Principal Counsel, Data & Privacy

The FoundationWe are the largest nonprofit fighting poverty, disease, and inequity around the world. Founded on a simple premise: people everywhere, regardless of identity or circumstances, should have the chance to live healthy, productive lives. We believe our employees should reflect the rich diversity of the global populations we aim to serve. We provide an exceptional benefits package to employees and their families which include comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with no premiums, generous paid time off, paid family leave, foundation-paid retirement contribution, regional holidays, and opportunities to engage in several employee communities. As a workplace, we’re committed to creating an environment for you to thrive both personally and professionally.The Team"Guidance, Solutions, Integrity" describes the Legal division’s approach to providing responsive legal guidance supporting pursuit of the foundation’s mission and implementation of the foundation's programmatic and operational strategies. The Legal team delivers comprehensive legal services by providing efficient and reliable legal guidance, managing legal risk, and supporting the development of solutions to achieve the mission of the foundation and its affiliated entities.The Legal team partners with our colleagues across the foundation and its affiliated entities to enable mission-driven work by maintaining an efficient, well-run global organization where employees can thrive and make their best contributions. Doing this well requires effective collaboration, strong alignment, and thoughtful planning across both operational and programmatic teams – as well as shared accountability for mitigating risk and optimizing the foundation’s operational resources.Your RoleWe are seeking a seasoned privacy attorney to support our enterprise data privacy program and provide legal guidance across the foundation and its subsidiaries (currently, Gates Medical Research Institute, Gates Philanthropic Partners, and Gates Agricultural Innovations) on processes, transactions, and initiatives relating to personal data, data access and sharing, information management, and data governance. This position supports teams as they develop and implement strategies and technologies to achieve operational effectiveness and enable charitable impact.What You’ll DoSupport a global data privacy program, including global compliance, policy and guidance, notice and legal bases, data subject requests, agreements, records of processing activities, data impact assessments, and transfer impact assessments.Continuously identify and implement process and tooling improvements to enhance data privacy program maturity and efficiency.Provide legal guidance regarding a variety of enterprise data privacy issues.Provide tactical and strategic legal guidance regarding the processing of personal data, including compliance, data classification, data protection, lifecycle management, and data governance.Translate legal requirements into plain language policies, processes, and guidance that are risk-based, practical, and scalable.Review, draft, and negotiate data-related agreements and terms, and develop related templates, playbooks, guidance, and processes.Develop and deliver effective training across all functions, offices, and levels of the foundation and its subsidiaries.Collaborate with technical, operational, and programmatic teams to translate privacy principles and responsible AI principles into pragmatic solutions.Work with colleagues, outside counsel, and third parties across jurisdictions, cultures, time zones, and collaboration tools.Integrate AI/ML tools into daily work to streamline research, drafting, and collaboration.Your ExperienceJD degree and current bar membership in good standing.At least 15 years’ legal experience, with a primary focus on data privacy.Extensive experience with leading or advising global data privacy programs.Extensive experience with GDPR/UK GDPR and at least one major US data protection framework (e.g., HIPAA or FERPA).Demonstrated experience with negotiating simple to complex transactions involving data, including data licenses, data protection addendums, and data sharing agreements.Demonstrated experience with managing outside counsel across jurisdictions and translating legal advice into practical, operational, risk-based guidance.Proven ability to develop and deliver engaging and accessible training across subject matter expertise, cultures, time zones, functions, and levels.Proven ability to translate legal requirements into practical guidance and processes to improve efficiency, scalability, and self-service while appropriately managing risk and enabling innovation and impact.Highly skilled in advising on legal risk, collaborating across functions at all levels, and influencing senior leaders.Other AttributesAbility to work with flexibility, efficiency, enthusiasm, and diplomacy both individually and collaboratively as part of a team effort and effortlessly transition between leading and supporting roles as required.Quickly grasp and embrace new and rapidly evolving subject areas, demonstrating intellectual curiosity and excitement to engage proactively and confidently with unfamiliar topics. Strong interpersonal skills, maturity, sound judgment, and ability to communicate in a clear and compelling manner with internal and external audiences across a variety of tools and forums.Self-motivated and with a strong sense of ownership and urgency; able to take initiative (identify problems that need solving) and independently drive work forward and deliver high-quality results in a fast-paced environment where individuals manage their own portfolios and priorities.Proficient in core and emerging productivity and collaboration platforms, including MS 365, Adobe Acrobat, Salesforce, Smartsheet, and Mural.Eager to leverage emerging technology, including AI and ML tools, to enhance productivity.Willing to perform administrative tasks as needed and be self-sufficient.Strong commitment to the mission of the foundation and its subsidiaries.Highest standards of ethics and integrity.Sense of humility, curiosity, and perspective*Must be able to legally work in the country where this position is located without visa sponsorship.The salary range for this role is $261,700 to $405,700 USD. We recognize high-wage market differences in Seattle and Washington D.C., where our offices are located. The range for this role in these locations is $285,300 to $442,100 USD. As a mission-driven organization, we strive to balance competitive pay with our mission. New hires salaries are typically between the range minimum and the salary range midpoint. Actual placement in the range will depend on a candidate’s job-related skills, experience, and expertise, as evaluated during the interview process.#LI-JM1Hiring RequirementsAs part of our standard hiring process for new employees, employment will be contingent upon successful completion of a background check.Candidate AccommodationsWe’re committed to providing an inclusive and accessible hiring experience for all candidates. If you have a disability or medical condition and need an accommodation at any stage of the application or interview process—such as an ASL interpreter, alternative interview format, or physical accessibility support—we’re happy to help. Please contact View email address on click.appcast.io with the position number and a brief description of your accommodation needs. Requests will be handled confidentially.Inclusion StatementWe are dedicated to the belief that all lives have equal value. We strive for a global and cultural workplace that supports ever greater diversity, equity, and inclusion — of voices, ideas, and approaches — and we support this diversity through all our employment practices.All applicants and employees who are drawn to serve our mission will enjoy equality of opportunity and fair treatment without regard to race, color, age, religion, pregnancy, sex, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, and prior protected activity.SummaryLocation: Seattle, WAType: Full time