Counsel & Director of Legal Affairs

ASSOCIATION FOR MATERIALS PROTECTION AND PERFORMANCE•Houston, TX

25d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Counsel & Director of Legal Affairs serves as AMPP’s primary in-house attorney and legal strategist, delivering clear, practical, business-oriented legal guidance that protects the organization, reduces risk, and accelerates enterprise-wide goals. This role oversees the full spectrum of AMPP’s legal functions, including governance, compliance, employment law, contract management, intellectual property protection, data privacy, and regulatory oversight, ensuring AMPP operates with integrity, transparency, and legal soundness across a global footprint. This position is the organizational owner of all agreements—contracts, MOUs, partnership agreements, licensing and IP agreements, data-use agreements, vendor and service agreements, and event and venue contracts. The Counsel & Director of Legal Affairs safeguards AMPP’s intellectual property portfolio, including standards, certifications, educational content, research outputs, and digital products, ensuring appropriate protection, use, commercialization, and value realization. Working closely with the CEO, Senior Director of Board Relations, Executive Team, and senior leaders across AMPP, the role ensures legal alignment with organizational strategy and business objectives. The Counsel & Director of Legal Affairs advances AMPP’s core values to connect, listen, anticipate, simplify, and serve while enabling responsible growth and enterprise-wide decision-making.

Requirements

Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited U.S. law school.
Active bar membership in at least one U.S. state; eligible for in-house counsel registration in Texas.
8–12+ years of progressive legal experience in corporate, in-house, government, or association settings.
Expertise in commercial contracting, corporate governance, compliance, IP protection, employment law, and risk management.
Ability to translate complex legal issues into clear, practical business guidance.
Exceptional written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, cross-functional, international environment.

Nice To Haves

Experience in a law firm, corporate legal department, or regulatory agency.
Experience working with professional associations, nonprofits, certification bodies, or standards organizations.
Familiarity with ISO/IEC 17024, 17065, or 17020 accreditation frameworks.
Experience in data governance, cybersecurity, AI/ML policy, or technology contracting.

Responsibilities

Lead corporate governance and corporate maintenance activities, ensuring legal compliance and operational integrity.
Partner with the Senior Director of Board Relations to support the Board of Directors and committees, including preparation of legal documents, resolutions, policies, and governance materials.
Advise the CEO, Board of Directors, and Board Committees on governance best practices, bylaws, committee charters, fiduciary duties, conflicts of interest, and overall nonprofit regulatory and organizational compliance.
Ensure AMPP maintains proper records, charter documents, governance frameworks, and legal filings.
Draft, review, and negotiate a broad range of commercial agreements supporting AMPP’s global portfolio of products, programs, services, events, strategic partnerships, and future organizational growth initiatives.
Oversee all agreements such as MOUs, partnership contracts, vendor and service agreements, event/venue contracts, IP agreements, sponsorship agreements, data-use agreements, and licensing arrangements.
Partner with Procurement, Finance, Operations, Events, and Commercial teams to structure agreements that balance risk management with business enablement.
Lead contract lifecycle processes, templates, approvals, and workflow governance.
Support local M&A activity, including due diligence, transaction review, and integration.
Serve as the first point of contact for compliance-related questions and concerns within the organization.
Lead compliance oversight across areas including tax-exempt organization rules, privacy regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), export controls, accreditation requirements, and nonprofit regulatory obligations.
Ensure compliance with applicable domestic and international data privacy, security, and industry-specific regulations, including U.S. federal and state privacy laws, payment and data security standards, child privacy requirements, and foreign data protection regimes.
Support and strengthen AMPP’s compliance framework, including whistleblower procedures, conflict-of-interest management, and ethics programs.
Partner with Group Compliance to implement and monitor legal compliance policies at the local and global levels.
Provide hands-on support in internal compliance investigations.
Liaise with federal, state, and international authorities on legal and regulatory matters.
Protect AMPP’s intellectual property portfolio, including standards, certification marks, trademarks, copyrighted content, digital products, research outputs, and educational materials.
Develop and manage licensing strategies for standards, learning products, certification materials, and digital tools.
Oversee trademark registration, enforcement, and proper use of AMPP-owned marks.
Support the Chief Standards Officer and standards leadership to ensure appropriate legal protection of standards development activities.
Manage and resolve claims, disputes, and pre-litigation issues in a manner that safeguards AMPP’s interests and supports fair outcomes.
Serve as the primary liaison to external legal counsel for litigation, employment law matters, intellectual property issues, and specialized legal needs.
Oversee legal strategy, documentation, and cost management for external legal services.
Provide legal guidance to HR and leadership on employment-related matters, including hiring, discipline, terminations, accommodations, and internal investigations.
Assist in developing and maintaining handbooks, codes of conduct, workplace compliance policies, and training materials.
Support organizational compliance related to harassment prevention, discrimination, workplace safety, and employee rights.
Contribute to AMPP’s data protection strategy and compliance with global privacy requirements.
Advise on digital governance, data licensing, cybersecurity risk, technology contracts, and emerging AI/ML regulatory expectations.
Support legal review for digital platforms, online services, databases, and data-driven product innovations.
Provide proactive, solutions-oriented legal support to commercial teams, R&D, Operations, Membership, Education, and Events.
Advise on legal implications of new business models, strategic partnerships, growth initiatives, and product development.
Deliver in-person legal and compliance training across the U.S. to support commercial law, ethics, contract risk, and compliance awareness.
Ensure legal considerations are embedded early in business decision-making and aligned with organizational goals.