Reporting to the General Counsel and Secretary, the Associate General Counsel will lead the Contracting team in providing legal expertise and oversight in drafting, negotiating, and managing contracts essential to ICANN’s global operations. This role is integral to maintaining and strengthening the legal frameworks that underpin ICANN’s mission.
The Associate General Counsel will provide strategic direction and oversight for a variety of complex agreements, including registry and registrar agreements, vendor contracts, and strategic partnership agreements, ensuring compliance with international laws, ICANN policies, and corporate governance standards while fostering a high-performing team that supports ICANN’s operational and strategic goals.
Key Responsibilities & Duties:
Leadership and Team Management
- Provide leadership for the contracting team by overseeing work allocation, ensuring timely completion of assignments in line with established schedules, reviewing deliverables to maintain high-quality standards, and fostering the continued success of the high-performing team.
- Manage and track incoming requests to the Contracting Services Group, reporting to the ICANN General Counsel.
Contract Review and Recommendations
- Review and make recommendations regarding contracts and agreements, ensuring they meet legal requirements.
Contract Development and Negotiation
- Draft, review, and negotiate contracts, including Registry Agreements, Registrar Accreditation Agreements, vendor contracts, and other agreements related to ICANN's operations.
- Ensure agreements align with ICANN's mission, strategic goals, and compliance standards.
Legal Risk Mitigation
- Identify and analyze legal risks associated with contracting activities and provide actionable recommendations to mitigate them.
- Ensure ICANN’s contracts adhere to applicable laws, regulations, and internal policies across jurisdictions.
Policy and Contractual Compliance
- Collaborate with internal teams to ensure compliance with ICANN’s bylaws, contractual frameworks, and policy development processes.
- Work closely with ICANN’s compliance and operations teams to address disputes or enforcement actions related to contracts.
Stakeholder Engagement
- Engage with ICANN’s global stakeholders, including registries, registrars, and other contracted parties, to address legal and contractual concerns.
- Provide legal guidance and support during multi-stakeholder discussions, public meetings, and policy implementation processes.
- Support and collaborate with other members of the legal team on cross-functional projects and global initiatives.
- Provide training and guidance to ICANN staff on contracting best practices and legal considerations.
Document Management and Process Improvement
- Maintain accurate records of contracts and agreements, ensuring accessibility and compliance with document retention policies.
- Contribute to the development of tools, processes, and templates to streamline ICANN’s contracting activities.
Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs):
(Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions)
- Proven ability to lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing team, fostering a collaborative and inclusive work environment.
- Strong business acumen with an acute understanding of the balance between risk and reward.
- Knowledge of contracting best practices.
- Ability to manage shifting priorities and navigate unresolved areas of law.
- Sound business/legal judgment with the ability to balance business objectives and risk, and solve legal problems in a high-output, fast-moving environment.
- Exceptional writing, contract drafting, and oral communication skills.
- High-quality work product with fast turnaround times.
- Ability to work in cross-functional teams, with experience in project management environments being beneficial.
- Clear proven ability to understand consensus building.
- Knowledge of ICANN’s Multistakeholder Model, the domain name system, and the top-level domain name industry is preferred.
- Curiosity and passion for the development of the internet and domain name system.
- Ability to work independently.
- Global perspective.
Education and Experience Requirements:
- Juris Doctor (JD) degree required.
- Active license to practice law and being a member in good standing with the appropriate bar or other legal authority is required.
- Minimum of twelve (12) years of legal experience with increasing responsibility, focusing on transactional-related legal work, including contract drafting and negotiations, as well as providing substantive review, analysis, and advice on such transactions.
- Experience advising on domain name and technology industry agreements is preferred.
- Experience in multi-national transactions is preferred.
- Experience or understanding of public-benefit, non-profit, or multistakeholder environments is a plus.
Language Requirements:
- Fluency, both written and spoken, in English is required.
- Fluent written and spoken language skills in any of the other official United Nations languages is a plus.
Working Conditions & Physical Requirements:
- International travel may be required to support ICANN-related meetings as requested, for lengths of 7-10 days per trip, approximately three times per year, likely on different continents.
- Willingness and ability to travel domestically and internationally as needed.
- Comfort level with an international work environment that requires availability at times outside normal business hours.
- Work is performed in a normal office environment with limited privacy and some exposure to background noise.
ICANN is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate based on age, race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, marital status, veteran status, physical or mental disability, sex, (including pregnancy, gender identity and sexual orientation), childbirth or related medical conditions, family care status, genetic information or any other protected characteristics protected by local, state or federal law.
ICANN is responsible for the global coordination of the Internet's system of unique identifiers, including domain names (like .com, .uk, .jobs, etc.), as well as the addresses used in a variety of internet protocols. A nonprofit public benefit corporation, ICANN is responsible for the global coordination of the Internet's system of unique identifiers. These include domain names as well as the addresses used in a variety of Internet protocols.
Targeted Base Salary Low:
$170,000.00 plus Performance-based pay opportunities of up to 20%
Targeted Base Salary High:
$235,000.00 plus Performance-based pay opportunities of up to 20%
Note: The salary range provided here is a general estimation for the position at the time of posting based on the primary location. Salary ranges vary based upon geographic regions and countries. Final compensation packages take into consideration of a variety of factors including but not limited to a candidate’s location, work experience, knowledge, skills and other compensable factors.
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