Chief Legal Officer

The Chief Legal Officer (CLO) is a key member of ARC’s executive leadership team, providing strategic legal guidance and executive oversight of procurement, contracts, and compliance. Inclusive of legal acumen, success in this role requires accountability, timely decision-making, strong communication skills, and the capacity to build trusted partnerships across the agency.

The CLO will ensure ARC’s legal, procurement, and contracting operations are efficient, transparent, and customer-focused. This leader will be expected to deliver timely, practical counsel, while fostering collaboration and high performance across the Legal & Procurement functions. Meeting deadlines, building trust, and maintaining a strong service orientation are essential to success in this role.

• Serve as ARC’s chief legal advisor to the CEO, Board, Chiefs, and senior leadership.
• Provide timely, solution-oriented legal counsel on contracts, procurement, grants, employment law, governance, ethics, compliance, and risk management.
• Lead and modernize ARC’s procurement and contracts functions, ensuring efficiency, accountability, and compliance with federal, state, and local requirements.
• Oversee the development, negotiation, and review of contracts, solicitations, agreements, and MOUs.
• Establish and uphold standards of timeliness, transparency, and professionalism in all legal and procurement services.
• Partner with internal departments as a collaborative advisor, ensuring proactive support for agency needs.
• Provide guidance on labor and employment law, ensuring compliance with state and federal statutes.
• Align ARC’s policies and practices with applicable laws, regulations, and best practices.
• Manage legal risk proactively while supporting organizational agility and innovation.
• Oversee outside counsel as needed, ensuring effective and cost-conscious representation.
• Monitor changes in laws and regulations and advise leadership on impacts to the agency.
• Build and maintain a culture of responsiveness, customer service, and teamwork within Legal & Procurement.

• Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school; active membership in the Georgia State Bar required.
• Minimum of 12 years of progressively responsible legal experience, including at least 5 years in a senior leadership role.
• Experience with government, municipal, nonprofit, or public agency law strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated expertise in procurement law, contract management, and vendor negotiations.
• Proven track record of meeting deadlines and delivering exceptional client service.
• Strong interpersonal and communications skills.
• Demonstrated ability to build trust, foster collaboration, and balance legal risk with practical solutions.
• Commitment to accountability, integrity, equity, and the mission of public service.

Knowledge of:

• Federal, state, and local laws applicable to public agencies, including contract, procurement, employment, ethics, and administrative law.
• Legal principles, practices, and procedures relevant to government, nonprofit, and intergovernmental operations.
• Public procurement regulations and competitive solicitation requirements.
• Principles of governance, risk management, compliance, and organizational policy development.
• Best practices in contract negotiation, drafting, and administration.
• Employment law, workplace policies, and human resources compliance.
• Budgetary and financial principles as they relate to contracts, vendors, and legal risk.
  
  

Skills in:

• Delivering timely and solution-oriented legal advice to senior leadership and staff.
• Negotiating, drafting, and reviewing complex contracts and agreements.
• Leading and modernizing procurement and contract administration processes.
• Managing sensitive issues with discretion, integrity, and professionalism.
• Clear, persuasive, and concise communication—both written and verbal.
• Building consensus, fostering collaboration, and resolving conflicts.
• Managing outside counsel effectively and cost-efficiently.
• Organizing, prioritizing, and executing multiple high-stakes projects under tight deadlines.
  
  

Ability to:

• Balance legal risk with organizational priorities to achieve practical, mission-focused outcomes.
• Build and sustain trusted partnerships across all levels of the organization.
• Exercise sound judgment, accountability, and responsiveness in high-pressure situations.
• Lead with emotional intelligence, demonstrating empathy, tact, and respect for diverse perspectives.
• Establish and uphold a culture of timeliness, professionalism, and customer service within Legal & Procurement.
• Interpret, analyze, and apply complex legal and regulatory information to real-world organizational challenges.
• Provide strategic leadership while remaining detail-oriented and attentive to compliance.
• Adapt to evolving legal and regulatory landscapes while maintaining organizational agility.

Additional Information

About ARC:

The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) is the regional planning and intergovernmental coordination agency that focuses on issues critical to the region’s success, including growth and development, transportation, water resources, services for older adults and workforce solutions. ARC is dedicated to unifying the region’s collective resources to prepare the metropolitan area for a prosperous future. This is done through professional planning initiatives, the provision of objective information and the involvement of the community in collaborative partnerships. 

ARC Strategic Framework

Vision — ONE great REGION

Mission Statement

The Atlanta Regional Commission fosters thriving communities for all within the Atlanta region through collaborative, data-informed planning and investments.

Our Goals

1. Healthy, safe, livable communities in the Atlanta metro area.
2. Strategic investments in people, infrastructure, mobility, and preserving natural resources.
3. Regional services delivered with operational excellence and efficiency.
4. Diverse stakeholders engage and take a regional approach to solve local issues.
5. A competitive economy that is inclusive, innovative, and resilient.

Our Core Values

Excellence | A commitment to doing our best and going above and beyond in every facet of our work allowing for innovative practices and actions to be created while ensuring our agency’s and our colleague’s success.

Equity | We represent a belief that there are some things which people should have, that there are basic needs that should be fulfilled, that burdens and rewards should not be spread too divergently across the community, and that policy should be directed with impartiality, fairness and justice towards these ends.

Integrity | In our conduct, communication, and collaboration with each other and the region’s residents, we will act with consistency, honesty, transparency, fairness and accountability within and across each of our responsibilities and functions.

Application Process:

The Atlanta Regional Commission is looking for individuals who enjoy working in a public service environment where the mission is to improve the quality of life for the citizens of the Atlanta region. ARC serves as a forum where leaders come together to discuss and act on issues of regionwide consequence, so it is important that our staff share the public entrepreneurial spirit that defines ARC.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, ARC does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, national origin, sex, religion or disability.

For questions about recruitment, or to request a reasonable accommodation during the application, interview, or testing process, please contact ARC at 404-463-3100 or Human Resources via email at hr@atlantaregional.org.