Vice President & General Counsel

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Job Description

The Vice President and General Counsel serves as WNET’s principal legal advisor and a key business partner to the President and CEO as the organization transforms from a classic public television station to a modern digital studio. This leader will bring creativity and deep experience in deal-making to help WNET develop, finance, own, and distribute content across multiple platforms and partners, while providing strategic oversight and hands-on leadership across Legal and Business Affairs, corporate governance, labor and employment, compliance, and risk management. This player-coach role leads a team of six (6) and serves as Secretary to WNET’s Board of Trustees.

This is a rare opportunity for a creative, commercially-minded lawyer to help reinvent a beloved public media institution. The role calls for a leader who will think strategically and also roll up their sleeves. The ideal candidate will bring deep expertise in media, intellectual property, labor and employment, and nonprofit law, a dealmaker’s instincts, and a commitment to innovative, independent media for the public good.

Position Description:

Legal Leadership

• Serve as principal legal advisor to the President and CEO and senior leadership on legal, regulatory, compliance, and risk matters
• Lead and build the Legal and Business Affairs team, assessing current capabilities, filling open roles, and adding the expertise WNET needs, including business affairs and employment law

Dealmaking and Studio Growth

• Structure and negotiate complex content transactions with production partners, distributors, funders, and strategic partners, including co-productions, co-financing, equity stakes, distribution, licensing, and international agreements
• Develop creative deal structures, such as co-ownership, profit participation, and waterfall arrangements, that position WNET as a studio with multiple distribution partners
• Make the business case as well as the legal case, bringing a commercial, solution-oriented approach that helps WNET pursue new opportunities
• Evaluate and rethink legacy distribution, rights, and windowing arrangements so they fit a digital, multi-platform world, building in compelling incentives for WNET and its partners
• Lead talent negotiations and design creative compensation and partnership structures to attract top on-air and creative talent
• Help shape new business models, streaming and digital platforms, and revenue opportunities for WNET’s content and IP
• Protect and maximize WNET’s intellectual property, including copyrights, trademarks, rights and clearances, fair use, and content ownership

Board and Governance

• Serve as Secretary to the Board of Trustees, advising the Board, its committees, and leadership on governance, fiduciary duties, conflicts of interest, bylaws, and nonprofit compliance

Compliance, Labor, and Risk

• Partner with leadership on regulatory matters across broadcast, digital, and production, keeping WNET compliant with FCC, FTC, IRS, and 501(c)(3) requirements
• Identify and mitigate legal risk across content, employment, fundraising, technology, and data privacy, and track legislative developments affecting media, free speech, nonprofits, labor, and digital rights
• Lead legal matters for WNET’s unionized workforce, including collective bargaining and labor relations strategy, and build in-house labor and employment capability
• Manage outside counsel and legal expenditure within a fixed budget, reducing reliance on outside firms

Qualifications:

• J.D. from an ABA-accredited law school and admission to practice law in New York, in good standing
• Minimum of 12 years of progressive legal experience, including significant leadership responsibility
• Significant experience in entertainment, studio, production, or media transactions, including production financing, distribution, rights and windowing, and talent agreements
• Strong business judgment and a creative, commercially-minded approach to deals, with a track record of structuring non-traditional partnerships
• Expertise in media law, First Amendment law, nonprofit law, intellectual property, labor and employment law, collective bargaining, and/or regulatory compliance
• Demonstrated ability to serve as a trusted advisor to executive leadership and governing boards
• Experience leading and building legal or business affairs teams while remaining hands-on in the work, and managing outside counsel
• Experience at a studio, network, streamer, production company, or other media or entertainment organization strongly preferred; a public media background is not required
• Commitment to mission-driven, independent media and to WNET’s focus on arts, culture, and knowledge

This position requires an on-site presence of a minimum of three (3) days per week, with additional in-office days as needed to meet business and organizational needs. The WNET Group reserves the right to change and/or modify the hybrid schedule at its discretion.

It is the policy of WNET not to discriminate against any applicant for employment, or any employee because of age, color, sex, disability, national origin, race, religion, veteran status or any classification protected by law.

The WNET Group offers competitive salaries, excellent benefits, and a supportive working environment. Salary ranges are based on benchmarked nonprofit and industry related data provided by an outside consulting firm and are commensurate with skills and experience. The hiring salary range for this position is $310,000 - $375,000. Internal equity considerations will be reviewed before making a final offer.