General Counsel, Chief Legal Officer

Scope of the Role

The General Counsel, Chief Legal Officer (GC, CLO) serves as the executive of the Legal and Regulatory function(s). This position also serves as an Officer for Golden Spread Electric Cooperative, Inc. (GSEC). This position provides strategic insight and leadership in the areas of accountability, ensuring Cooperative alignment with the overall GSEC strategic direction. The GC, CLO ensures that areas of accountability’s risks are communicated and mitigated to the appetite of GSEC’s leadership and Board of Directors (BOD).

The GC, CLO is responsible for building trusted and credible relationships with GSEC Board of Directors. This position is accountable for representing GSEC’s interests and brand at external organizations and forums.

The GC, CLO influences and encourages employee development and growth through personal behaviors that demonstrate Cooperative Principles, GSEC’s Mission, Vision, and Values. Influence and inspire commitment and engagement by advocating for employees while balancing the needs of the Cooperative overall.

The position fosters a culture within the organization to promote compliance by the Board of Directors, management and employees with all legal requirements, rules and regulations of regulatory agencies, Electric Reliability Council of Texas and Southwest Power Pool market requirements, and company policies and procedures.  It also fosters a culture to ensure that behavior in the organization meets the company's Standards of Conduct.  The GC, CLO is a person of high integrity and ethics. 

*This position is expected to lead the compliance department as the Chief Compliance Officer after the first year of onboarding. 

Essential Job Functions

• Provide leadership and recommendations to CEO regarding area of accountability issues and needs, prioritization of organizational resources, rates, issues, and interactions.
• Develop and monitor Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to identify opportunities for improvement in area of accountability.
• Be an organizational leader to ensure staff are motivated and communicated to achieve organizational-wide goals.
• Lead the legal, regulatory, market affairs, and *compliance team to ensure staff is developed and successfully performing the function and positively impacting the GSEC culture.
• Ultimate accountability in the areas of market and regulatory risk and *compliance issues including advising on legal, market and regulatory aspects of the company's business strategies, implications of current and future business structures and legal entities.
• Ultimate accountability for leading the legal function, including providing leadership and BOD legal advice and counsel on company issues, matters of significance, and requirements, and managing internal and external counsel.
• *Ultimate accountability for leading the Enterprise Compliance function including ensuring the CEO, appropriate Board committees, and Board are informed regarding important compliance issues and material violations and the results of the compliance/ethics efforts of the corporation, promoting a culture of compliance, and directly engaging in interactions with regulators and oversees the use of outside counsel and consultants on compliance issues of major importance.
• *Accountable for compliance with the Golden Spread Safety Policy including all Safety Procedures and third party and Member contractual obligations.
• Other duties as assigned.

Complexity of Problems

This position confronts highly complex issues and risks and must utilize depth and breadth of experience to assess business environment changes and impact. The GC, CLO must then make sound recommendations. Issues impact the entire organization, all GSEC staff and Member cooperatives. Issues and decisions have executive level financial impact on the organization and Member cooperatives. Matters must be managed with significant importance placed on deadlines.

The individual must be able to think quickly and apply policies, processes, and procedures effectively and accurately with no or minimal disruption to the core business of the Cooperative and its Members. This position must be able to influence, collaborate, and support ET and BOD during a time of significant change.  This position requires a high level of emotional intelligence, self-awareness, integrity, discretion, and confidentiality. This position requires the ability to handle highly confidential and sensitive matters in a timely manner.

Internal and External Contacts

Internal Contacts: Employees at all levels within the organization

External Contact: Member Cooperatives, BOD, governmental regulatory agencies (FERC, PUCT, TCEQ, EPA, NERC, RRC, SPP, ERCOT), outside counsel and counsel for counterparties, counterparties, external stakeholders (ACES, NRECA), consultants, vendors

Work location and conditions – Office, Amarillo, TX

Work location and conditions – Office, Amarillo, TX

Competencies

• Collaboration – Core Competency 
• Ethics & Integrity – Core Competency 
• Delivery Results – Core Competency 
• Decision Making and Judgment
• Relationship Building
• Strategic Planning

FLSA Status

Exempt

Education, Knowledge, and Experience Required

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• J.D. from an accredited law school required.
• Admission to a State Bar required.
• 15 to 20 years’ progressive experience as a practicing attorney. 
• Minimum 10 years’ experience in public utility law or equivalent experience in private practice.
• 5 to 10 years’ experience in the Cooperative sector.
• Successful track record of performance in executive or managing partner positions.
• Demonstrated ability to lead teams by inspiring, engaging, and motivating employees including in times of change. 
• Demonstrated ability to be a positive, encouraging team member and develop and build employees.
• An understanding of and commitment to the cooperative business model and cooperative principles.
• Working knowledge of electric cooperatives and of relationships between distribution member systems and a generation and transmission cooperative (G&T).
• Demonstrated ability to effectively resolve conflicts and find solutions using judgment, tact and diplomacy.
• Experience working on matters of corporate governance and with a board of directors. 
• Must have the ability to speak at professional meetings and debate/communicate on issues related to all areas of regulatory, legal, legislative, and compliance.
• Must have the ability to communicate both verbal and in writing legal, legislative, regulatory, and compliance information in a clear and concise manner to audiences of varying degrees of subject familiarity.
• This position requires an in-depth knowledge of legal and regulatory law and the ability to oversee the application of legal and regulatory theory and practice.
• This position requires an understanding of compliance and risk management.