About the role

Reporting to the Senior Counsel, Virtual Learning, the Counsel will be responsible for supporting the Virtual Learning and Higher Education teams with all legal related matters in a hands-on way.  The ideal candidate will be a proven leader in the legal commercial space, who has deep expertise in leading complex, strategic deals, as well as a passion for education, innovation and consumer centric mindset. The candidate should be business and data oriented. 

Key responsibilities

Develop an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the K-12 virtual school and higher education businesses, their markets, products, customers, and regulatory environment. Draft, review, and set up depository agreements to ensure compliance with legal and regulatory standards. Support the Bids & Contracts team on reviewing and responding to RFPs and related legal matters. Assist in negotiating third-party service agreements. Contribute to the development and implementation of new Dual Enrollment revenue streams. Play the role of legal business partner for the Virtual Learning and Higher Education teams, participating in significant strategic and operational decisions, not only in the context of legal counsel but with practical commercial input as well. Provide support on key strategic partner and vendor deals.  Develop a strong rapport and working relationship with business counterparts across the enterprise to help drive the delivery of effective legal services, constantly improving processes and contracts models.  Develop an in-depth knowledge and understanding of Pearson’s businesses, its markets, products, customers, competitors, and regulatory environment.  Ability to work under pressure, handle deadlines, manage complex projects and multiple tasks in a fast-paced and complex business environment. 

About you

Licensed and eligible to practice law in the United States.  Law degree from an ABA accredited school.  Strong background and relevant experience in corporate law, contract drafting and negotiation, subject matter expertise in the RFP processes and commercial transactions. Strong attention to detail and excellent analytical skills. Great legal and business acumen; ability to think commercially, to integrate legal and business issues and to partner with business leaders effectively. Skills to build strong working relationships and collaborate closely with key cross-functional stakeholders. Thrives in a fast-paced environment.  Excellent drafting, written and verbal communication skills and ability to communicate legal requirements in balanced, creative and pragmatic ways to all levels of the organization.   Proficiency in legal research, regulatory environments, and document management software. Ability to balance multiple competing priorities. Adaptability, flexibility and creative approach to problem-solving. Anticipate and identify legal issues and develop legal strategies and solutions as appropriate. Confident and consensus-oriented but capable of independent thought and action. Confidence in his/her judgement derived from experience dealing with a broad range of challenging issues.  Effective management of outside counsels' relationships and related fees. Budget management capabilities, delivering budget targets. Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work collaboratively in a team setting. Proactive approach to problem-solving and ability to work independently when required. Familiarity with educational institutions or EdTech industry.  

Leadership Skills 

Leads by example through proactive actions and hands-on leadership. Accountability, ownership and intrapreneurship attitude to make independent and quality decisions. Good balance of do, do and inform, ask in decision making and actions.  Helps people to learn by coaching them and providing honest and transparent feedback. Attract and retain great talent to seed and sustain the organization. Culture carrier who nurtures and leads with focus on diversity, equity and transparency.   Self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy. Great judgment, high integrity, good value system, high bar. Hard working, humble, human oriented. Focused on execution, quality and trust. Delegates effectively.  

Innovative Mindset 

Humble and curious to always learn new things. Complex and strategic thinking and problem solving-oriented. Relies on varied, diverse, and high-quality data sources to inform decisions. Pushes the edge, thinking out of the box, being innovative and creative to solve problems of yesterday with solutions of tomorrow.  Open minded, embraces changes promoting resilience and adaptability in an ambiguous environment with unpredictable changes. Ability to plan, structure, introduce and execute changes while bringing people along. 

Commercial Acumen 

Delivers exceptional results. Structured, inclusive, and timely, sense of urgency and decision-making skills.  Takes calculated and smart risks where appropriate and at the same time monitors risks and makes decisions that minimize it. Adeptly manages crises.  Builds effective relationships with stakeholders outside the organization and achieves great levels of internal stakeholder relationships through partnership and value delivery. 

Your Reward & Benefits 

We know you’ll do great work, so we give a lot back with some of the best benefits in the business. We understand that one size doesn’t fit all, so our workplace programs meet the different needs of our diverse teams and their families too.

Compensation at Pearson is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, and specific location. As required by the California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maryland, New York State, New York City, Washington State, and Washington DC laws, the pay range for this position is as follows: 

The minimum full-time salary range is between $110,000 - $115,000.

This position is eligible to participate in an annual incentive program, and information on benefits offered is here.