Salary Range: $403,400.00 To $575,000.00 Annually
Job Title: General Counsel
Location: Washington, DC
Job Type: Full-Time
Reports To: CEO
Salary: $403,400 — $575,000 per year

About the Skoll Foundation

The Skoll Foundation is dedicated to driving large-scale change by investing in, connecting, and celebrating social entrepreneurs and other innovators focused on solving the world’s most pressing problems. The Foundation works with social entrepreneurs and innovators, advances opportunity, and drives toward a sustainable world of peace and prosperity for all.

Position Summary

The Skoll Foundation is looking for a General Counsel to step into an influential leadership role. As the Foundation’s top legal advisor and a key member of the Executive Leadership Team, this person will blend deep legal knowledge with big-picture strategic thinking.

The GC will work closely with the CEO and Board, playing a central role in guiding decisions that align with the Foundation’s mission and values. The GC will lead the integration of legal, operational, and programmatic efforts, helping the organization run smoothly while staying innovative and impact-driven.

We’re looking for someone who can navigate complexity with confidence—someone with cross-partisan agility, a practical, solution-focused mindset, and the ability to build trust across a wide range of people, from staff and Board members to grantees, policymakers, and peer institutions.

This leader will help drive a culture that values accountability, ethical rigor, and fresh thinking. At the same time, this person will foster strong collaboration and reinforce the Skoll Foundation’s role as a trailblazer and trusted convener in the social sector.

The GC will oversee legal and grants management operations, managing two direct reports – the Managing Director of Grants Management and the Director of Contracts and Legal Affairs.

Core Responsibilities

1. Strategic Legal Counsel – Serve as the Foundation’s authority on nonprofit, tax, and philanthropic law, including IRS 501(c)(3) compliance, foundation governance, and the legal contours of grant-making and impact opportunities.

• Advise on legally innovative structures to maximize impact, such as: cross-border grantmaking (Equivalency Determinations, Expenditure Responsibility); program-related investments (PRIs) and public-private partnerships.
• Serve as a legal advisor on special initiatives involving innovative grantmaking or funding mechanisms (e.g., recoverable grants, fiscal sponsorships, collaborative funding structures).
• Oversee the contract management process in partnership with the Director of Contracts & Legal Affairs. This includes oversight over a wide range of agreements, including grant agreements (domestic and international), program-related investments (PRIs), donor memoranda of understanding (MOUs), consulting agreements, NDAs, and vendor/service contracts.
• Develop and maintain contract templates and toolkits that reflect best practices, risk mitigation strategies, and compliance with applicable laws and internal policies.
• Oversee the Foundation’s intellectual property portfolio and advises Connect & Champion staff on issues related to intellectual property, including licensing of images and other content (includes Skoll World Forum).
• Oversee outside counsel, managing relationships and budgets for specialized legal needs (e.g., regulatory challenges, international transactions), ensuring value, efficiency, and mission alignment.

2. Cross-Partisan Leadership & Stakeholder Engagement

• Navigate politically complex environments with discretion, ensuring the Foundation’s work remains effective and legally defensible across ideological divides.
• Build and maintain trusted relationships with policymakers, regulators, and peer institutions—regardless of political affiliation—to advance shared objectives.
• Advise leadership on strategic communications and risk mitigation in polarized or sensitive contexts.

3. Risk Management & Compliance

• Lead comprehensive organizational risk assessments across grantmaking, program-related investments, operations, partnerships, and reputational areas.
• Monitor and analyze the evolving legal, regulatory, political, and public opinion landscapes to proactively safeguard the organization’s mission, reputation, and brand.
• Ensure the foundation’s ongoing compliance with applicable federal, state, and international laws and regulations, including but not limited to IRS regulations governing tax-exempt organizations, Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT) rules, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions and screening requirements, and global data privacy laws such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
• Serve as a key advisor on organizational crisis response planning, contingency planning, and reputational risk management.
• Provides training to staff and Board members on a range of nonprofit and private foundation compliance areas.

4. Global Grantmaking & Regulatory Compliance

• Lead the Foundation’s international compliance framework, ensuring adherence to U.S. and foreign regulations (e.g., FATF, anti-terrorism financing laws) in partnership with leadership and the CEO
• Streamline Equivalency Determination (ED) and Expenditure Responsibility (ER) processes for non-U.S. grantees in partnership with the Grants Management Team.
• Collaborate with program teams to resolve legal barriers in diverse geopolitical contexts.

5. Governance & Board Relations

• Act as Corporate Secretary to the Board of Directors, overseeing all governance matters and ensuring alignment with the foundation’s bylaws, policies, and applicable regulations; ensure Board compliance with fiduciary duties, conflict of interest policies, and governance best practices.
• Participate in the planning and execution of all Board and Committee meetings, including the development and management of agendas, presentation materials, communications, and minutes.
• Collaborate with senior leadership and staff to gather content and reports for board and committee review and oversee annual conflict of interest and compliance with other foundation policy and IRS requirements.
• Prepare clear, actionable materials for Board discussions on legal risks and strategic opportunities.
• Educate Board members on evolving regulatory landscapes affecting philanthropy.

6. Thought Leadership & Sector Collaboration

• Represent the Foundation in philanthropic legal networks (e.g., Council on Foundations, International Center for Not-for-Profit Law), contributing to pragmatic, bipartisan legal standards.
• Monitor and interpret policy developments (e.g., tax reforms, global grantmaking rules) with a focus on real-world applicability.

Qualifications & Competencies

Education: Juris Doctor (JD) and active bar membership.

Experience:

• 15+ years of legal practice, including significant experience in nonprofit and foundation law.
• Deep expertise in:
  1. Bipartisan or cross-partisan work (e.g., advising organizations with diverse stakeholders).
  2. Global grantmaking compliance, including Equivalency Determinations (EDs), Expenditure Responsibility (ER), and OFAC regulations.
  3. Managing outside counsel and legal budgets.
  4. Advising or working closely with Boards of Directors, including governance best practices and fiduciary responsibilities.
  5. Enterprise risk management and ethical leadership in philanthropic or nonprofit contexts.
  6. Leading or supporting organizational transformation, especially during periods of growth or change.

Competencies:

• Diplomatic Acumen: Ability to navigate ideological differences while preserving trust and advancing mission.
• Leadership: Pragmatic, adaptable, and focused on real-world, actionable solutions.
• Communication: Exceptional ability to translate complex legal or operational issues into clear guidance for a wide range of audiences.

Ideal Candidate Profile:

• A pragmatic legal strategist who prioritizes impact over ideology.
• Proven ability to work effectively across the political spectrum, from grassroots grantees to federal policymakers.
• Deeply familiar with philanthropy’s legal and operational challenges, with a bias toward actionable, real-world solutions.
• Comfortable leading in complexity, earning trust, and building bridges across internal teams and external partners.

Compensation & Benefits

Highly competitive salary, comprehensive benefits (health, retirement, professional development), and flexible work policies.