Legal Counsel in Washington, District of Columbia at Verra

About Verra.

At Verra, we've created a culture of flexibility + autonomy. You'll be able to work with remote teams from diverse countries and industries. Wherever possible, we aim to find mutually agreeable solutions for international hiring.

Verra is a global leader helping to tackle the world’s most intractable environmental and social challenges. As a mission-driven non-profit organization, Verra is committed to helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve livelihoods and protect natural resources across the private and public sectors. We support climate action and sustainable development with standards, tools and programs that credibly, transparently and robustly assess environmental and social impacts and enable funding for sustaining and scaling up projects that verifiably deliver these benefits. We work in any arena where we see a need for clear standards, a role for market-based mechanisms, and an opportunity to generate significant environmental and social value.

Verra manages a portfolio of standards, including the:

Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) -- the world’s leading carbon crediting program, with more than 2000 registered projects in 80 countries, and accounting for two-thirds of all voluntary carbon market transaction volume.Sustainable Development Verified Impact Standard (SD VISta) -- a flexible framework for assessing and reporting on the sustainable development benefits of project-based activities.Climate, Community & Biodiversity (CCB) Standards -- to identify projects that simultaneously address climate change, support local communities and smallholders, and conserve biodiversity.Plastic Waste Reduction Program -- to enable robust impact assessment of new or scaled-up waste recovery and recycling projects around the globe.

Legal Counsel

Location: Remote, Europe, LATAM, or US; some overlap with US business hours is required

Reports to: General Counsel

The Opportunity.

As an integral member of Verra’s Legal, Risk and Governance Department (LRGD), you will provide substantive legal and administrative support to all of Verra’s internal and external stakeholders. You will provide support for all levels of the organization, instructing and working closely with all LRGD team members and members of the Registry Team, Program Management, IT, HR, Fundraising, Finance, and Program Development. You will also work closely with external legal counsel, as required.

The Role.

Management of commercial contracts: Manage the lifecycle of commercial contracts, including drafting, reviewing, and negotiating non-disclosure agreements, consulting contracts, partnership agreements, fundraising agreements, memoranda of understanding, data sharing, and licensing agreements. Support contract administration, modifications, and oversee execution, tracking, and archiving, and repository management to promote readiness and consistent recordkeeping. Corporate Governance: Draft and review internal governance policies and processes and draft board minutes, resolutions, and related documents to ensure compliance with applicable governing requirements and alignment with organizational goals. Grievance Redress Process: Acknowledge filed complaints, input information into case management records and coordinate with PMD to respond to complaints using standard form templates. Regulatory Compliance: Assist with responding to inquiries from regulatory agencies and manage collection of documents for production to agencies when requested. Intellectual property: Support enforcement of Verra’s IP portfolio. Collaborate with licensees to negotiate and formalize IP and data licensing agreements. Monitor potential trademark infringements and manage resolution strategies. Manage the Logo mailbox by addressing inquiries and ensuring adherence to established policies. Registry support: Advise the Registry Team on registry-related queries concerning the interpretation of the Verra Registry Terms of Use, and other registry-related requests.Litigation: Provide document management, data synthesis, and case analysis to support contentious matters and litigation processes. Operational Support: Streamline legal workflows by managing invoice tracking, mailbox management, internal communications, and the LRGD intranet homepage. Serve as a primary contact for legal queries, triaging inquiries and requests to appropriate LRGD or Verra team member to support prompt resolution.

Our Team.

The Legal, Risk and Governance Department is a globally distributed team of legal and non-legal professionals located across North America, Europe, Latin America, and the Asia-Pacific region. Our team brings together a rich diversity of professional experiences, including private practice, in-house counsel roles, government service, regulatory affairs, compliance, governance, and policy development. Despite our geographic reach and varied backgrounds, we operate as a highly collaborative and collegial team that values mutual respect, teamwork, knowledge-sharing, and the professional growth of our colleagues. We are united by a shared commitment to providing practical, business-oriented legal and governance support to Verra’s internal stakeholders, serving as trusted advisors who help advance organizational objectives while protecting Verra’s mission, reputation, and long-term sustainability.

What we’d like to see.

Five or more years of relevant work experience in a law firm or in-house legal department reviewing, drafting, and negotiating commercial contracts and providing advice on corporate governance. Relevant educational and professional qualifications, such as qualification to practice law in at least one jurisdiction with a valid practising equivalent authorization.Technical competence in at least three of the key areas of responsibility listed above. It is recognized that not all candidates will necessarily have experience in all areas.The ability to provide clear, robust and pragmatic legal advice on complex areas of law.Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities with an eye for detail. The generalist mindset, with interest inworking across multiple functional areas, learning new areas of law, taking on higher levels of responsibility, and supporting senior leadership. Strong organizational and time-management skills with the ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks and competing priorities.A track record of building and maintaining effective working relationships with people across, diverse departments, functions, and geographies.A professional and emotionally intelligent manner with the ability to display sound judgment, while working on complex, confidential and nuanced matters across a large group of jurisdictions.Familiarity with environmental, energy and social markets, such as carbon markets, carbon crediting, and offsetting, is an asset. As a global organization based in the US, we’ve adopted English as a standard business language for written and verbal communication.

Physical Demands. 

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by a teammate to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision requirements due to computer work. 

Work Environment.

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those a teammate encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

Ability to sit at a computer terminal for an extended period.  Access to reliable Wi-fi with a distraction-free workspace. 

Work at Verra.

Verra is a global leader helping to tackle the world’s most intractable environmental and social challenges. As a mission-driven non-profit organization, Verra is committed to helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve livelihoods, and protect natural resources across the private and public sectors.

We’ve created a culture of flexibility + autonomy. You’ll be able to work with remote teams from diverse countries and industries. Wherever possible, we aim to find mutually agreeable solutions for international hiring.

Verra is a globally distributed organization and benchmarks compensation using local labor market data. Compensation varies based on location, experience, and internal equity considerations. Applicants are encouraged to contact our HR team for information regarding the salary range applicable to their preferred hiring location. Applicable salary range information will be provided prior to the interview process.

Salary is one component of Verra’s total compensation package which also includes:

Medical, vision and dental careVerra contributions to each employee’s retirement plan/pension scheme with employee and employer contributions subject to statutory regulationsPaid leave, comprising 22-30 days  vacation, annual sick leave, holidays, and sabbatical after five years of service

How to Apply.

Please send us a Cover letter (not to exceed one page) and your Resume/CV (not to exceed two pages). 

Verra provides equal opportunity for all job applicants and employees and is committed to providing a work environment free of discrimination. As such, we conduct our recruitment and hiring without regard to race, color, religion, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, marital status, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, genetics, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, and local law.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, perform crucial job functions, and receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact humanresources@verra.org to request accommodation.