Staff Attorney

The Staff Attorney serves as the Legal, Risk, and Compliance Team point person for various Elevate programs, including federally funded programs, fee-for-service engagements, and matters involving federal and state laws’ intersection with American Indian Tribal law. The Staff Attorney is responsible for assisting program teams with understanding and complying with contractual requirements, including federal acquisition regulations (FARs) related to procurement and prevailing wage requirements, reviewing, drafting, and negotiating contracts, and reviewing and advising on enacted laws.

The Staff Attorney reports to the General Counsel, and works closely with senior management, program managers, and the other members of the Legal, Risk, and Compliance Team. This position is currently fully remote; however, the Staff Attorney must be licensed to practice law in Illinois.

Responsibilities

Support Elevate’s National Strategic Engagement Team (NSET), which operates programs in multiple states including Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin. The Staff Attorney will also support other teams and projects as needed.
Draft, review, and negotiate a wide variety of contracts including, but not limited to, public sector contracts with different governmental agencies for funding of Elevate-administered programs, grant agreements, contracts for construction services, and various vendor contracts, including technology-related contracts. Additionally, draft program terms, which will serve as the legal terms for participation in new programs.
Support funding opportunities and other programs as needed, including assisting with responses to federal opportunities, requests for proposals (RFPs), requests for quotes (RFQs), and requests for information (RFIs); reviewing and negotiating grants and contracts and related teaming agreements, subcontracts and vendor agreements; and consulting on compliance matters.
Lead government contract formation, including detailed reviews of solicitation and evaluation documents for source selections. This includes providing accurate and timely legal advice to all levels of the organization’s management in connection with obtaining and performing contracts and subcontracts (as either a subrecipient or contractor) on U.S. governmental programs and advising program teams on contract performance. This includes providing legal advice on procurement requirements for public sector-funded programs.
Support Elevate’s line of credit program, which extends a line of credit to contractors working in the clean energy sector, and other lending products that Elevate may offer directly or through its administration of governmental programs. This may include assisting with applications for licensing of Elevate as a lender in states where required.
Work on special projects as needed, including assisting with governance matters related to nonprofit organizations, advising on human resources matters and other corporate law matters applicable to the organization.
Provide training and education for staff on legal topics relevant to their work.
Represent and counsel Elevate’s program teams in disputes, including contract claims, investigations and disclosures, potential litigation (pre-litigation actions, and appeals.
Counsel program teams on, and help them operationalize, procurement requirements, the organization’s conflict of interest policy, cost accounting issues, prevailing wage requirements, federal acquisition regulations, Davis-Bacon Act requirements, and other legal issues.
Assist in responding to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and other administrative law matters and proceedings.
Research and formulate guidance on legal issues for both internal and external constituencies.
Review and analyze proposed and enacted legislation that impacts Elevate and its work.
Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications and Skills

Juris Doctor degree from an ABA-accredited law school and an active license to practice law in Illinois (or intent to obtain such license within three months of beginning the job)
At least two (2+) years of experience with a law firm or governmental agency in the relevant field of law required
Clear and concise verbal and written communication skills, including ability to communicate complex legal concepts to non-legal audiences
Ability to comprehend complex legal matters, synthesize information from varied sources and distill relevant information into contracts and legal memoranda
Experience researching and advising on laws (including case law), rules and regulations pertinent to the organization’s work and operations
Strong client-counseling and customer service skills
Ability to adapt to changing priorities and work effectively within a dynamic and innovative environment
Experience with Tribal law at the federal level and in states including Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin is useful but not required.
Experience with nonprofit governance and lender compliance matters is helpful but not required.
Advanced experience using Microsoft (MS) suite of applications including Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Must be able to use tracking and comment features in MS Word
Expertise in Cobblestone contracts management software helpful but not required
Must be willing to learn the contracts management system

Organization Description

We design and implement programs that reduce costs, protect people and the environment, and ensure the benefits of clean and efficient energy use reach those who need them most.

At Elevate, the greatest asset of our organization is the kind of people we attract. Elevate employees co-create our energetic and collaborative environment, where constant learning and service to others take priority. We empower individuals to challenge conventional thinking in pursuit of innovation and we seek dynamic, hardworking team members who are inspired to work with people of diverse backgrounds and perspectives. Every day we make a difference by placing our team, clients, and community partners first. From our mission to our focus on staff wellbeing and career development opportunities, there’s no better place to grow your career than Elevate.

Compensation

The total compensation for this position includes health and welfare benefits (medical, dental, vision, etc.), defined contribution benefit (401k with contribution), professional development, and generous paid time off policies. This is an exempt individual contributor position with a salary range of $95,000 – $105,000 based on experience.

Anti-Discrimination Policy

Elevate is an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate against any employee or job applicant based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, veteran status, or marital status. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including, but not limited to, hiring, termination, promotion, transfer, layoff, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

ADA Accommodation

Elevate will reasonably accommodate qualified individuals with a disability so that they can perform the essential functions of a job unless doing so causes a direct threat to these individuals or others in the workplace, and the threat cannot be eliminated by reasonable accommodation, or if the accommodation creates an undue hardship to Elevate. Contact the People Team with any questions or requests for accommodations.

To Apply

To apply, please submit your cover letter and resume through our candidate portal at https://workforcenow.adp.com/mascsr/default/mdf/recruitment/. Search for “Staff Attorney” to find the position listing.

Please note that Elevate will only contact candidates via an elevatenp.org email address. We will never ask a candidate for payment of any kind as part of the hiring or onboarding process or send payment to any candidate prior to completing the hiring and onboarding process.

No phone calls please.