Salary: $189,500.00 - $275,000.00 Annually
Location : Port of Portland Headquarters - 7200 NE Airport Way, Portland 97218, OR
Job Type: Full-Time Administrative
Remote Employment: Flexible/Hybrid
Job Number: 02267
Division: Shared Prosperity & Legal
Opening Date: 08/12/2026
Closing Date: Continuous
FLSA: Exempt

The Position
The Port of Portland is hiring a

Deputy General Counsel / Director of Legal & Records

The Deputy General Counsel / Director of Legal & Records provides senior-level legal leadership, strategic advice, and operational oversight in support of the Port's legal affairs and records. This role serves as a key advisor to the General Counsel/Chief Shared Prosperity & Legal Officer and directs the day-to-day activities of the Legal & Records Department. The position ensures high-quality, timely legal services across the organization, assists with departmental leadership, and may act on behalf of the General Counsel/Chief Shared Prosperity & Legal Officer as delegated.
From the hiring manager:

The Deputy General Counsel / Director of Legal & Records advances the Port of Portland's mission of building shared prosperity by leading a team of attorneys and legal professionals through the Port's most complex, high-impact legal work. As the day-to-day leader of the Legal & Records Department, you will elevate operational excellence, champion continuous improvement, and integrate legal technology to strengthen collaboration and service delivery across the organization. Alongside departmental leadership, you will actively practice law across diverse and sophisticated matters, including advising the Chief Shared Prosperity & Legal Officer on governance and strategic legal issues.

Essential Job Duties
Department Leadership & Coordination

• Support overall management of the Legal Department, including resource allocation, budget development and adherence, and continuous improvement of workflows (in particular, utilization of technology to facilitate seamless work with internal and external stakeholders),
• Develop and implement legal strategies that align with the organization's goals and objectives.
• Provide guidance and oversight to attorneys, paralegals, and administrative staff; and supervise management roles.
• Lead or coordinate departmental initiatives, legal coverage plans, and cross-functional work.

Legal Advice

• Provide legal advice on complex matters under Oregon and Federal laws. Topics may include regulation, compliance, litigation risk, public sector operations, procurement, governance, real estate, employment, and business transactions.
• Develop legal strategies that balance risk, operational needs, and organizational goals.
• Review, draft, and negotiate high-impact contracts, intergovernmental agreements, policies, and legal instruments.

Governance, Compliance & Advisory Support

• Advise on statutory, regulatory, and policy compliance, including public meetings, ethics, transparency, and public records obligations.
• Oversee or support responses to public records requests, regulatory inquiries, and compliance audits.
• Provide strategic advisory support and executive-level legal guidance to senior leadership, including development of legal interpretations, risk assessments, and organizational recommendations.
• Lead or contribute to special legal initiatives, organizational projects, or cross-functional efforts requiring senior-level legal judgment.

Full position description available upon request.

Minimum Qualifications

• Ten (10) + years of practice of law across multiple relevant areas.
• Five (5) + years of experience leading complex legal matters in multiple areas of law with at least one long-term client.
  1. In-house experience or outside general counsel experience preferred.
• Three (3) + years of people management experience.
• Juris Doctorate - From an accredited law school
• Active license to practice law in the State of Oregon is required.

Senior-level Knowledge, Skills & Abilities desired for this role

• Legal research methods, case law analysis, regulatory interpretation, and application to complex operational scenarios.
• Knowledge of supervisory practices, including setting expectations, providing work direction, staffing strategies, and managing cross-functional legal workflows.
• Process improvement and/or project management experience is highly desirable, especially in the context of legal technology implementation.
• Business acumen and understanding of how the legal department supports overall business performance.
• Continuous process improvement.
• Analytical, problem-solving, communication, and judgement.
• Leading multidisciplinary teams.

Supplemental and Selection Information
Selection Process (tentative schedule):

• A minimum qualification evaluation of the education, training, and experience of submitted application packets will take place by Talent Acquisition.
• A Subject Matter Expert (SME) Panel will perform an evaluation of experience and training taken from your employment application materials.
• Our goal is to notify candidates who are selected for interviews promptly. We will then schedule the virtual first round of interviews with candidates who successfully passed the SME evaluation. Panel Interviews will be held afterward.
• This role will remain open until filled.

Do you have questions about this job?

Contact us: [email protected]
Safety: The Port promotes safety as a Core value and we seek to eliminate harm through a culture of active prevention, curiosity, evaluation, and action. We comply with safety and health policies and procedures and consistently look for improvements that support operational excellence.

At the Port of Portland, we strive to offer a holistic and comprehensive benefits package for employees and their families. We care about your health by offering highly-subsidized healthcare plans that include alternative care. We look out for you and for family by paying for life and accidental death & dismemberment (AD&D) insurance, short-term and long-term disability coverage. We participate in the Oregon Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) retirement program. We provide access to additional coverage and benefits including pre-tax spending accounts, voluntary term life insurance, a deferred compensation plan, and critical illness and accident insurance policies.

We go above and beyond by offering an award-winning wellness program for all employees to engage in. Employees can tend to their physical and mental health, earn rewards, and create community. Our employee assistance program supports the Port's commitment to emotional and mental well-being by providing mental health services, discounts on local gyms, and pet insurance for companions.

Our commitment to work-life balance ensures you have time to spend with loved ones and do the things you enjoy. We offer generous vacation time that accrues with length of service, sick leave that never expires and can be used for dependent care, health maintenance and mental health, and 8 weeks of paid parental leave - all in addition to 10 paid holidays. As an added bonus - because we know employees use their time off differently - once a year we give employees the opportunity to convert sick leave to personal leave, and to convert vacation leave to either cash, a retirement plan contribution, or a contribution to a Health Savings Account.

Please note: Some benefits vary by job type/group, so please be sure to review your comprehensive benefit guide and/or collective bargaining agreement upon hire to confirm what is available to you.
01

Please confirm your understanding (by answering yes) that the person hired for this role must live within a commutable distance of the Port of Portland offices at the time of hire. Currently, there is not an allocated budget for relocation.

• Yes
• No

02

{From minimum requirements} Please provide the areas of practice you have experience with.
03

{Two-part question} Please provide the largest number of DIRECT reports you have had and how many years of people management you have.
Required Question