About the Chief Legal Officer Position:The Chief Legal Officer (CLO) serves as the Company's senior legal executive and strategic advisor to the Chief Executive Officer, Board of Directors, and Executive Leadership Team. The CLO is responsible for developing and executing the enterprise legal strategy while ensuring the organization effectively manages legal, regulatory, governance, compliance, privacy, and enterprise risk across all aspects of the business. As a trusted business partner, the CLO provides practical, solutions-oriented legal counsel that enables growth while protecting the organization from legal, regulatory, contractual, and reputational risk. This role oversees all corporate legal matters, healthcare contracting, enterprise compliance, privacy, internal audit, government affairs, and corporate governance while managing relationships with outside counsel and regulatory agencies. The CLO plays a critical role in supporting Avalon's continued growth by partnering with executive leadership on strategic initiatives, client relationships, mergers and acquisitions, litigation management, public policy, and enterprise risk management.
This position is eligible for remote work, but quarterly travel will be required to Avalon's corporate office located in Tampa, Florida.
Chief Legal Officer - Essential Functions and Responsibilities:- Serve as a strategic advisor to the CEO, Board of Directors, and Executive Leadership Team on legal, regulatory, governance, and enterprise risk matters.
- Serve as Corporate Secretary, overseeing Board governance, resolutions, committee support, and corporate records.
- Advise leadership regarding strategic initiatives, acquisitions, joint ventures, investments, and other corporate transactions.
- Develop legal strategies that enable business growth while appropriately managing organizational risk.
- Build trusted relationships across the organization as a collaborative business partner and advisor.
- Lead all legal affairs of the organization, including commercial transactions, litigation management, employment matters, intellectual property, corporate governance, and regulatory compliance.
- Draft, negotiate, and oversee complex commercial agreements with a primary focus on healthcare payer contracts, provider agreements, strategic partnerships, technology agreements, vendor contracts, and business associate agreements.
- Provide legal guidance on new products, strategic initiatives, artificial intelligence, data use, and healthcare innovation.
- Manage legal risks associated with corporate operations and recommend practical business solutions.
- Direct all litigation, dispute resolution, and legal investigations while managing outside counsel.
- Serve as the executive legal advisor for all healthcare payer contracting activities.
- Lead legal negotiations involving national and regional health plans, delegated service agreements, value-based arrangements, and strategic partnerships.
- Partner with Commercial, Operations, Product, and Clinical leadership to structure innovative client agreements while protecting Avalon's legal and financial interests.
- Advise leadership on reimbursement, delegation, utilization management, privacy, and regulatory implications of contractual arrangements.
- Provide executive oversight of the Corporate Compliance and Privacy programs.
- Ensure organizational compliance with HIPAA, HITECH, CMS, NCQA regulations, state insurance regulations, fraud, waste and abuse requirements, and other applicable healthcare laws.
- Oversee enterprise compliance investigations, corrective action plans, and regulatory reporting.
- Direct privacy governance, breach response, and enterprise data protection strategies.
- Foster a culture of ethics, integrity, and compliance throughout the organization.
- Provide executive oversight of the Internal Audit function and enterprise risk management activities.
- Establish risk-based audit priorities that support operational excellence and regulatory compliance.
- Monitor organizational risks and ensure appropriate mitigation strategies are implemented.
- Present audit findings, risk assessments, and compliance updates to executive leadership and the Board.
- Lead the organization's government affairs strategy at both the federal and state levels.
- Develop relationships with legislators, regulators, industry associations, and other key stakeholders.
- Manage lobbying activities and outside government affairs consultants.
- Monitor legislative and regulatory developments affecting Avalon and proactively advise executive leadership.
- Represent Avalon before governmental agencies and industry organizations as appropriate.
- Lead and develop a high-performing legal, compliance, privacy, audit, and government affairs organization.
- Provide coaching, mentoring, and career development for direct reports and department staff.
- Manage departmental budgets, outside legal counsel, consultants, and vendor relationships.
- Establish departmental goals, performance metrics, and succession plans.
- Drive operational excellence through process improvement and technology enablement.
Chief Legal Officer - Minimum Qualifications:- Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school.
- Active license to practice law in at least one U.S. jurisdiction.
- Minimum of 15 years of progressively responsible legal experience, including significant in-house healthcare experience.
- Minimum of 8 years of executive leadership experience managing legal and compliance functions.
- Demonstrated experience reporting directly to executive leadership.
- Extensive experience negotiating and drafting complex healthcare contracts, particularly with national and regional health plans.
- Deep knowledge of healthcare regulatory frameworks, including HIPAA, HITECH, CMS regulations, Medicare, Medicaid, fraud and abuse laws, and state insurance regulations.
- Experience leading enterprise compliance and privacy programs.
- Experience overseeing outside counsel and litigation strategy.
- Experience supporting mergers, acquisitions, strategic partnerships, and corporate transactions.
- Experience in a healthcare technology, healthcare services, or managed care organization.
Chief Legal Officer - Preferred Qualifications:- Private equity experience.
- Experience with delegated payer services, utilization management, diagnostic management, or laboratory benefit or pharmacy benefit management.
- Dotted or direct line reporting into a Board of Directors.
- Experience leading government affairs and lobbying initiatives.
- Certification in Healthcare Compliance (CHC), Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP), or Corporate Governance certification is a plus.
