

Board Advisory & Fiduciary Support

• Serves as primary staff liaison to designated Board committees (e.g., Governance, Compliance, Risk, or Executive Committees), as assigned.
• Support major organizational initiatives and transactions, including strategic partnerships, restructuring, and mergers or acquisitions, as applicable.
• Ensure the Board receives clear, timely, and decision-ready counsel on complex or high-risk matters.

Operating Model & Role Boundaries

To ensure clarity, accountability, and effective collaboration, this role is intentionally designed to separate legal and governance oversight from HR operational execution:

CLAO / General Counsel Accountabilities

• Legal strategy, governance, compliance, ethics, and enterprise risk management
• Board advisory and fiduciary oversight
• Executive employment matters, compensation governance, and risk mitigation
• Strategic oversight of Human Resources to ensure alignment with law, policy, and enterprise priorities

Senior Director of Human Resources Accountabilities

• Day-to-day HR operations and service delivery
• Talent acquisition, performance management, learning and development, employee relations, and benefits administration
• Execution of workforce strategies and HR programs
• Operational leadership of the HR function and team

This model ensures HR operates as a strong, empowered function while benefiting from clear legal guidance and executive sponsorship-without diluting ownership or decision rights.

Minimum Requirements

• 15+ years of progressive legal experience, including advising senior executives and Boards of Directors.
• 7+ years of senior or enterprise-level leadership experience overseeing complex, cross-functional portfolios.
• Demonstrated experience in regulated environments; nonprofit, healthcare-adjacent, and/or federally regulated experience strongly preferred.

Critical Skills

• Exceptional business judgment with the ability to translate complex legal and regulatory issues into clear, actionable guidance.
• Strong executive presence and credibility with Boards, regulators, senior leaders, and external stakeholders.
• Proven ability to balance risk management with mission advancement and organizational agility.
• Advanced skills in governance, compliance, enterprise risk management, and strategic decision support.
• Ability to lead through influence, navigate ambiguity, and integrate diverse functional leaders toward shared enterprise goals.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Demonstrated commitment to ethics, integrity, and public trust.
• Strong strategic communication skills, including the ability to manage sensitive issues and reputational risk.
• Experience leading enterprise change, modernization, and governance maturity initiatives.
• Proven ability to build, develop, and retain high-trust, values-driven leadership teams.

Education

• Juris Doctor (J.D.) from an accredited law school.
• Active membership in at least one U.S. state bar, in good standing (Virginia Preferred)

Physical Requirements

• General office demands
  
  
  
  • Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
  • Frequent reaching, handling, and fine manipulation for using office equipment, filing, and managing paperwork.
  • Manual dexterity sufficient to operate a keyboard, mouse, and other office tools.
  • Occasional standing, walking, and bending.
  • Ability to lift up to 10-20 pounds occasionally.
  • Vision abilities required include close vision for computer work and reading documents.
  • Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.