Director, Contracts and Lead Counsel

At ACT Your Work Makes a Difference

Education has power - a power that changes lives forever. It creates opportunities that lift up individuals, their families, and sparks societal change that echoes through generations to come. From our grassroots we have fought the good fight for fairness in education, and we remain devoted to helping anyone who struggles to access that power. This is what matters to us and we must do better -- we've never been more sure of our purpose.

ACT team members are part of an organization dedicated to an important mission: Helping people achieve education and workplace success. Advancing the mission internally, by helping team members achieve education and workplace success of their own, is core to our values. ACT values a diverse workplace and is committed to fostering an inclusive environment in which every team member has an equal opportunity to grow.

We want our team members to have the well-being and confidence they need to do their best work, in an environment where both they and the ACT thrive. To support this, our total rewards include company paid life insurance, medical, dental, vision, flexible spending accounts, 401(k) with company contributions, paid holidays, paid time off, and so much more. You can find a comprehensive list of our benefits here.

We are seeking a Director, Contracts and Lead Counsel to help us fulfill that mission.

We are seeking a highly accomplished attorney with extensive leadership experience to serve as Director, Contracts and Lead Counsel. This high visibility strategic leadership role is responsible for overseeing the company's end-to-end contract function and providing expert legal guidance across commercial transactions, risk management, and regulatory compliance. The ideal candidate combines deep contract law expertise with strong business acumen, extraordinary leadership skills and a demonstrable track record of serving as a trusted advisor to senior leadership and individuals across organizations.

The finalist will be hired at the salary and level commensurate with their qualifications. For this position, we anticipate offering an annual salary between $150,000 to $165,000. ACT manages salaries within the range based on relevant factors including, skills, experience, and internal equity. This position is incentive eligible.

Location: This is a 100% remote position, based within the United States.

Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. without the need for visa sponsorship.

What you will be working on:

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  Provide leadership for the company's contract services team.

  
  
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  Perform quality control function of the substantive services provided by the Contract Services team to ensure accuracy of deliverables created for the internal customer.

  
  
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  Draft contracts for specific transactions for which no customer templates exist; this involves working closely with business areas to understand the transaction.

  
  
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  Review, analyze, and negotiate governmental procurement and complex contracts.

  
  
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  Create, update, or monitor Contract Services process and training documents.

  
  
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  Monitor and facilitate the management of the contracts repository, reporting, and related databases.

  
  
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  Facilitate the implementation of a technological solution to increase team efficiency and accuracy in the review and execution of contracts.

  
  
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  Provide senior attorney guidance to Contract Services team, including personnel management responsibilities.

  
  
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  Take a leadership role in addressing other internal customer issues that arise within the Contract Services area of responsibility.

  
  

This could be the job for you if you have (minimum requirements):

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  A minimum of seven years of experience as an attorney in a law firm or corporate legal department that includes providing commercial contract management services.

  
  
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  Significant experience in partnering with business clients and cross-functional teams and leading strategic projects and initiatives.

  
  
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  Proven track record drafting and negotiating complex commercial, and/or licensing agreements.

  
  
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  Extensive experience managing and growing a contracts or legal team.

  
  
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  Highly self-motivated and able to work independently with minimal supervision.

  
  
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  Possess strong analytical, drafting, and negotiation skills, as well as excellent oral and written communication skills and judgment.

  
  
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  Strong cross-functional stakeholder management skills.

  
  
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  Able to think creatively to find practical solutions to complex issues.

  
  
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  Organized and detail oriented.

  
  
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  Demonstrated experience managing multiple matters and projects, meeting deadlines and working effectively individually and as part of a team in a dynamic, fast-paced, challenging environment.

  
  
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  Sophisticated interpersonal skills, including the ability to develop strong internal relationships, influence others, and work as part of cross-functional teams and in partnership with team members at all levels of the organization.

  
  
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  Maintain a high level of confidentiality regarding corporate information.

  
  
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  Juris Doctor degree from ABA-accredited law school.

  
  
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  Active bar membership in at least one U.S. jurisdiction.

  
  
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  Or an equivalent combination of education and experience from which comparable knowledge and abilities can be acquired.

  
  

It's a plus if you have:

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  Experience working in a corporate legal department.

  
  
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  Experience with contract lifecycle management platforms (e.g., Ironclad, Icertis, DocuSign CLM).

  
  
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  Familiarity with data privacy law (GDPR, CCPA) and IP licensing.

  
  

About ACT

When ACT was founded in 1959, it disrupted the assessment industry with a new approach to helping students better understand their readiness so they could take steps to improve it. By leveraging our expertise and authority in assessment and research, we will again disrupt the industry-helping more people learn, better measure their progress, and improve their navigation through life's transitions.

More than ever before, ACT is fulfilling its mission of helping people achieve education and workplace success. We're doing it by pushing the boundaries of learning innovation through the work of our people, who we call team members because we're all in this together.

We know transformation does not come without challenge. That's why ACT invests in a variety of experiences for team members to strengthen their connections, explore ideas, learn from customers, and celebrate success.

Learn more about working at ACT at act.org!

ACT is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. ACT participates in E-verify. ACT's online position announcements are intended only to provide general descriptions of employment opportunities; none of the information provided for any position should be interpreted as a commitment by ACT to specific terms and conditions for employment.

Completion of the ACT National Career Readiness Certificate is recommended. Find a testing site near you to register for the WorkKeys assessments. Finalists for this position will be subject to a criminal background check as a condition of employment.

**If you have received an ACT employment-related communication from an email address that is not affiliated with @act.org and/or that requests personal or financial information, please do not reply. Instead, reach out to us at careers@act.org with the details. ACT's recruitment team appreciates your interest in working with us to transform college and career readiness pathways for all learners and wishes you the best of luck in your career journey.*