General Counsel/Deputy Commissioner

Commonwealth of Massachusetts • Boston, MA

10h • Onsite

About The Position

The General Counsel and Deputy Commissioner (GCDC) is a key leadership role within the Division of Occupational Licensure (DOL), an agency responsible for licensing and regulating over 500,000 individuals and businesses across more than 100 trades and professions in Massachusetts. The GCDC assists the DOL Commissioner in developing and coordinating public policy, serving as a liaison with other state agencies on legal matters, and representing DOL to industry and consumers. This position manages the day-to-day legal operations of DOL, including supervising deputy and assistant general counsels and the director of background checks. The GCDC provides essential legal services, including oral and written opinions on regulatory issues and consumer rights, handles agency correspondence on legal matters, and ensures the agency's compliance with all statutory and legal obligations. Additionally, the GCDC advises on consumer issues, drafts legislation and regulations, responds to legislative inquiries, coordinates responses to public records requests, and liaises with the Attorney General's Office on litigation.

The DOL is committed to protecting consumers by ensuring compliance with state licensing laws and promoting fair and competitive marketplaces. The agency values diversity, inclusion, and mutual respect among its employees, striving to reflect this in all facets and levels of the organization.

Requirements

• Lawyer licensed in Massachusetts
• Deep understanding of MA administrative law
• Deep understanding of consumer protection laws (state and federal)
• Working knowledge of the legislative process in Massachusetts
• Familiarity with applicable substantive and procedural law, both civil and criminal
• Excellent demonstrated communications skills in all areas, both written and oral
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Experience dealing directly with the public, including both consumers and businesses
• Demonstrated ability to interact effectively with personnel at all levels of the organization, business leaders, legislators, and other government officials
• Strong ability to research and develop solutions for problem areas encountered
• Ability to complete assignments and reviews within strict timeframes
• Ability to prioritize responsibilities and successfully manage a multitude of assignments of varying complexity
• Experience with the principles and practices of management, planning, and organization
• Ability to develop ideas and arguments in a concise and logical sequence
• Ability to anticipate and analyze difficult situations and take corrective action to prevent problems from occurring
• Ability to adjust to changing situations to meet emergency or changing statutory and/or regulatory requirements
• Demonstrated skills in Microsoft Office Suite and software programs necessary to support the agency’s operations
• Minimum of 7 years of experience as a lawyer
• Minimum of 3 years of experience in a managerial capacity
• Admitted to the bar of the Commonwealth
• Familiarity with state administrative procedures
• Familiarity with regulated industries
• Familiarity with interpretation and application of complex statutes and regulations
• Experience in public sector
• At least (A) seven (7) years of full-time or, equivalent part-time, professional, administrative, supervisory, or managerial experience in business administration, business management, public administration, public management, clinical administration or clinical management
• Of which (B) at least three (3) years must have been in a managerial capacity.

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with Construction and Trade law

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the agency’s legal, enforcement, and regulatory functions, including Enforcement, Boards and Regulations, Public Records, and Background Checks.
• Establish agency-wide legal and operational priorities, expectations, standards, and practices; monitor workload, timeliness, quality, significant matters, and organizational risk; and ensure accountability across assigned units.
• Provide leadership to subordinate managers and legal staff, including setting priorities, resolving significant or complex matters, developing staff, addressing performance and resource issues, and promoting effective coordination across legal, enforcement, regulatory, and operational functions.
• Formulate and implement legal, enforcement, regulatory, and operational policies that support DOL’s mission, strategic priorities, and effective administration of the Agency’s statutory responsibilities.
• Participate as a member of Senior Management in agency-wide planning, policy formulation, priority setting, and executive decision-making.
• Serve as the Commissioner’s principal legal advisor and provide timely, practical, and well-reasoned counsel regarding significant legal, regulatory, policy, enforcement, organizational, and operational matters affecting DOL.
• Analyze applicable legal requirements, management discretion, available options, relative risks, operational implications, and agency-wide impacts, and recommend courses of action to support sound executive decision-making.
• Anticipate and identify emerging legal, regulatory, policy, operational, and reputational risks and ensure that significant matters are brought to the Commissioner and Senior Management with sufficient context, analysis, and recommendations.
• Advise the Commissioner and Senior Management on the development and implementation of agency policy, including matters involving competing legal, operational, consumer-protection, and regulated-industry considerations.
• Maintain a comprehensive understanding of DOL’s programs, boards, regulated professions, operations, and strategic priorities and apply an agency-wide perspective to legal and policy matters.
• Provide executive legal and operational oversight of DOL’s enforcement functions and promote fair, timely, effective, and consistent enforcement practices across the Agency within applicable statutory and regulatory authority.
• Establish standards and common practices for enforcement and board legal support where appropriate, while recognizing differences in statutory authority, regulatory requirements, and programmatic needs among DOL’s boards and offices.
• Exercise independent judgment in evaluating significant enforcement, board governance, and regulatory issues and determine when differing approaches are legally required or operationally appropriate.
• Direct and prioritize regulatory review and development, including identifying outdated, inconsistent, or operationally problematic requirements.
• Recommend statutory, regulatory, policy, or operational changes necessary to improve the effectiveness, consistency, and administration of DOL programs.
• Oversee and provide significant legal advice, written opinions, memoranda, and other legal analysis concerning DOL’s statutes, regulations, programs, licensing and enforcement activities, and Agency operations.
• Establish, approve, and recommend significant legal positions taken by DOL and exercise independent judgment regarding the interpretation and application of governing statutes, regulations, and other legal requirements.
• Direct subordinate attorneys in legal research, analysis, drafting, and other legal work and establish expectations for the quality, consistency, and timeliness of legal services provided throughout the Agency.
• Coordinate litigation involving DOL with the Office of the Attorney General, including the development and recommendation of litigation strategy and Agency positions.
• Direct the legal review and development of proposed legislation and regulations and advise on proposed legislation affecting DOL, its boards, regulated professions, consumers, or Agency operations.
• Serve as DOL’s principal legal liaison with the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation, the Executive Office of Economic Development, the Governor’s legal and legislative offices, other secretariats and state agencies, and other governmental partners.
• Participate in the formulation and coordination of legal, legislative, regulatory, and policy positions involving DOL and broader Administration priorities.
• Recommend and advocate for DOL positions on significant legal, legislative, regulatory, and policy matters and work with executive leadership to advance Agency priorities within the Administration.
• Represent DOL, as appropriate, before legislators and legislative staff, regulated industries, consumers, stakeholder organizations, and other external parties on significant legal, regulatory, legislative, and policy matters.
• Coordinate significant interagency legal and policy matters and ensure DOL’s interests, responsibilities, and priorities are effectively represented.

Benefits

• Outstanding suite of employee benefits that add to the overall value of your compensation package
• Work experience that supports you, your loved ones, and your future

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Education Level: No Education Listed