The Director of Legal Services is a strategic, hands‑on leader who serves as the organization's principal legal advisor and a trusted partner to senior leadership. In this role, you'll shape and execute the legal strategy across contracts, labor and employment, compliance, real estate, and enterprise initiatives-balancing risk management with business enablement. You'll lead complex litigation and regulatory matters, guide executives through high‑stakes decisions, and translate evolving legal and regulatory requirements into practical, actionable solutions. As a department leader, you'll build and develop high‑performing legal talent, design scalable systems and processes, and drive long‑term initiatives that strengthen compliance, operational excellence, and organizational impact, all while advancing equity, inclusion, and community engagement.

RESPONSIBILITY LEVEL:

The Director Legal Services manages legal matters for the organization, including contracts, labor and employment, compliance, real estate, and event documentation. This role works closely with Retail and Operations teams to support business needs and reduce risk.

Develops long- and short-term business strategies (3-5 years) and oversees implementation for Legal department. Is heavily involved in developing department standard operating procedures. Forecasts and plans annual operating and capital budget, implements cost-savings measures. Maintains and adjusts operating budget, manages expenses based on changes in internal or external factors, and communicates budgetary performance. Typically works on projects and initiatives that span 2-5 years. Responsible for integration of systems, systems metrics, and analysis.

PRINCIPAL DUTIES:

Legal Advisor & Executive Reporting

1. Serve as the principal legal advisor, providing executive-ready legal guidance to senior leadership and ensuring alignment with the strategic direction set by the external fractional General Counsel and Chief People & Compliance Officer.

2. Lead and provide enterprise-wide counsel on labor, employment, and workplace regulatory issues, ensuring guidance is timely, practical, and actionable for Business Units.

3. Translate complex nonprofit and corporate legal implications into clear, actionable recommendations for organizational leaders.

Litigation, Dispute Resolution & Regulatory

4. Direct litigation strategy and regulatory complaint response across forums, , and risk-balanced outcomes through attorney teams.

5. Oversee high-risk separations and regulatory inquiries (service termination, severance agreements, DOL/DWD, EEOC), providing clear positions and defensible documentation.

6. Consult and provide support during dispute resolution and settlements to protect the organization s interests.

Risk Management

7. Proactively identify and assess legal and compliance risks, anticipating issues, tracking organizational developments, and recommending risk-mitigating actions.

8. Translate legislative and governance changes into policy and procedure updates, recommending and implementing solutions that ensure continuous compliance.

9. Oversee the preparation, review, and finalization of event chronologies and formal findings summaries, ensuring that case documentation and recommendations are thorough, accurate, and support sound legal decision-making at the executive level.

10. Communicate executive-level summaries and reports on legal matters, ensuring clarity, accuracy, and actionable recommendations to senior leadership and the broader legal and compliance leadership team.

Contracts, Transactions & Organizational Initiatives

11. Partner with Procurement and Finance on contract lifecycle management, (ensuring compliance with enterprise policy and risk thresholds.

12. Consult with Finance on corporate transactions and commercial contracting (including licenses, RFPs, NDAs, tax-exempt counseling) by recommending standards, templates, and guardrails aligned to business objectives.

13. Supervise legal aspects of company real estate transactions, including documentation, regulatory considerations, and alignment with organizational objectives.

Department Leadership & Team Development

14. Lead and develop in-house counsel and legal operations staff, calibrating workloads, quality expectations, and professional growth to deliver consistent, high-standard legal services.

15. Leading and Developing Talent: Manages organizational design for area of responsibility and directs talent planning, hiring, development and training of staff. May participate in succession planning discussions. Networks and sources for positions throughout the organization.

16. Project and Change Management: Serves as project owner for high complexity department, cross-functional or multi-location projects and improvement initiatives. Set project direction including project scope, timeline and resources. Accountable for making decisions and project success. Manages change through effective planning, communication and coaching. Builds and participates in leadership coalition supporting and implementing organizational change.

17. Community Engagement: Actively engages with community partners and links activities to business performance.

18. Responsible for completing other duties/responsibilities as assigned.

REQUIREMENTS:

1. Juris Doctorate Degree from an ABA accredited law school and be in current good standing with a state bar association.

2. Minimum of 8 years experience - legal or regulatory experience with direct client contact.

3. License to practice law in WI and/or IL.

4. Capacity to cope with complex situations through deliberate analysis and planning.

5. Experience working with diverse communities and a demonstrated commitment to equity and inclusion.

LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES:

1. Business Insight: Demonstrates thorough business/industry knowledge and can synthesize business information and respond to changing market dynamics effectively. Proactively monitors external factors and policies that may affect the organization. Uses knowledge to plan work and guide decision making.

2. Courage: Fosters a culture that supports people taking well-reasoned risks, regardless of outcome and appropriately advocates for decisions that are for the good of the organization. Confronts actions that are inconsistent with the Guiding Principles and demonstrates the ability to provide leadership through high-stakes situations, crises, or conditions of uncertainty.

CORE CULTURAL COMPETENCIES:

1. Customer Focus: Fosters a customer service-focused environment with a sense of urgency and importance of meeting the customer s needs. Establishes organizational partnerships with key customers and ensures resources and support are focused on meeting customer needs.

2. Values Differences: Cultivates an environment that makes all people feel valued and that encourages and supports diversity and inclusion. Sponsors and mentors people from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives. Applies understanding of cultural differences to create value and help meet business goals.

3. Communicates Effectively: Promotes a free flow of information throughout the organization and demonstrates candor and openness when discussing major organizational initiatives. Creates venues for constructive dialogue and ensures organizational information is cascaded to a wide variety of audiences at all levels.

4. Situational Adaptability: Demonstrates flexibility in a changing, competitive environment and initiates change in response to the cues in the external environment. Adapts leadership style in response to a broad range of situations and challenges that ingrains flexibility within the organizations structures, systems and culture.

5. Drives Results: Drives organization to achieve results that have a direct impact on business performance. Pushes the organization to move forward in difficult circumstances and eliminates obstacles that affect organizational performance.

6. Ensures Accountability: ensures the organization meets commitments and holds leaders accountable for team performance. Sets and monitors goals that align with organizational strategy creating an environment of accountability for meeting agreed upon expectations and performance expectations.

PHYSICAL/SENSORY DEMANDS:

Job requires the following: remain stationary for sustained periods of time; ability to move about to accomplish tasks; must be able to operate a computer or similar technology, which typically involves substantial motions of wrist, hands and/or fingers; visual acuity to perform activities such as preparing data, operating equipment or review thoroughness of work; ability to communicate with others and exchange information. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

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When determining placement within the salary range for this position Goodwill Greater Milwaukee & Chicago considers education, experience, internal equity, market demands and other qualifying criteria. It is not typical for individuals to be hired at or near the top of the rage for their role and compensation decisions are dependent on facts and circumstances of each case.

Certain roles are eligible to participate in an incentive plan. Participation in this plan does not guarantee an incentive payment and is subject to the terms and conditions of the plan, which are subject to change.

In addition to compensation, we offer a competitive benefit program that may include medical, dental, vision, short and long-term disability, life insurance, retirement plan, paid time off (PTO) and more. The specifics of each benefit package will vary depending on factors such as full or part time jobs, contracted, temporary, or other job categories.

Equal Opportunity Employer

(SEW)