Associate Counsel - Purdue Applied Research Institute

About the Purdue Applied Research Institute: The Purdue Applied Research Institute, LLC (PARI) seeks an experienced, highly motivated, and resourceful leader with the proven ability to join its leadership team as the Associate Counsel. As a Purdue Next Moves strategic initiative, PARI was launched in July 2021 as the new non–profit applied research arm of Purdue University, which has more than 1,900 full–time faculty, 50,000 graduate and undergraduate students, and many one–of–a–kind research facilities on its West Lafayette campus. Purdue's engineering, cybersecurity, and agriculture programs are consistently ranked in the Top–10 for both quality and scale, and the university had record research expenditures of $780M in fiscal year 2022. With more than a $110M, 5–year strategic investment, PARI was created to extend the reach and impact of Purdue's deep talent and research strengths in engineering, science, technology and policy by enhancing the university's ability to translate discoveries into innovative solutions and services for mission–driven federal, industry, NGO, and foundation sponsors. PARI's structure and outcome–driven culture is providing the agility and responsiveness to deliver large and complex programs in national security and defense, international development, and other advanced technologies. Position Summary The Associate Counsel serves as PARI's primary in–house counsel and as an attorney affiliated with the broader Purdue legal team. This position will support PARI in pursuing and securing a wide range of complex government contracts, cooperative agreements and grants, and in implementing policies, procedures and system processes to ensure PARI's compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. In consultation with Purdue's general counsel and with support as needed from outside counsel, this position will provide advice and assistance to the PARI leadership team in connection with PARI's pursuit and procurement of project award opportunities and with its overall compliance program. The successful candidate will research and analyze legal issues; draft legal memoranda and provide opinions on complex issues; negotiate and draft agreement documentation; provide advice on compliance with applicable laws and PARI policies; and provide legal services on other matters as assigned. In addition to working closely with PARI's leadership team and divisions, the Associate Counsel will interact with other Purdue attorneys, administrators and faculty, outside counsel, University–affiliated organizations, licensees of intellectual property, and funding partners, including governmental grantors and other contract counterparties. The Associate Counsel can also expect to collaborate closely with personnel supporting the Purdue Research Foundation's Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) and Purdue's Sponsored Program Services. This position is a key member of the PARI senior leadership team and reports administratively to the PARI Executive Director and substantively to Purdue's general counsel. Essential Duties and Responsibilities: Participate in thought leadership as PARI navigates its early growth stages and seeks to become a leading applied research institute. Provide the primary legal support for pursuing and delivering on major federal and industry award opportunities in consultation with Purdue's general counsel and with assistance from outside counsel as needed. Advise on rapidly evolving laws and regulatory policies, procedures, and protocols required for successful acquisition and delivery of complex federal awards, including programs with restricted and classified research, work in high–risk and hazardous environments, and in foreign countries. Create and maintain PARI's contracting processes and procedures for federal and industry acquisition and assistance, including DOD, IC, and USAID. Collaborate with PARI's divisions and with counterparts within Purdue University on contract and award compliance for the entire life cycle ranging from proposal development, submission, implementation, and close–out. Identify, recruit, onboard, and ultimately supervise a Director of Contracting for PARI, who will be assigned the task of managing contract compliance activities. Develop and refine federally funded contract, subcontract, grant, cooperative agreement policies, processes, systems, procedures, templates, resource tools, and procedural guides for use by PARI business development and project delivery teams. Develop tools, resource guides and provide training to enable PARI division staff and any country teams to remain current on compliance to mitigate risks. Monitor and maintain PARI's adherence to federal security regulatory requirements, including NISP, export controls, Section 889, and others, in close coordination with Research Security and Export Control teams. Support PARI in pursuit of prime and subaward contracts and agreements, including by leading or participating in negotiating terms and conditions and/or preparing documentation therefore, including modifications and amendments thereof. Oversee implementation of the Contractor Purchasing System Review (CPSR) compliance requirements and participate in purchasing system reviews to ensure compliance across PARI. Review and analyze solicitations for potential risks and suggest proposal strategies, including compliance and bid strategy, proposal development, and risk identification as well as risk mitigation to ensure compliance. Collaborate with PARI finance and technical teams to address or resolve contract performance or audit issues. Monitor and stay informed on upcoming and published federal regulatory and policy changes and provide guidance on how these changes impact PARI divisions, lead initiatives to ensure revision of policies and procedures to maintain compliance. Contribute to enhancing or influencing federal acquisition and other awards procedures through engagement in relevant industry or sectoral associations, think tanks or thought leadership. Provide advice and assistance to internal PARI stakeholders on intellectual property issues arising in the course of PARI's activities, including the interpretation and application of Purdue and PARI intellectual property policy and procedures. Provide advice and assistance on special projects that arise at the interface of Purdue and PARI operations and that require transactional or project management expertise, in each case as assigned by the general counsel. Essential Qualifications and Experience: Juris Doctor or JD/MBA from ABA accredited Law School. Eight years' experience (including law firm and/or in–house) handling complex U.S. government contracts, cooperative agreements, and grants, as well as business transactions. Demonstrated experience with licensing agreements, consulting agreements or other types of services contracts, teaming agreements, joint ventures, or similar collaboration agreements, and/or sponsored (third party–funded) research program arrangements. Experience advising U.S. domestic clients on doing business internationally. Must be licensed to practice law in a U.S. state or the District of Columbia, and (if not already licensed in Indiana) capable of obtaining a license in Indiana within one year. Broad experience in a transactional–oriented practice with a working knowledge of intellectual property law, including as it relates to licenses and permissions to use issued to other parties. Demonstrated ability to navigate complex statutory and regulatory requirements, particularly with respect to federal award mechanisms such as Cost–Plus Fixed Fee, Firm Fixed Price, Time and Materials, and IDIQs. Demonstrated experience with Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), specific agency directives such as USAID Acquisition Regulations (AIDARs), Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), and other regulatory mechanisms applicable to federal contracting, acquisition, and assistance. Additional Requirements: General knowledge of corporate law and corporate governance issues is preferred. Candidates must exhibit initiative and the capacity to work independently, as well as the ability to positively contribute to multiple leadership teams. Candidates should possess excellent interpersonal and written communication skills, superior negotiating skills, exceptional problem– solving abilities, Experience becoming conversant in, and provide pragmatic advice on complying with, complex regulatory regimes. High integrity and a strong attention to detail are required. French or Spanish language skills preferred U.S. Citizenship and ability to acquire and retain a Top–Secret Clearance. This position will allow a hybrid work environment, with 50% at PARI HQ in West Lafayette IN. A review of applications will be ongoing with a preferred deadline of January 5, 2023. Nominations and applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Applications and expressions of interest should be accompanied by a cover letter addressing how the candidate's experience and qualifications have prepared them for the role. Please send nominations to Stephanie Ferguson at About Purdue University Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to today's toughest challenges. Ranked the No. 6 Most Innovative University in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world–changing research and out–of–this–world discovery. Committed to hands–on and online, real–world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012–13 levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt–free. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at purdue.edu . click apply for full job details