Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel

The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) seeks applications and nominations for the position of Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel (CLO). This new position reports directly to President Selena M. Grace and serves as NWCCU’s most senior legal executive, providing legal strategy, oversight, and accountability for all legal and regular functions across the agency.

The CLO directly supervises the Senior Vice President, Legal & Regulatory Affairs, sets legal strategy and risk tolerance in partnership with the President and Commission, personally handles or directly oversees the agency's highest-risk and highest-complexity legal matters, and serves as the final quality-control checkpoint for legal work product before it reaches the President, Commissioners, or external parties. Success in this role will be measured by the soundness, timeliness, and reliability of U.S. Department of Education (USDE) recognition, complaints oversight, By-Laws, Standards, and Policies (BSP) governance, and legal and regulatory risk management, as well as by the performance and development of the legal function as a whole.

This position requires the highest level of confidentiality and ethical standards. The incumbent must maintain attorney-client privilege, handle sensitive institutional information appropriately, and demonstrate unwavering integrity in all professional dealings. Compliance with professional responsibility rules and continuing legal education requirements is mandatory.

This is a senior leadership role with a remote work arrangement, with periodic travel to Commission meetings, site visits, national conferences, and the NWCCU’s Redmond, WA office. The NWCCU operates on Pacific Time.

Information about minimum and preferred qualifications, key priorities, and NWCCU can be found in the leadership profile linked here: