Who We Are
The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation (STBF) is a private grant-making foundation with a U.S. home office in Omaha, Nebraska and a global home office in Kigali, Rwanda. Our staff is comprised of over 100 individuals across two continents. With annual spending in excess of $1 billion, we are one of the largest private foundations in the U.S.
The Foundation is unusual among donors of its size in that it focuses on just two primary areas of grantmaking: (1) supporting women’s health and reproductive freedom in the U.S and around the world, and (2) enabling low-income students in Nebraska to attend and succeed in college. Unlike most foundations, STBF will not exist in perpetuity. After Mr. Buffett passes away (born in 1930), the Foundation’s grantmaking will increase substantially and then sunset over approximately 10-15 years.
Our Commitment to Equal Opportunity
We are committed to creating a workplace where employees thrive both personally and professionally. This includes not only creating a diverse team where everyone feels represented, respected, and included, but also embedding these values across our work and practices. All applicants should expect equality of opportunity and fair treatment without regard to any protected characteristics.
Our Commitment to Pay Transparency
STBF is committed to pay transparency and fairness. The salary range for this position is $300,000 – $334,000 per year, which reflects our good faith estimate of what we expect to offer. Where a candidate falls within – or, in special circumstances, above – this range will depend on factors such as experience, skills, qualifications, and internal equity. We encourage open discussions about compensation throughout the hiring process.
Team Summary
The Associate General Counsel will be a member of the Legal team. The Legal team provides responsive legal guidance in support of STBF’s mission and implementation of its programmatic and operational goals. The Legal team provides comprehensive legal services to meet STBF’s legal needs, including contracts and grant agreements, the special rules applicable to U.S. private foundations, compliance with various Foundation policies and employment matters. Legal offers efficient and reliable legal guidance, manages legal risk, and supports the development of solutions to support the foundation’s work, in collaboration and alignment with STBF’s other operational and programmatic teams and with a goal of shared accountability for mitigating risk and optimizing the foundation’s operational resources.
Job Overview
The Associate General Counsel is a senior member of the Foundation’s in-house legal team, serving as a strategic advisor, trusted partner, and hands-on practitioner. Reporting to the General Counsel, the Associate General Counsel leads and delivers legal support across a wide range of matters, with a central focus on operational excellence and leveraging technology to build efficient processes for contracting, compliance, and operations.
This role bridges strategic legal counsel and operational excellence, advising leadership and program teams on complex issues while also developing systems, policies, and training that enable a high-performing and compliant foundation. The ideal candidate brings sound judgment, humility, and the ability to translate legal nuance into practical, mission-aligned guidance. This role requires a self-starter who can work autonomously and take ownership of complex projects from start to finish.
Location & Travel Requirements
- This role is based in the U.S. Applicants outside the country will not be considered.
- This is a full-time, indefinite role.
- This role may be hybrid or remote. If the finalist is remote, they will be expected to travel to the Omaha office at least 4 times per year.
- This role requires an estimated 4-6 trips per year, to Omaha and Kigali.
Responsibilities
Contract Management
- Build and maintain business processes related to contract administration (e.g., continuous improvement re: processes, guidance and templates, including seeking new ways to leverage technology.
- Draft and negotiate a wide variety of contracts, including vendor agreements, service contracts, purchase agreements, and confidentiality agreements.
Records Management
- Lead Foundation’s Record and Information Management program as RIM Owner.
- Ensure compliance with the records management policy and retention schedule.
- Support training of employees on proper records handling and management.
- Support continuous improvement and provide ongoing guidance on document retention, including legal hold procedures, especially as new policies and infrastructure are introduced.
Internal Compliance
- Facilitate compliance with, and ensure current knowledge regarding applicable domestic and foreign legal and regulatory requirements in all geographies where the foundation maintains a legal presence or is otherwise active.
- Assist in the development, review and maintenance of Foundation policies and procedures to comply with applicable laws and internal governance standards; collaborate with cross-functional teams to interpret policy requirements and support consistent implementation across the Foundation.
- Provide guidance regarding ethics and compliance, entity registration for remote workers and offices, employee and guest safety, information security, events, travel visas, incident response, and facilities support globally.
- Facilitate legal support of annual financial audits.
Strategic Advisory and Operational Systems
- Represent the legal function with credibility and diplomacy, balancing compliance rigor with strategic flexibility and establishing a relationship of trust as a strategic advisor to key partners.
- Build and sustain a culture of trust, accountability, and proactive risk awareness across the Foundation.
- Build durable and efficient systems and frameworks that strengthen internal capacity, improve compliance, streamline business processes, and reduce long-term reliance on external counsel.
Other Legal Support
- Identify legal issues across a wide range of subject areas, while specializing in the laws applicable to enterprise operations.
- Proactively engage with foundation teams to understand strategies and goals, support objectives of internal client groups, develop creative solutions, and resolve issues in line with the foundation’s values and risk philosophy.
- Serve as the legal team’s liaison and primary point of contact for our work for clients and partners. Manage outside counsel as needed.
- Lead and facilitate Foundation-wide projects and contribute to other teams.
Training and Development
- Support training and education of foundation staff on legal and compliance issues.
- Explore appropriate use of generative artificial intelligence in legal work.
- Identify areas and processes for improvement, make recommendations, and collaborate with other teams to implement and communicate changes.
*These responsibilities may change or evolve over time in alignment with the Foundation’s needs and initiatives.
Qualifications
Background and Experience
- Required
- Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from an accredited law school.Active admission to at least one state bar, in good standing.10+ years of legal practice as in-house counsel at a global organization, law firm, government agency, or a combination of these.
- Knowledge of laws governing 501(c)(3) organizations and private foundations, and understanding of how legal frameworks intersect with philanthropic strategy, operations, and financial management.
- Preferred
- Demonstrated expertise in transactional work and compliance; experience with grantmaking.Prior experience advising private foundations, tax exempt organizations, or comparable work supporting a large nonprofit; familiarity with both U.S. and international operations.
- Background in one or more of the following is advantageous: intellectual property, employment law, data privacy, controversies, or international compliance.
- Experience in records and information management, including retention schedules, legal holds, and discovery across systems such as Office 365, SharePoint, and mobile platforms.
- Familiarity with legal and compliance technology and software is a plus.
- Excellent drafting, negotiation, research, writing, and presentation skills, with the ability to translate complex legal concepts into clear, actionable guidance for nonlegal stakeholders.
- Strong analytical, planning, and project management skills, with the ability to prioritize, meet deadlines, and manage complex initiatives.
- Demonstrated ability to stay current on emerging laws and trends affecting philanthropy, including global compliance developments, data privacy, and AI governance.
Attributes for Success
- Strategic Legal Partner – Operates as a trusted advisor to leadership and program teams; translates complex legal nuance into practical, mission aligned guidance that advances operational and program goals.
- Operational Excellence & Systems Thinking – Builds durable, scalable systems and frameworks that streamline contracting, compliance, and enterprise operations; proactively reduces long term reliance on outside counsel through process and tooling.
- Compliance Rigor with Pragmatism – Maintains current knowledge of domestic and international legal requirements; balances risk management with strategic flexibility; fosters a proactive risk culture across the Foundation.
- Cross-Functional Influence and Collaboration – Builds trust quickly across operations and program teams; serves as a credible point of coordination with internal clients and external counsel.
- Technology & Data Mindset – Leverages legal/compliance software and explores responsible use of generative AI to improve quality, speed, and consistency of legal operations and training.
- Judgement, Ownership, and Humility – Operates as a self-starter who can work autonomously, owns outcomes ‑end-to-end, and exercises sound judgment under ambiguity.
Shared Values
- A genuine understanding of, and appreciation for, the significance of our values: (1) Respect for Donor Intent, (2) Integrity, (3) Humility, and (4) Love of Humanity.
- An alignment with the Foundation’s progressive values, including unambiguous support for individual reproductive freedom.
To Apply
Interested, qualified professionals should submit an electronic copy of 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 STBF will be redirected to John and Snyder, LLC for review, which may cause significant delay in evaluation and response.
On behalf of the Foundation, we thank you for your interest in the Associate General Counsel opportunity.
