General Counsel

The Barr Foundation’s mission is to invest in human, natural, and creative potential, serving as thoughtful stewards and catalysts. As stewards, Barr nurtures vital community assets. As catalysts, the Foundation advances breakthrough ideas to shape our collective future. We work in partnership with nonprofits, foundations, the public sector, and civic and business leaders to elevate the arts and creative expression, advance equitable solutions for climate change, and enable all students to discover and actualize their unbounded potential. Based in Boston, Barr focuses regionally and selectively engages nationally.

Founded in 1997, Barr has grown to become one of the largest charitable foundations in New England and has contributed over $1.7 billion to communities throughout the region. With assets over $3 billion, Barr’s 2026 grantmaking budget is $130 million. We focus our grantmaking on arts and creativity , climate , and education – complemented by grants to strengthen New England’s social sector and for targeted special initiatives .

A set of core values defined by our founding trustees express our beliefs about what constitutes effective philanthropy and guide how the Barr Foundation carries out its mission. Barr is committed to strive for impact, act with humility, invest in leaders, take the long view, center racial equity, embrace risk, and demonstrate curiosity. These values also guide our hiring process and the workplace culture that we shape together. We aim to make Barr an inclusive workplace where all team members can bring their full and authentic selves and be supported to learn and grow.

For more information about Barr, visit barrfoundation.org .

About the General Counsel

The General Counsel is Barr’s first in-house legal leader, responsible for providing strategic and practical legal guidance across the foundation’s grantmaking, governance, regulatory compliance, organizational and legal risk, and external engagement.

Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer (COO) for organizational alignment and operational integration, the General Counsel (GC) serves as a strategic legal advisor and is a member of the Executive Leadership Team. The GC enables Barr’s ability to navigate and comply with legal and regulatory complexity while enabling effective, mission-aligned decision making and organizational preparedness that supports Barr’s philanthropic work.

This is a generalist legal role that combines:

• Legal advisory across programmatic and operational activities
• Governance and Board of Trustees support
• Risk identification and mitigation
• Legal infrastructure development (templates, policies, tools)

The role is designed to support and enable Barr’s work, bringing clarity to complex situations (grantmaking structures, partnerships, and public engagement activities) and helping teams operate with confidence they are in compliance with all applicable laws. This position provides practical legal guidance that supports responsible decision-making across the organization and plays an important advisory role in supporting Barr’s stewardship of resources and upholding its reputation of integrity. Above all, this is a role defined by a posture of enabling Barr’s mission: the General Counsel helps the foundation pursue its mission with greater awareness of legal complexity and risk. Their orientation is not to reflexively minimize and/or eliminate all risks.

This role arrives at a pivotal moment for Barr. The foundation is entering a period of strategic discovery and organizational maturation, and this position is being established alongside other senior additions to the leadership team. The General Counsel will help steward that change, bringing steadiness and sound judgment as Barr continues to grow into its stature over the coming years.

Key Responsibilities

Enterprise Legal Advisory and Risk Management

• Partner with the President/CEO, COO, and leadership team to identify, assess, and provide sound judgment to manage legal and regulatory risks across the foundation, including its grantmaking, partnerships, and operational activities
• Serve as an active member of the executive leadership team, working collectively with peers to lead Barr as a whole organization — supporting foundation-wide strategy, enabling mission aligned work across departments, and modeling Barr’s values
• Partner with the COO and other leaders on organizational preparedness efforts related to legal, regulatory, governance, and operational continuity considerations
• Provide legal perspective and actively engage with Program Directors in planning for the foundation’s approach to grantmaking strategy, new initiatives, and public policy
• Assess potential legal implications and reputational implications of external messaging/public communications on Barr’s programmatic work
• Provide guidance to leadership on legal considerations related to external engagement, including public policy or advocacy
• Support risk-informed decision-making that balances compliance with mission effectiveness

Strategic Legal Counsel

• Stay informed about and monitor the legal and regulatory environment affecting the philanthropic sector to identify emerging risks that may affect the foundation or its work. In partnership with Program teams, lead resulting work to mitigate risk
• Engage outside counsel, managing relationships and budgets for specialized legal needs (e.g., regulatory challenges), ensuring value, efficiency, and mission alignment
• Develop and maintain templates and toolkits that reflect best practices, risk mitigation strategies, and compliance with applicable laws and internal policies
• Manage all litigation involving the foundation, including coordination with and oversight of outside counsel and applicable insurance carriers. Assist the organization in responding to inquiries from regulatory agencies, governmental officials or the media regarding activities of the foundation

Legal Support for Grantmaking and Program Activities

• Guide internal learning and build practices for how staff can effectively engage in house counsel
• Provide guidance and legal considerations during grant proposal development, particularly for grants that involve elevated legal complexity or risk, including expenditure responsibility, policy-related activities, and other complex arrangements
• Partner with the Director of Grants Management to ensure grantmaking processes incorporate appropriate legal safeguards, and support development of approaches to new or innovative funding models
• In partnership with Grants Management provide oversight and review over a wide range of agreements, including grant agreements, program related investments (PRIs), memoranda of understanding (MOUs), consulting agreements, nondisclosure agreements (NDAs), and vendor/service contracts
• Serve as a legal advisor on special initiatives involving innovative grantmaking or funding mechanisms (e.g., fiscal sponsorships, requests for proposals, direct charitable expense contracts, collaborative funding structures)
• Establish practices that integrate legal review earlier in strategy development and grant design so potential issues can be identified proactively rather than late in approval workflows

Contracts, Agreements, and Legal Infrastructure

• Develop practical guidance, escalation frameworks, and legal templates that support efficient and consistent organizational decision-making
• Provide legal considerations related to data governance, document retention, information stewardship, cybersecurity, and responsible use of emerging technologies including AI
• Review and advise on contracts, agreements, data use agreements, memoranda of understanding, and other legal documents
• Support negotiation and drafting of legal provisions where appropriate
• Ensure consistency and clarity in legal documentation used across the foundation

Governance Counsel to Board of Trustees

• Serve as counsel to the Board of Trustees, on governance matters and ensuring alignment with the foundation’s bylaws, policies, and applicable regulations
• Ensure strong governance practices and Board compliance with fiduciary duties, conflict of interest policies, and governance best practices
• Collaborate with leadership and staff to gather content and reports for board and committee review and oversee annual conflict of interest and compliance with other foundation policy and IRS requirements
• Review all board materials to ensure that they are clear and actionable for Board discussions on legal risks and strategic opportunities
• Educate and advise Board members on evolving regulatory landscapes affecting philanthropy
• Ensure all necessary corporate documents, notices, minute books, and federal and state filings are properly maintained and up to date

Additional Cross-Functional Legal Partnership

The General Counsel will partner with:

• People & Talent on employment-related legal considerations
• Communications on external messaging, advocacy, and reputational risk
• Finance and Investments on legal aspects of financial stewardship and
• Partnerships
• Support cross-functional initiatives that involve legal or regulatory considerations

Desired Qualities, Experiences, and Competencies

The General Counsel possesses many of the following professional and personal abilities, attributes, and experiences:

• J.D. degree from an accredited law school and admitted to practice in Massachusetts
• At least 15 years of legal practice experience demonstrating executive presence, ability to translate legal complexity into practical guidance
• Experience in the non-profit and/or philanthropic sector
• Calm judgment under ambiguity and/or pressure and ability to take initiative in selecting the most effective solutions in a practical, results-oriented approach, tempered by an appreciation for legal complexity and risk
• Excellent conceptual thinking, analytical, interpersonal, strategic planning, and project management skills
• Capacity to lead working groups and work productively and contribute in a cross-disciplinary team structure
• Ability to bring together and build relationships with and among external parties by inspiring trust and candor in others
• A personal approach grounded in humility, empathy, integrity and curiosity
• Demonstrates a high level of self-awareness and is committed to continued self-development
• Strong attention to detail and accuracy
• Integrity, discretion and ability to handle confidential matters
• Strong facilitation and negotiating skills
• Experience in drafting complex legal documents
• Outstanding communication skills: listening, writing, speaking
• Commitment to accountability and transparency

Compensation and Benefits

The starting salary range for this role is $325,000-$350,000 and will be determined by factors including experience, readiness for the role, and organizational equity. The Barr Foundation offers an attractive benefits package including generous health, dental, vision, and life insurance; strong retirement savings program; 15 vacation days to start and a parental leave and health leave policies.

Barr is a Compact Signer for the 100% Talent Compact , which is administered by the Boston Women’s Workforce Council, a unique public-private partnership between the Boston Mayor’s Office and Greater Boston employers dedicated to eliminating the gender and racial wage gap. We are proud to be part of this first-in-the-nation approach to reaching pay equity for women and people of color across our region.

Flexible Work Environment

The Barr Foundation embraces a hybrid workplace that seeks to balance time in the office with colleagues, time in the community, and remote work. Roles that require more frequent in-office engagement may have different in-person expectations due to the nature of their job responsibilities.

Located along the waterfront in Boston’s North End, Barr’s offices are in the historic Pilot House and adjacent Two Atlantic Avenue building. Our walls and halls feature the work of contemporary artists, and the office space is designed to provide bright, open, flexible spaces for collaboration and independent work, and to host meetings and events. With expansive views of Boston Harbor, Barr is steps away from Boston’s “Freedom Trail” and bike share and near to restaurants, shops, museums, and parks.

To apply, send your resume and cover letter to Steve John, Partner, John and Snyder, LLC by clicking Apply to this Job below and mention GoInhouse.com when applying. All inquiries and/or application materials sent directly to the Barr Foundation will be redirected to John and Snyder, LLC for review, which may cause significant delay in evaluation and response.

On behalf of the Barr Founation, we thank you for your interest in the General Counsel opportunity!

Equal Opportunity Employer

The Barr Foundation is an equal opportunity employer committed to building and fostering an inclusive workplace where all employees feel their experiences, perspectives, and ideas are valued. The Foundation does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), sex, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, military status, or other protected characteristics in its hiring, compensation, promotion, or other employment activities. The Foundation will endeavor to make a reasonable accommodation for applicants and employees with a disability unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on our organization.