About the Foundation

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation invests in creative thinkers and problem solvers working to ensure that people, communities, and the planet can flourish. Together with our partners, we are harnessing society’s collective capacity to solve our toughest problems — from the existential threat of climate change to persistent and pervasive inequities, to attacks on democracy itself. A nonpartisan philanthropy, the Hewlett Foundation has made grants in the U.S. and globally for nearly six decades based on an approach that emphasizes long-term support, collaboration, and trust.

Globally, we make grants to address both longstanding and emerging challenges like our efforts to advance gender equity and governance, reimagine the economy and society, and reduce the growing threat of climate change. Our U.S. efforts prioritize strengthening democracy, advancing education for all, and supporting community-led conservation. In the San Francisco Bay Area we call home, we make grants to support meaningful artistic experiences in local communities and support regional foundations working on critical issues such as housing. All of our grantmaking also invests in advancing racial justice and in strengthening the effectiveness of our grantees, and of philanthropy itself. The Hewlett Foundation’s assets are approximately $12.8 billion with annual awards of grants totaling more than $600 million. More information about the Hewlett Foundation is available at: www.hewlett.org

The foundation has approximately 130 employees, in programmatic, operational, and investment roles, and is located in the San Francisco Bay Area. Across the organization, our employees are challenged with meaningful work, have the resources for ongoing professional development and learning, and contribute to a collegial and engaging environment where they can thrive. We are committed to fostering a culture of inclusion as part of our guiding principles and encourage individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences to apply.

About the General Counsel’s Office

The General Counsel’s Office is responsible for providing timely, coordinated, and thoughtful legal advice that is grounded in applicable laws and tailored to the foundation’s programmatic needs, enhancing its ability to achieve its charitable goals. Legal staff counsel internal clients on a wide variety of regulatory, compliance, and risk-management matters. The office currently comprises seven individuals: the general counsel; two senior counsels; a counsel; a legal and compliance officer; a program operations liaison and trainer; and a senior administrative coordinator. We are looking to add an additional lawyer. View the bios for the General Counsel’s team here.

About the Position

This full-time employee reports to the general counsel and helps facilitate the foundation’s grantmaking by advising staff and conducting legal research on the rules that apply to the foundation’s programmatic work and operations; developing and implementing legal compliance-related templates, policies, processes, and trainings; and reviewing grant proposals, reports, and agreements, consultant agreements, and other contracts. This lawyer will also be expected to assist the foundation’s administrative departments on legal issues, support technology projects to streamline processing of grants and contracts, and lead projects to keep the foundation’s general policies and procedures up to date with the law and best practices. The lawyer should have corporate transactional experience; experience in-house or with the nonprofit sector is preferred. Basic familiarity with intellectual property issues is also desirable. Strong interpersonal and client service skills are extremely important, as are abilities to prioritize and balance projects with differing issue areas and stakeholders. Title and compensation are dependent on years of applicable experience.

Responsibilities

Support for Environment Program

A core responsibility of this position is to act as primary counsel to the foundation’s environment program to ensure compliance with relevant laws and best practices related to grantmaking. It is anticipated that this set of responsibilities will take approximately 65 percent of the lawyer’s time. Specific duties include:

• Partnering closely with Environment program staff to act as a counselor on grantmaking activities.
• Advising program staff on the legal issues that apply to the foundation’s domestic and international grantmaking and activities, including U.S. and foreign tax issues and the application of U.S. advocacy and electioneering rules in both the domestic and the international context.
• Drafting, reviewing, and negotiating a broad range of grant agreements and contracts, including collaborative agreements with other funders.
• Reviewing grantee documents to confirm tax status and/or to ensure compliance with applicable internal and external rules and requirements.
• Reviewing and advising on program team contracts.
• Participating in program team meetings and convenings to develop a greater understanding of the relevant programmatic portfolio.

Support for Communications

The other core responsibility of this position is to act as primary counsel to the Communications team for institutional-level communications. It is anticipated that these responsibilities will take approximately 25 percent of the lawyer’s time. Specific duties include:

• Supporting Communications on legal issues related to institutional level communications, including managing intellectual property issues and negotiating and reviewing vendor contracts.
• Advising the foundation learning team related to operations and logistics for foundation trainings and events.

Other Departmental Responsibilities and Support for Administrative Teams

This employee will assist the general counsel and other members of the legal team on a variety of foundation projects, such as improving our compliance systems or developing training materials. It is anticipated that these responsibilities will take approximately 10 percent of the lawyer’s time. These duties may include:

• Acting as counsel in other specific legal areas, coordinating advice with the other in-house lawyers and outside counsel.

• Developing and implementing user-friendly policies and procedures, working in conjunction with the general counsel, legal team, and other departments.

• Designing and conducting training sessions for foundation staff.
• Working on technology projects to streamline processing transactions.

Requirements

• J.D. with a minimum of four years of legal experience. The ideal candidate will have both law firm experience and in-house experience doing a range of transactional work. Nonprofit/exempt organizations and intellectual property experience is strongly preferred.
• Candidate must be a team player, flexible, and enjoy working in a collaborative environment. Ability to work well independently and as part of a team.
• Experience adapting complex legal advice to create practical processes and guidance materials for clients, including in-house users.

• Ability to understand the foundation’s goals and to counsel staff on how to achieve them efficiently, while appropriately factoring in legal risks and compatibility with the foundation’s systems and policies.

• Excellent written and oral communications skills and a strong ability to deliver quality training experiences to small and large groups.
• Project management experience with developing and implementing policies and procedures.
• A license to practice law in California or eligibility for such admission at the time of hiring. Registered In-House Counsel status is acceptable.

Physical Demands/Work Environment

The physical demands described are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The position is based in Menlo Park, California. Staff are working in a hybrid environment and are expected to work from the Hewlett Foundation office at least 2-3 times per week (Tuesdays and Wednesdays are required in-office days), with a minimum of 10 in-office days per month. While performing the duties of this position, the employee is required to spend extended periods of time at a computer.

Compensation and Benefits

The Hewlett Foundation is committed to providing compensation that is competitive within the philanthropic sector. We offer a generous total compensation package that emphasizes both base salary and comprehensive benefits, and includes an employer assisted housing program. The salary range for this role is $210,000-$275,000. Offers are based on the candidate's years of experience and our practice of maintaining salary equity within the foundation.

To Apply

Interested, qualified attorneys should submit an electronic copy of their letter of interest and their resume to the following search consultants:

Steve John

Partner

John and Snyder, LLC

Steve@johnandsnyder.com

(415) 505-6685

Jason Snyder

Partner

John and Snyder, LLC

Jason@johnandsnyder.com

(415) 505-6687

All inquiries and/or application materials sent directly to the foundation will be redirected to John and Snyder, LLC for review, which may cause significant delay in evaluation and response.

On behalf of the Hewlett Foundation, we thank you for your interest in the Counsel/Senior Counsel opportunity.

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation embraces the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion, both internally in our hiring process and organizational culture, and externally, in our grantmaking and related practices. We are an equal opportunity employer, and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, cultures, and experiences.