Compassion International
Vice President and Deputy General Counsel
Compassion International, Denver, Colorado, United States
The expected salary range for this position is $240,000.00 - $282,000.00. Employees in specific high cost of labor locations in the United States (such as San Francisco, CA and Seattle, WA) may qualify for a geographic differential. Compassion International is not responsible for third parties who omit this information when copying and re-posting job openings.
Overview
As Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, you will serve as a senior leader within Compassion’s Office of the General Counsel, providing strategic and operational legal counsel to the General Counsel, Executive Leadership, the Board of Directors, and other senior ministry leaders. Your scope will span legal, governance, policy, and organizational strategy, positioning you as a trusted advisor and advocate for the ministry’s mission and interests. In this role, you will lead a diverse global legal team—including attorneys, paralegals, contract counsel, and external law firms—supporting the ministry across key areas such as contracts, compliance, employment and labor law, intellectual property, litigation, political affairs, and nonprofit regulations. You will oversee legal operations in collaboration with Risk Management, ensuring alignment with Compassion’s strategic priorities. What will you do?
Maintain a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Be a consistent witness for Jesus Christ, maintaining a courteous, Christ-like attitude in dealing with people within and outside of Compassion, and faithfully uphold Compassion’s ministry in prayer. Act as an advocate to raise the awareness of the needs of children. Understand Christ’s mandate to protect children. Commit to and prioritizes child protection considerations in all decision-making, tasks and activities across the ministry. Abide by all behavioral expectations in Compassion’s Statement of Commitment to Child Protection and Code of Conduct. Report any concerns of abuse, neglect or exploitation of children through Compassion’s internal reporting process and appropriately support responses to incidents if they occur. Uphold and engage in Compassion’s core Cultural Behaviors. Provide meaningful input and perspective to the strategic and operational planning and decision-making for the international ministry. Provide overall leadership and coordination for Compassion's international legal department and activities and is directly involved with the General Counsel at the outset and throughout the process of any threat of litigation or risk to reputation. Render legal analysis and guidance on Compassion’s strategic, policy, and organizational activities, including vendor/contract agreements, leases, litigation, compliance, employment and labor law issues, international issues, copyright and trademark issues, and tax-exempt status regulations and restrictions. Serve as an active member of the General Counsel Office Leadership Team to provide input into strategic and operational decisions. Play a critical role in effective communication, culture building and change management for the worldwide ministry of Compassion. Establish relationships with in-house and outside attorneys to provide counsel to senior management and to obtain technical assistance and pro-bono legal services in all areas affecting the organization, including intellectual property, publishing, real estate, labor, privacy, litigation, tax, and not-for-profit law. Advise on other legal matters, such as employment law and audit components, support offices on compliance and regulatory issues, and serve on regular or ad hoc committees. Provide legal perspective and updates to the Compassion International Board. Monitors governance including reviewing and monitoring Compassion Bylaws, ensuring compliance with bylaws, and recommending adjustments where needed to comply with applicable nonprofit laws. Develop in-house legal team and related processes. Oversee legal staff who draft and review legal documents, including commercial leases and contracts, charitable registrations and compliance, and technology-related work, and negotiates the terms of such agreements. Exercise a high level of signing authority for contracts of significant value. Develop and oversee a global network of outside counsel to provide advice and solutions to ministry operations as needed. Advocate for the needs and interests of the ministry, in particular highlighting the unique aspects of assigned constituencies and stakeholders. Advise leadership on legal, compliance, governance, and other matters; oversee governance, compliance, best practices, board relations, and related functions. Advise senior leaders to develop strategies and implement plans for new country expansion in conjunction with other stakeholder functions to advance Compassion toward growth. Represent the interests and priorities of the General Counsel, and, when needed, stand in the stead of the General Counsel. What do you bring?
Juris Doctor (JD) and active license to practice law in the U.S.; minimum 15 years of legal experience, including leadership roles. Demonstrated experience of directly managing and developing a team of attorneys and legal professionals. Proven expertise in nonprofit law, contracts, compliance, employment, and governance. Ability to advise executive leadership and boards on complex legal and strategic matters. Strong alignment with Compassion’s mission and values; committed to Christ-centered leadership and child protection. Global and nonprofit experience strongly preferred, especially in cross-cultural or international legal contexts. Why work here?
The mission: Join a team that is motivated to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name. Our benefits: Generous paid time off, 10% contribution to a 403(b) retirement fund on top of your salary, excellent healthcare coverage, free short-term professional counseling, and more. Spiritual growth: Participate in regular chapel services, prayer groups, and department devotionals.
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As Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, you will serve as a senior leader within Compassion’s Office of the General Counsel, providing strategic and operational legal counsel to the General Counsel, Executive Leadership, the Board of Directors, and other senior ministry leaders. Your scope will span legal, governance, policy, and organizational strategy, positioning you as a trusted advisor and advocate for the ministry’s mission and interests. In this role, you will lead a diverse global legal team—including attorneys, paralegals, contract counsel, and external law firms—supporting the ministry across key areas such as contracts, compliance, employment and labor law, intellectual property, litigation, political affairs, and nonprofit regulations. You will oversee legal operations in collaboration with Risk Management, ensuring alignment with Compassion’s strategic priorities. What will you do?
Maintain a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Be a consistent witness for Jesus Christ, maintaining a courteous, Christ-like attitude in dealing with people within and outside of Compassion, and faithfully uphold Compassion’s ministry in prayer. Act as an advocate to raise the awareness of the needs of children. Understand Christ’s mandate to protect children. Commit to and prioritizes child protection considerations in all decision-making, tasks and activities across the ministry. Abide by all behavioral expectations in Compassion’s Statement of Commitment to Child Protection and Code of Conduct. Report any concerns of abuse, neglect or exploitation of children through Compassion’s internal reporting process and appropriately support responses to incidents if they occur. Uphold and engage in Compassion’s core Cultural Behaviors. Provide meaningful input and perspective to the strategic and operational planning and decision-making for the international ministry. Provide overall leadership and coordination for Compassion's international legal department and activities and is directly involved with the General Counsel at the outset and throughout the process of any threat of litigation or risk to reputation. Render legal analysis and guidance on Compassion’s strategic, policy, and organizational activities, including vendor/contract agreements, leases, litigation, compliance, employment and labor law issues, international issues, copyright and trademark issues, and tax-exempt status regulations and restrictions. Serve as an active member of the General Counsel Office Leadership Team to provide input into strategic and operational decisions. Play a critical role in effective communication, culture building and change management for the worldwide ministry of Compassion. Establish relationships with in-house and outside attorneys to provide counsel to senior management and to obtain technical assistance and pro-bono legal services in all areas affecting the organization, including intellectual property, publishing, real estate, labor, privacy, litigation, tax, and not-for-profit law. Advise on other legal matters, such as employment law and audit components, support offices on compliance and regulatory issues, and serve on regular or ad hoc committees. Provide legal perspective and updates to the Compassion International Board. Monitors governance including reviewing and monitoring Compassion Bylaws, ensuring compliance with bylaws, and recommending adjustments where needed to comply with applicable nonprofit laws. Develop in-house legal team and related processes. Oversee legal staff who draft and review legal documents, including commercial leases and contracts, charitable registrations and compliance, and technology-related work, and negotiates the terms of such agreements. Exercise a high level of signing authority for contracts of significant value. Develop and oversee a global network of outside counsel to provide advice and solutions to ministry operations as needed. Advocate for the needs and interests of the ministry, in particular highlighting the unique aspects of assigned constituencies and stakeholders. Advise leadership on legal, compliance, governance, and other matters; oversee governance, compliance, best practices, board relations, and related functions. Advise senior leaders to develop strategies and implement plans for new country expansion in conjunction with other stakeholder functions to advance Compassion toward growth. Represent the interests and priorities of the General Counsel, and, when needed, stand in the stead of the General Counsel. What do you bring?
Juris Doctor (JD) and active license to practice law in the U.S.; minimum 15 years of legal experience, including leadership roles. Demonstrated experience of directly managing and developing a team of attorneys and legal professionals. Proven expertise in nonprofit law, contracts, compliance, employment, and governance. Ability to advise executive leadership and boards on complex legal and strategic matters. Strong alignment with Compassion’s mission and values; committed to Christ-centered leadership and child protection. Global and nonprofit experience strongly preferred, especially in cross-cultural or international legal contexts. Why work here?
The mission: Join a team that is motivated to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name. Our benefits: Generous paid time off, 10% contribution to a 403(b) retirement fund on top of your salary, excellent healthcare coverage, free short-term professional counseling, and more. Spiritual growth: Participate in regular chapel services, prayer groups, and department devotionals.
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