Staff Counsel

Advocacy Staff Counsel (Chicago, Durham, New York, San Francisco, or Washington, D.C.)

The Staff Counsel role is an opportunity to apply legal expertise to achieve global impact through a variety of social sector initiatives. This person will advise Arabella staff on the legal rules that affect nonprofit advocacy, including tax law constraints as well as federal, state and local lobbying and campaign finance and election laws. We seek a creative, flexible problem-solver who will provide legal technical expertise in advocacy compliance to support Arabella’s work with fiscal sponsor nonprofit organizations, nonprofits, foundations, and family and individual philanthropist clients.

The Staff Counsel will provide counsel to Arabella’s account teams supporting clients to ensure compliance with federal tax law, the federal Lobbying Disclosure Act, state lobbying and campaign finance regulation, and other compliance issues that arise in the day-to-day management of the advocacy activities of tax-exempt organizations.

Essential Responsibilities

1. Serve in the General Counsel’s Office with a focus on providing counsel on advocacy issues.
2. Provide sound legal advice and collaborate with staff to creatively problem-solve advocacy compliance issues to get to “yes.”
3. Under the supervision of Senior Counsel, provide advocacy law expertise related to federal, state, and local laws that regulate the activities of 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) nonprofit corporations.
4. Take responsibility for the review and resolution of compliance issues presented by staff and clients in a timely, efficient way, including by collaborating with Senior Counsel or other members of Arabella’s legal and compliance team as needed.
5. Under the supervision of Senior Counsel, contribute to coordination of advocacy legal matters and decisions with fiscal sponsor nonprofit organizations’ general counsel.
6. Work with outside counsel as necessary to address capacity or technical knowledge gaps or oversee legal compliance.
7. Review and approve state advocacy regulatory filings on behalf of fiscal sponsor nonprofit organizations and in collaboration with Senior Counsel and Arabella’s compliance staff.
8. In collaboration with Senior Counsel, identify and develop curricula for staff training on legal rules and compliance procedures relevant to advocacy work.
9. Monitor and evaluate risk to Arabella and fiscal sponsor nonprofit organizations related to this position’s areas of expertise.
10. Stay abreast of developments in nonprofit advocacy compliance to inform all aspects of the firm’s business and to support firm services.
11. Coordinate with colleagues on the legal team to provide comprehensive legal services to achieve Arabella and client goals.

To be successful in this role, you’ll need

1. J.D. and license to practice law in a relevant Arabella jurisdiction.
2. 2-5 years of relevant professional experience with steadily increasing job responsibilities.
3. Knowledge of nonprofit corporate and tax law and laws regulating lobbying and campaign finance/political activity by nonprofits.
4. Experience with negotiation, drafting, analyzing, or advising on contracts.
5. Experience creatively addressing client needs and providing excellent client service.
6. Ability to collaborate and communicate across various internal and external stakeholder groups.
7. Demonstrated commitment to equity and a proven ability to work inclusively with diverse teams, audiences, and stakeholders; the ability to take initiative for creating an inclusive environment and model and implement equitable policies, practices, systems, or strategies.
8. Ability to navigate a fast-paced environment and balance responding to immediate opportunities while maintaining a strategic, long-term perspective.
9. Experience advising clients or working within nonprofit organizations is preferred.
10. Knowledge of employment, privacy, general corporate, and intellectual property law is a plus.
11. Conduct research and perform other duties as directed.

Our Core Competencies

1. The ability to provide excellent service, including being able to address complex service matters, implement and communicate service changes to everyone involved, and to coach teammates on how to apply the firm’s service standards.
2. The ability to manage large-scale and cross-firm projects, including delegating and managing all resources, identifying and implementing improved processes, monitoring consistency across project teams, and providing direction and support to teammates.
3. The ability to facilitate and negotiate among stakeholders with conflicting needs and to generate consensus among decision makers.
4. The ability to help effectively communicate difficult messages; to adapt style, tone, and content to meet various needs; and to coach teammates on crafting content.
5. The ability to work cooperatively and inclusively with others to achieve shared goals, including encouraging and facilitating effective compromise, drawing on the capabilities of all team members, and leading team-level knowledge sharing.
6. The ability to use available resources and feedback to continually develop mastery in your role and facilitate team and project-level learning, including coaching others.
7. The ability to solve complex challenges by identifying innovative solutions and facilitating coordination with others.
8. The ability to elevate the voices of marginalized colleagues and mitigate power dynamics with staff with less formal authority.

Working with Us

This position must be based in either Chicago, Durham, New York, San Francisco, or Washington, D.C. Please note that all Arabella Advisors’ offices have reopened, and we work in a hybrid environment.

We reopened our offices in Summer of 2022 and work with a hybrid workplace strategy to ensure continued flexibility for our staff, while deepening our strong culture rooted in collaboration and in-person interactions between colleagues. We expect that after their initial onboarding, all Arabellans will have the choice of two hybrid schedules. Our hybrid schedule options include Flex, with 1-2 days per week in the office, or Office-based, with 3+ days per week in the office (or more if preferred) and the remaining days working at home/remotely. We will make reasonable accommodations under the guidelines of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

We are committed to having a passion-driven, inclusive, transparent, collaborative, healthy, and fun culture. We invite you to visit our careers page to learn more.

About Arabella Advisors

Arabella Advisors helps foundations, philanthropists and investors who are serious about impact achieve the greatest good with their resources. We work on issues ranging from the social and economic advancement of women and girls, and conservation of our climate and planet, to reducing poverty and inequity in the United States and around the world. Our staff members are mission-driven and action-oriented, and have a unique combination of experience in philanthropy, business, nonprofits, government, finance, law, and other fields. We combine creative, strategic thinking with knowledge and networks developed through decades of hands-on experience. The fastest-growing philanthropic advisory firm in the nation, Arabella is also a certified B Corporation.

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)

Advancing DEI within our firm and in our work with partners is critical to our mission. To be effective partners to philanthropists, nonprofits, and communities impacted by philanthropic dollars, we need to have a highly diverse staff, a workplace where individuals are encouraged to retain their uniqueness and can feel a sense of belonging, and a nuanced understanding of the racial, ethnic, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability status, and other disparities that undergird the issues we engage in and the interactions we have with one another. For us, equity means that our staff members, our clients, and the people they serve can experience the same level of success, no matter their starting place. We expect all our employees to share this commitment, and always seek ways to improve how well we live these values. Click here to learn more about DEI at Arabella and read our official DEI statement.

Total Rewards (compensation and benefits)

This is a full-time position. We offer a competitive and holistic total rewards package that includes salary, bonus, and benefits. Our compensation ranges are based on salary ranges for similar sized organizations in the professional services sector and adjusted for local labor market rates and differentiated by geography.

Durham: $75,000 – $112,000

Chicago: $80,000 – $118,000

DC: $85,000 - $126,000

NY & SF: $90,000 - $135,000

• All full-time staff are eligible for our generous benefits package on their first day of employment:
• Health insurance: On average Arabella pays 86% of the medical premium, 80% of the dental premium, and 100% of the vision premium.
• Paid time off: 18 days vacation, 10 personal days, 11 company holidays (7 federal and 4 more from a list of inclusive cultural and religious holidays and your birthday), 20 hours volunteer leave, 8 weeks parental leave.
• 401(k) retirement plan: We offer a 4% employer match on a dollar-per-dollar basis, and there is no waiting or vesting period; all funds contributed by you and Arabella are yours to keep on day 1.
• Reimbursements for your personal cell phone plan and fitness.
• Pre-tax withholding for transportation and parking.
• Bonus incentive opportunities.
• Access to professional development opportunities.

How to Apply

Submit a resume and a one-page cover letter online. The cover letter should address why you’re excited to work at Arabella and why you’re qualified for this specific job.

Arabella Advisors is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to racial equity. If we can make the application process easier through accommodation in the recruitment process, please let us know.

We encourage you to read (or listen to) our DEI statement prior to applying. We make a particular effort to recruit people of color and members of marginalized groups to apply for open positions. Once you have applied, we welcome your feedback on how you have experienced our values around DEI in the recruitment process.

While Arabella is open to individuals from various locations applying to join our team, please note that we generally are unable to pay for relocation expenses, and, except in rare circumstances considered on a case-by-case basis, all applicants must already be legally eligible to work in the United States at the time of application to be considered for this position.

We will review applications as they are received and look forward to hearing from you.