Associate General Counsel

Join our team of heroes! Are you seeking daily adventure while advancing your career? Look no further.

Associate General Counsel | Houston, TX Join our team of heroes! Are you seeking daily adventure while advancing your career? Look no further.

SCOPE OF RESPONSIBILITY

The Associate General Counsel (“AGC”) serves as a key member of the OGC and provides strategic and operational legal support across the organization. This role reports directly to the General Counsel and has broad responsibility for legal, regulatory, risk management, and compliance matters. The AGC partners closely with executive leadership, operations, People & Culture, Medical Services, Quality, IT, and Business Development teams to ensure legal compliance while supporting the organization’s mission to safely collect, process, and distribute blood and related products. The AGC also serves as key resource in IP-related matters.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

Regulatory & Healthcare Compliance (30%)

• Provide legal guidance regarding federal and state healthcare laws and regulations, including FDA regulations applicable to biologics and blood establishments; HIPAA privacy and security requirements; and CLIA and laboratory regulatory frameworks.
• Advise on quality systems, inspections, and regulatory audits.
• Partner with Quality and executive leadership to assess and mitigate regulatory risk.
• Support internal investigations and corrective action initiatives.

Corporate & Governance (10%)

• Assist the General Counsel with board and committee matters, including governance documentation.
• Draft and review corporate policies and procedures.
• Support mergers, affiliations, joint ventures, and strategic partnerships.

Contracts & Transactions (20%)

• Draft, review, and negotiate contracts, including hospital agreements, vendor and supplier contracts, clinical trial and research agreements, and IT and data management agreements.
• Advise on contract risk allocation, indemnification, insurance, and limitation of liability provisions.

Risk Management (10%)

• Identify enterprise legal risks and help develop mitigation strategies.
• Oversee claims management and coordinate with outside counsel on litigation matters.
• Advise on insurance coverage and risk transfer strategies.
• Assist in business continuity and crisis response planning.

Intellectual Property (Preferred) (10%)

• Support patent strategy related to laboratory innovations, devices, biologics processes, or proprietary technologies.
• Coordinate with outside IP counsel on patent prosecution and portfolio management.
• Advise on trade secret protection, licensing agreements, technology transfer, and freedom-to-operate analyses.
• Support research and development initiatives from a legal perspective.

Employment & Workforce Matters (10%)

• Advise People & Culture on employment law compliance, investigations, and disciplinary matters.
• Assist with workforce risk management in a regulated healthcare environment.

Data, Technology & AI (10%)

• Advise on data governance, cybersecurity, and health data use.
• Support compliance with evolving AI and digital health regulatory considerations.
• Review software licensing and SaaS agreements.

Just For You:

• Free Parking!
• Career advancement.
• Engaging and exciting opportunity to contribute to organization that SAVES LIVES.

Tips to thrive in our culture:

• Embody our Core Values of Commitment, Integrity, and Respect
• Work to actively create experiences that inspire others to save lives, each and every day.
• Embrace doing it right, making connections, and creating desired experiences.
• Comply with all organizational policies and standards, including safety rules, and be willing to report actual and potential violations to the appropriate supervisor or manager.

Required Qualifications:

• Juris Doctor (J.D.) from an accredited law school.
• Active Texas law license in good standing.
• Minimum four (4) years of relevant legal experience in healthcare, life sciences, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device, or other regulated healthcare environments.
• Strong contract drafting and negotiation skills, with some IP experience.
• Experience working directly with business leaders and cross-functional teams.

We prefer:

• Experience in blood banking, biologics, laboratory medicine, or regulated biologic manufacturing.
• Robust intellectual property experience, particularly patents.
• In-house legal experience.
• Experience supporting nonprofit or mission-driven organizations.
• Experience managing outside counsel.

Competencies:

• Strategic thinker with strong business acumen.
• Ability to translate complex regulatory requirements into practical guidance.
• Strong risk assessment and judgment skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication.
• High integrity and discretion.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and priorities in a dynamic environment.
• Collaborative leadership style.

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Work Environment:

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Who We Are:

Since 1975, Gulf Coast Blood has been one of the nation’s largest community blood centers, serving 170 hospitals across 26 counties. Headquartered in Houston, we support the world’s largest medical complex—the Texas Medical Center—while operating 18 donor centers and hosting more than 7,000 mobile blood drives each year. As an FDA-accredited nonprofit, we provide high-quality human cellular material for both scientific and therapeutic use.

Some Jobs Change Lives. Others Save Them.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER STATEMENT

Gulf Coast Blood is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants for positions are considered without regard to race/ethnicity, color, religion, national origin, age, pregnancy, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status, military status, protected veteran status, disability status, genetic testing results, or any other basis or characteristic prohibited by applicable law, statute, regulation or Executive Order.