General Counsel

The Oversight Board is a new body that will make binding and independent decisions about the most challenging content issues on Facebook and Instagram. The first members of the Board were announced in May 2020 and include Helle Thorning-Schmidt, former Prime Minister of Denmark, Tawakkol Karman, Nobel Peace Prize winner, Michael McConnell, Director of Stanford’s Constitutional Law Center, and many other extraordinary and diverse leaders and thinkers from around the world. The Board expects to become fully operational and begin considering cases in late 2020.

The Oversight Board Administration is the team of full-time staff who will support Board Members in carrying out their duties. The Administration will have offices in London, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., and operate with a global scope.

You can learn more about the Board at www.oversightboard.com

Role and Responsibilities

The role of the General Counsel is to provide proactive legal, regulatory, compliance support and advice to the Oversight Board Administration. This important role will report directly to the Director of Oversight Board Administration and be a member of the Leadership Group, informing decision making across the Oversight Board Administration.

As the Board reviews content cases, the General Counsel will be advising the Oversight Board Administration's Content Team. As such, with support from external legal counsel, the post holder will provide in-depth legal advice in relation to areas such as freedom of expression and fundamental rights, defamation, privacy, and other areas relevant to digital activity such as consumer and contract law.

The post holder will work closely with the Case Development Team, which sits in the Content Team, in its capacity supporting Board Members in their deliberation of cases, as well as with the Communications Team regarding publications and other materials. The post holder will also liaise with Facebook regarding legal obligations pertaining to cases.

Candidate Requirements

Juris Doctor or LLM from an accredited law school. Admitted to the bar and in good standing or otherwise authorized to practice law in the US;

Extensive experience in a US or international law firm and/or in-house legal department, including experience in an advisory capacity to the senior management;

Proven experience of providing advice on regulatory matters and litigation and risk management;

Experience with online, mobile, social networking and digital technology issues;

Confidence to operate with autonomy and authority, but with excellent judgment as to when to seek advice or input from colleagues or external counsel;

Strong organisational and time management skills in order to balance working on multiple projects in parallel;

Must be a strategic, big-picture thinker who understands, appreciates and can appropriately balance legal, business and creative objectives.

Beneficial skills/experience

Experience with creating and monitoring processes and policies for an international organisation.

Experience in the area of human rights, freedom of expression, privacy and data protection.

What we can offer you

A competitive salary of circa $240,000 and an excellent benefits package, which includes:

Annual Employer Contribution equal to 12% of pay to the 401(k) plan with no requirement for the employee to contribute;

22 days of Paid Time Off per calendar year in addition to Statutory Public Holidays;

Robust Paid Parental Leave (Maternity and Paternity) of 39 weeks at 100% salary;

Comprehensive Medical, Dental and Vision plans;

Access to our Short-term and Long-term Disability, Life Assurance and Business Travel Insurance Packages;

Childcare, Commuting and Wellbeing Support;

Plus more.

The Oversight Board Administration is an equal opportunities employer. We welcome diversity and look forward to receiving applications from all candidates, regardless of gender, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, age or veteran status.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled. If you are submitting an application, please note that we will only be in touch if your application is shortlisted for interview. This job advert will be removed from this page once the role has been filled. Please see our privacy notice here.