Position Overview
The Bank is seeking a Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary to lead its Legal Division at a pivotal moment for the Bank and the Federal Reserve System broadly. As a member of the Bank's 10-member Management Committee and Corporate Secretary to the Board of Directors, the General Counsel will provide legal counsel and strategic guidance at the highest levels of the institution.

The successful candidate will manage a team and report to the First Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, working in partnership with the Bank's President & CEO. The General Counsel is a trusted advisor across the full range of legal, regulatory, and institutional matters facing the Bank. This role is based in Minneapolis.

This is a rare opportunity to step into a senior executive role at one of the nation's most respected public institutions at a moment of consequence for the Federal Reserve System. The successful candidate will find a collegial, intellectually rigorous culture, , and the satisfaction of contributing to an institution whose mission of pursuing a growing economy and stable financial system is felt throughout the organization.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Legal Leadership & Executive Advisory

• Serve as the Bank's senior-most legal leader and primary legal advisor to the President, COO, Management Committee, and Board of Directors, providing guidance that is frank, nuanced, and grounded in sound judgment across a wide range of legal issues.
• Participate as a full member of the Bank's 10-member Management Committee, contributing to the setting of institutional strategy and priorities beyond the legal function.
• Anticipate emerging legal risks - including constitutional, regulatory, employment, payments, technology, and governance matters - and develop proactive approaches to address them, including engagement of outside counsel where appropriate.
• Identify when outside expertise is needed, source best-in-class external resources, and translate specialized legal advice into clear institutional guidance.
• Serve as Corporate Secretary to the Board of Directors, supporting Board governance, agenda-setting, director recruitment and onboarding, and Board member engagement with the highest standards of service and professionalism.
• Oversee the Bank's ethics function, serving as a visible role model for integrity and ethical conduct across the institution.

Federal Reserve System Engagement

• Represent the Minneapolis Fed at the System level, including with the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., peer Reserve Bank General Counsels, and external stakeholders and organizations.
• Serve as a peer leader among Federal Reserve System General Counsels, helping to shape how the System approaches shared legal challenges.
• Stay current on legal and policy developments relevant to the Federal Reserve System, including legislative and judicial matters with implications for Reserve Bank operations and independence.

Legal Division Management & Team Development

• Provide comprehensive leadership of the Legal Division, including hiring, coaching, development, and performance management of legal staff.
• Build bench strength and create meaningful succession within the team, with an eye toward developing the next generation of legal leadership at the Bank.
• Oversee the Bank's use of outside counsel - including selection, management, and cost discipline - ensuring that external resources are engaged strategically and effectively.
• Refine the Legal Division's operational model, processes, and culture in alignment with the Bank's values of service, integrity, inclusion, initiative, accountability, and objectivity.

Broad Legal Coverage

• Provide counsel on the full range of legal matters relevant to a Federal Reserve Bank, including banking and financial regulation, employment law, payments and technology, contracts, governance, and Federal Reserve Act compliance.
• Oversee litigation matters, including strategic direction on when to engage, manage, resolve, or escalate, and manage relationships with litigation outside counsel.
• Support ethics culture and compliance across the Bank, serving as a visible role model for integrity and ethical conduct.

Qualifications

• Juris Doctor from an ABA-accredited law school. Must be licensed to practice in Minnesota, or admitted to the bar of any U.S. state with the ability and commitment to obtain Minnesota bar admission within a reasonable time following the start of the role.
• The role requires a minimum of ten years of progressively responsible legal experience and at least five years of experience managing people.
• Demonstrated ability to provide strategic legal advice across multiple subject-matter areas.
• Experience advising C-suite executives, boards of directors, or equivalent senior stakeholders.
• Deep public service orientation or mission-driven motivation; an understanding of and genuine enthusiasm for the Federal Reserve's role in the U.S. economy.

Key Attributes

• Exceptional judgment and intellectual breadth: Able to advise confidently on familiar ground and identify the boundaries of that ground; resourceful in sourcing expertise and synthesizing it for institutional decision-making.
• Strategic advisor mindset: Thinks beyond the legal question as presented; brings a point of view on how legal issues connect to institutional strategy, risk, and mission.
• Executive presence and communication: Credible and compelling with the President, COO, Board of Directors, and peer institutions; able to communicate complex legal matters with clarity and conviction to both legal and non-legal audiences.
• Mission and values alignment: Committed to public service and the Federal Reserve's mission; embodies the Bank's core values of service, integrity, inclusion, initiative, accountability, and objectivity.
• Institutional navigation: Comfortable operating within a complex, institutional environment while remaining focused on outcomes.
• Team builder and developer: Invests in the people around them; creates a culture of excellence, inclusion, and growth within the legal function.
• Collegiality and collaboration: Operates as a true partner across the Management Committee and the Federal Reserve System; earns trust through consistency, candor, and follow-through.

Full Time / Part Time
Full time

Regular / Temporary
Regular

Job Exempt (Yes / No)
Yes

Job Category
Executive Family Group

Work Shift
First (United States of America)