Contracts Attorney

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Description:

The Contracts Attorney will work directly with NEEA’s Corporate Counsel, Contracts/Legal Team, outside parties, and NEEA’s internal contract managers to support the dynamic, demanding, diverse, and high-volume contracting needs of NEEA’s internal stakeholders, cross-functional teams, and external partners. This person will take a detail-oriented approach to supporting a wide range of contracting processes and other needs with varying degrees of complexity in a fast-paced contracting environment using good judgment and strong legal and business sense.

Using strong problem-solving, communication, and organizational skills, this person will support the work of NEEA’s Corporate Counsel, Contracts/Legal Team, and NEEA by providing best-in-class legal skills and customer service; ensuring successful and timely preparation, negotiation, and administration of contracts and related activities; monitoring ongoing contract requirements; advising NEEA’s internal contract managers on processes and resolving legal issues; all with the ability to multi-task and appropriately prioritize a high-volume, fast-paced and dynamic workload alongside a dedicated and hardworking core team.

This position is based in the Portland, OR metro area, with a hybrid work location. We are looking for candidates who can meet the requirement of working at least 2 days per week onsite at NEEA’s office location. Finalists must have eligibility to work in the US as NEEA is not able to provide VISA sponsorship or have remote work outside of the US.

Salary range: $95,000 - $115,000, exempt

• Salary is based on the applicant’s Experience, Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.

The Typical Day May Include…

• Provide efficient and timely contracting and legal assistance to the organization, including performing the following functions:
  • Advise and strategize with Contract Owners on issues related to contract planning, sourcing, and drafting to identify and address commercial and legal options.
  • Be willing to and capable of engaging in each step of the contract lifecycle, from initiation to execution, to support Contracts team and Contracts Manager.
  • Team lead responsible for identifying and independently resolving most legal issues and risks in business and commercial matters, and work with and escalate to Corporate Counsel only on an as-needed basis primarily to address high-risk and/or complex issues. Work with project teams on legal solutions to support energy efficiency initiatives.
  • Coordinate with and provide regular updates to Contract Owners, the Contracts/Legal team, other Business Administration staff, and/or vendors in order to complete tasks, provide guidance, and solve issues, as needed.
  • Lead contract and other negotiations with vendors, funders and other third parties in support of NEEA, escalating to Corporate Counsel on a limited basis.
• Customize, draft, prepare, review, and negotiate legal documents, including funding agreements, RFPs, purchase orders, non-disclosure agreements, memoranda, service agreements, license agreements, participant releases, and other documents and agreements related to the organization.
• Proactively identify and manage complicated legal and contracting issues, including assessment of strategic vendor relationships.
• Provide ongoing guidance to Contract Owners related to the sharing, security, and confidentiality of data, including licensed datasets, personally identifiable information, sales data, and utility billing data. Track confidentiality and use restrictions associated with all sensitive data.
• Act as primary Contracts Team liaison and administrator of all RFPs, templates, and negotiations.
• Create, update and maintain contracting and legal resources and templates to expedite contract setup, best practices, and legal drafting and review (e.g., self-service contracting resources, internal webpage, contract template and clause libraries, externally facing webpage for contractors, etc.).
• Responsible for employee Conflict of Interest policy and tracking.
• Develop and provide trainings and resources to ensure organizational contracting best practices as needed per Corporate Counsel.
• Support team, proactively providing guidance on the appropriate form of collaboration to meet team goals with external parties.
• Regularly update and improve contract templates to ensure their consistency and compliance with funding agreements, organizational policies and requirements, and all applicable legal and state/federal regulatory requirements.
• Perform quality control per established procedures prior to contract submission to ensure that all data is accurate in the NEEA financial and contracts management systems. Resolve all issues or discrepancies that arise from this review.
• Assist Corporate Counsel in other matters as needed.
• Other duties that may be necessary or desirable to support the organization’s success.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

This position has no supervisory responsibility but may provide leadership and guidance to temporary staff and/or assist with orientation of new members of the work group.

Qualifications:

Your Experience, Education, and Skills:

• Law degree from an ABA-accredited institution, with a minimum of 1-3 years’ related experience in contracts, transactional work, and/or corporate law.
• Member of the Oregon State Bar or ability to become licensed via reciprocity or other permissible method in a timely manner post-hire.
• Demonstrated proficiency in contract negotiation, facilitation, and related communication skills.
• Demonstrated proficiency in contract review and drafting, understanding of contract terms, conditions, and legal effect.
• Strong verbal and written communication and customer service skills.
• Demonstrated skills in effective teaming on a legal or other organizational team.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and related applications including Word, Excel, and SharePoint required.
• Ability to synthesize complex or diverse information, utilizing intuition and experience to complement data.
• Experience designing individual workflows and recommending procedures.
• Ability to quickly comprehend NEEA’s portfolio of energy efficiency activities and their relevance to stakeholders and their energy efficiency programs and priorities.
• High degree of adaptability and the ability to help define and refine the position in order to meet desired outcomes.
• Proven success prioritizing and planning work activities while remaining flexible and enthusiastic about supporting the team.
• Demonstrates a “can do” attitude.
• Possesses exceptional communication skills with the ability to speak and write clearly and persuasively in positive or negative situations.
• Responds well to questions.
• Demonstrates superb group presentation skills.
• Ability to vary communication style to meet needs.
• Proven success as a team builder, team player, and leader, including receiving and implementing feedback from peers, other members of the Contracts Team, and cross-functionally from the organization.
• Act as the de facto owner for all legal aspects of the contracting process.
• Strong desire to continuously learn and implement improvements in contract drafting and negotiation skills.
• An equivalent combination of education, experience and training that would provide the knowledge, skills and abilities required for the successful performance of the essential job duties will also be considered.

Highlights of NEEA’s Benefits:

• 90% of medical/dental premiums paid by NEEA, including for dependents
• Employer funded Health Savings Account
• 136 hours of PTO/year
• Automatic 6% retirement contribution with an additional 2% matching
• Flexible work environment, including hybrid work location and 9/80 schedule options
• Professional development opportunities

About NEEA

The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) is an alliance of more than 140 electric and natural gas utilities and energy efficiency organizations working on behalf of Northwest energy consumers to increase the adoption of energy-efficient products services and practices. Since 1997, the region has achieved more than 959 average megawatts (aMW) of Co-Created electric energy savings – the equivalent of enough energy to power more than 700,000 Northwest homes each year.

NEEA welcomes individuals from all backgrounds and fields of expertise, with or without previous experience in the energy industry.

Follow this link to our website and learn more about the organization.

NEEA is an Equal Opportunity Employer