Deputy General Counsel
CFA InstituteAre you a senior in-house legal leader ready to operate as a true enterprise partner, not just a technical expert? Do you thrive in complex, global environments where judgment, influence, and people leadership matter as much as legal precision? Are you motivated by the opportunity to shape and modernize a global legal function within a mission-driven, global organization?
CFA Institute is seeking a Deputy General Counsel to serve as its number two legal leader, providing strategic and operational legal leadership across a global organization with a strong public-interest mission. Reporting to the Chief Legal and Compliance Officer, this role combines executive-level judgment, people leadership, and legal operations transformation. The role is designed to strengthen enterprise legal capability, modernize the legal function, and provide senior leadership depth across the organization.
What You’ll Do
Act as a senior strategic adviser to the Chief Legal and Compliance Officer, CEO, and executive leadership on complex legal and regulatory matters
Lead and oversee a global team of senior legal leaders, including senior directors and heads, fostering accountability, collaboration, and high performance
Provide enterprise-level legal judgment across corporate, regulatory, commercial, data privacy, employment, intellectual property, and litigation matters
Drive alignment between legal strategy and organizational objectives, enabling innovation while managing risk
Oversee legal support for global partnerships, new markets, products, and initiatives, including emerging areas such as AI
Lead legal operations transformation to position the legal function as a proactive, business-enabling partner, including operating models, KPIs, dashboards, process improvement, and technology adoption
Partner closely with Compliance & Ethics, and Enterprise Risk teams to ensure coordinated enterprise risk management
Manage outside counsel, legal budgets, and vendor relationships to ensure effective and efficient legal delivery
Represent the organization in high-stakes negotiations, regulatory discussions, investigations, and dispute resolution
Act for the Chief Legal & Compliance Officer as required, exercising delegated authority on complex and sensitive matters
What We’re Looking For
Juris Doctor or equivalent law degree with admission to practice in the United States
Extensive senior in-house legal leadership experience within complex, global organizations
Demonstrated ability to operate with authority and credibility at executive and board level, providing pragmatic, business-oriented legal advice
Proven experience leading and developing senior legal professionals through organizational change and transformation
Demonstrated breadth of legal exposure across complex, global organizations, with enterprise-wide oversight across a broad range of legal domains and the judgment to integrate specialist advice into coherent, strategic decision-making
Strong legal operations and transformation experience, including metrics, technology, and modern operating models
Experience managing cross-border legal issues and global stakeholder relationships
Sound judgment, resilience, and confidence in high-risk or high-stakes decision-making environments
Experience operating in regulated or quasi-regulated environments is advantageous; sector background is flexible
Why Join Us
Opportunity to operate as a senior enterprise leader within a global, mission-driven organization
Scope to shape and modernize a legal function with genuine organizational impact
High-trust partnership with executive leadership and the Board
Global remit with complex, intellectually engaging legal and strategic challenges
A role offering long-term leadership growth, including readiness to assume broader responsibility over time
At CFA Institute, we are committed to transparency and equity in our hiring process. In compliance with wage transparency laws in many of the jurisdictions in which we recruit, we provide the following information regarding compensation for this position: Expected salary range: 250–300k per year. All salary ranges are subject to adjustment based on location, experience, education, and other factors relevant to the position. Additional benefits include eligibility for an annual incentive bonus, a 12% employer contribution to a 401(k) plan, and a comprehensive medical benefits package.
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About CFA Institute
CFA Institute are the global leader in investment excellence and ethics. With nearly 200,000 charterholders across 160 markets, we drive professional growth, ethical behavior, and better markets. We care about our employees’ well-being, offering industry-leading benefits like:
Comprehensive health coverage for you and your family
Generous leave and time off
Competitive retirement plans
Flexible work options
Wellness, education, and support programs
If you feel this opportunity could be the next step in your career, we encourage you to click “Apply” and complete our three-minute application.
Be part of a team committed to putting investors first and growing economies. Follow us @CFAInstitute on LinkedIn and X.
Important Message: Your application must clearly demonstrate how you meet the requirements as CFA Institute cannot make assumptions about your education, experience, or location. We thank all those who apply. Only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. CFA Institute prohibits both discrimination and harassment with regard to all identifying characteristics: any individual employee, group of employees, or prospective employee on the basis of race, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, religion, creed or belief, age, marital or partnership status, marital or family status, care giver status, pregnancy and maternity, sexual and other reproductive health decisions, physical abilities/qualities, disability, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, predisposing genetic characteristic, military or veteran status, status as a victim or witness of domestic violence or sex offense or stalking, unemployment status, infectious disease carrier status, migrant worker status, educational background, socio-economic status, geographic location and culture or any other basis protected by applicable law. This policy impacts all aspects of employment, including but not limited to, recruitment, hiring, compensation, training, development, promotion, demotion, layoff, recall, furlough, transfer, leave of absence, and dismissal. This is a global policy that applies to all CFA Institute employees, regardless of location.
If, due to a disability or current medical condition, you need an accommodation or assistance to complete a job application, you can request one at any stage of the recruitment process. Please send an email to humanresources@cfainstitute.org noting the accommodations or assistance you are requesting. Please do not include any medical or health information in this email. We will review your request and contact you to discuss the possible options and arrangements. We will try our best to provide you with an accommodation or assistance that meets your needs and respects your preferences.
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