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Join our Mission-Driven Team as General Counsel at Utah Housing Corporation in West Valley City, Utah!
We are currently seeking a full-time, experienced, and initiative-taking legal professional to serve as our General Counsel. We are looking for someone who brings strong strategic thinking, sound legal judgment, and a passion for public service. If this sounds like you, Utah Housing Corporation could be the perfect fit!
Your role as General Counsel will be both dynamic and impactful. You will be the principal legal advisor to Utah Housing Corporation (UHC), supporting the mission to serve Utah's affordable housing needs through finance and innovation. You will work closely with the executive team to ensure legal compliance, guide policy development, and help lead the administration of UHC. This role blends high-level legal expertise with operational and strategic leadership.
Key Responsibilities:
Legal and Strategic Leadership: As General Counsel, you will manage a wide range of legal matters including contracts, regulatory compliance, litigation, policy review, and governance. Draft and negotiate complex agreements, such as bond issuances, loan documents, and partnership agreements. Assist with the tracking, review, and development of legislation which relates to UHC's organization, operations and mission. Represent UHC in legal proceedings, hearings, arbitrations, and negotiations. Coordinate the selection and utilization of UHC's contracted sources of outside counsel (primarily engaged for municipal finance/bond counsel, tax credit counsel, foreclosure counsel, labor and employment matters, real estate, and litigation), to effectively address legal challenges and opportunities and ensure we are positioned to succeed in a complex business and regulatory environment.
Administrative Oversight and Risk Management: You will oversee UHC's compliance function, ensuring internal processes support operational excellence. You will draft and revise administrative rules and guide procurement practices, while working closely with executive leadership to promote transparency, efficiency, and accountability. You will also play a critical role in organizational risk management, identifying legal risks and building systems to mitigate them.
Strategic Planning and Partnerships: In addition to legal counsel, you will contribute to business planning and lead initiatives that support UHC's growth and innovation. You will work on legislative and government relations efforts and build partnerships with community stakeholders, elected officials, and industry leaders.
Qualifications to be Successful as General Counsel
- Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school and active membership in the Utah State Bar.
- Minimum of 10 years of legal experience, including at least 5 years in housing, public finance, real estate, public administration, or a related field.
- Demonstrated ability to navigate complex stakeholder relationships, including elected officials, government agencies, developers, financial institutions, and community organizations.
- Strong strategic thinking, analytical, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to support sound decision-making across UHC's business units.
- Excellent legal research, document drafting, editing, communication, and negotiation skills.
- Ability to build and maintain collaborative internal and external working relationships.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite.
- Preferred experience: Real estate law, housing finance, litigation, public administration in Utah, and administrative leadership and management.
Personal Attributes We Value:
We are looking for someone who is deeply committed to UHC's mission of expanding access to affordable housing. Integrity, professionalism, and strong ethical judgment are essential. You will need to be a collaborative team member who can build strong relationships across diverse stakeholders.
Benefits:
The General Counsel position earns $195,000 - $225,000 annually (dependent on qualifications) and includes a comprehensive benefits package. Benefits feature employer contributions to Utah Retirement Systems (URS) and PEHP medical plans. Additional benefits include dental and vision coverage, HSA contributions with a High-Deductible Plan, group life and accident insurance, 401(k), 457, IRA, and Roth IRA options, tuition reimbursement, wellness programs, LinkedIn Learning access, and more. We also offer flexible work hours, a hybrid remote schedule, an onsite fitness center, a 1.6-mile walking path, and a market for your convenience.
About Utah Housing Corporation
UHC is Utah's housing finance agency, created by the Utah Legislature in 1975. UHC's governing statute (the Utah Housing Corporation Act) is currently codified as Title 63H, Chapter 8, Utah Code Annotated 1953, as amended. We are a self-funding independent public corporation. Our mission is to serve Utah's housing needs through finance and innovation, particularly for low- and moderate-income households. We do this through mortgage programs, down payment assistance, multifamily development finance, tax credits, and strategic partnerships throughout the state.
UHC's Governance
UHC is "an independent body politic and corporate, constituting a public corporation" (63H-8-201(1)(a)), and has a nine-member governing board. Three members are ex officio: the State Treasurer or designee, Commissioner of the Department of Financial Institutions or designee, and Director of the Department of Workforce Services or designee. There are six public trustees, each appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate: two represent mortgage lending, two represent home building and real estate, and two represent the public at large.
UHC's Relation to Certain Statutes
UHC is subject to the Open and Public Meetings Act (Title 52, Chapter 4), Section 67-3-12 regarding the Utah Public Finance Website ("Transparency"), and the Government Records Access and Management Act (Title 63G, Chapter 2).
UHC is exempt from the Funds Consolidation Act (Title 51, Chapter 5), the State Money Management Act (Title 51, Chapter 7), the Utah Government Operations Code (Title 63A), the Utah Procurement Code (Title 63G, Chapter 6a), the Budgetary Procedures Act (Title 63J, Chapter 1), the Revenue Procedures and Control Act (Title 63J, Chapter 2), and the Utah State Personnel Management Act (Title 63A, Chapter 17).
UHC's Organization, Mission, and Programs
UHC has nine departments: Executive, Financial Services (controller and accounting), Internal Audit, Capital Markets, Mortgage Banking, Multifamily Finance & Development, Mortgage Servicing, Information Technologies, and Human Resources/Administrative Services.
Our mission is to serve Utah's affordable housing needs through finance and innovation-through public/private partnerships-and our statutory mandate focuses specifically on serving low- and moderate-income Utahns and their families.
UHC helps Utahns and their families achieve homeownership by offering mortgage programs (FHA, VA, and Freddie Mac) coupled with several forms of down payment assistance, available through a network of approximately sixty-five mortgage loan originating financial institutions. Single-family programs are funded primarily through the regular issuance of taxable and tax-exempt mortgage revenue bonds.
UHC services both first mortgages and second mortgage down payment assistance loans-our mortgage servicing department serves more than 18,000 Utah households.
We also work with developers to finance the construction of affordable rental housing, primarily through the administration of federal and state Low-Income Housing Tax Credit programs and as a conduit issuer of tax-exempt private activity housing bonds.
UHC enters strategic partnerships with local housing authorities, associations of governments (AOGs), and chapters of Habitat for Humanity® to support rural housing initiatives. We also administer a legacy cities home purchase and rehabilitation program and provide construction finance for affordable for-sale condominiums for first-time buyers.
Residency Requirement Must be a resident of Utah or willing to relocate.
If you are ready to make a difference with Utah Housing Corporation, apply today and be part of a team committed to excellence and community impact!
Salary- $195,000 - $225,000/hour
