Legal Director, Global Ethics & Compliance
Work Mode: Onsite
Location: Onsite 4 days per week – Kohler, WI
Opportunity
The Legal Director, Global Ethics and Compliance is a key member of the Employment and Compliance team, reporting directly to the Assistant General Counsel - VP, Employment and Compliance. This role is responsible for supporting and managing critical components of the company’s compliance and ethics program, ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory obligations as well as internal policies and standards. This role will be instrumental to enhancing and maintaining a proactive framework that supports the company’s global operations, enabling innovation while mitigating risk.
The Legal Director, Global Ethics and Compliance, will provide advice and counsel to management and human resources professionals on a broad range of nuanced compliance and ethics related matters, collaborate with other internal stakeholders on complex cross-functional projects, and provide meaningful input to and management of the company’s compliance and ethics program.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
- Policy and procedure development and enhancement
- Draft, maintain, and/or review policies and procedures related to global legal and regulatory compliance and best practices
- Identify and communicate potential gaps or opportunities for improvement with business processes.
- Develop and implement improvements to strengthen or enhance program elements that align with company policies and global regulations
- Strengthen root-cause analysis methodologies as part of continuous improvement and identification of risk mitigation activities.
- Investigations and crisis management
- Conduct investigations into potential policy and/or legal violations or misconduct.
- Advance a speak-up culture and good faith reporting while ensuring the confidentiality of hotline complaints and protecting reporters from retaliation.
- Lead or support incident and crisis response teams, navigating complex subject matter, and coordinating appropriately with cross functional colleagues that arise from the company’s global operations.
- Monitor and support reporting systems to proactively identify and address potential compliance issues.
Training and education
- Develop and deliver high quality training programs for employees, human resources, and management on critical compliance and ethics topics including anti-corruption, anti-trust, conflicts of interest, sanctions, and ESG compliance.
- Nurture and protect an open-reporting culture and help oversee compliance hotline.
- Develop and deliver high quality awareness campaigns in collaboration with compliance colleagues to continuously strengthen employee understanding of the hotline program.
- Advice and counsel
- Provide subject matter expertise related to global laws and regulations addressing anti-bribery and anti-corruption, anti-trust, conflicts of interest, OFAC and other sanctions laws, trade compliance, third party management, product compliance, ESG regulations, etc.
- Support M&A on global compliance and ethics due diligence and integration matters.
- Work with cross-functional teams to scale programs and support continued growth, while mitigating risk.
- Collaborate closely with internal partners (internal audit, finance, sustainability, business teams, and human resources) to proactively improve and enhance the compliance program. Serve as an ambassador to foster a culture of accountability, integrity, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
Reporting, metrics, and risk assessments
- Support the development and evolution of the company’s compliance and ethics program metrics, including appropriate use of AI.
- Create routine reports and analytics on investigation, trends, activities, and outcomes for the VP, Employment and Compliance, senior management, and other internal stakeholders.
- Provide support to VP Employment and Compliance on assessment of compliance risks and mitigation strategies
Skills/Requirements
- Juris Doctor (JD) degree from an accredited laws school and current member in good standing of a state bar.
- Licensed to practice law in the State of Wisconsin or licensed in another state bar with ability to obtain In-house counsel status in Wisconsin.
- 7+ years’ experience as a practicing lawyer focusing on compliance and ethics matters either in private practice or with a corporate legal department.
- Deep substantive knowledge and demonstrated expertise in multiple regulatory areas relevant to US multinational manufacturing companies with global operations, including but not limited to: bribery and anti-corruption (FCPA, UKBA and other anti-bribery /anti-corruption laws); export controls and trade compliance (OFAC, ITAR, customs, sanctions laws; conflicts of interest matters, modern slavery and other ESG related regulations; whistleblowing and anti-retaliation laws; global labor and employment regulations, and data privacy and cybersecurity.
- 2+ years’ experience supporting a global organization, preferably in the manufacturing setting.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence stakeholders in varying levels throughout the company.
- Ability to handle sensitive information with discretion and maintain the highest standards of confidentiality.
- Ability to lead cross-functional teams, and work collaboratively in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
- Strong analytical and communication skills.
- Demonstrated experience with global hotline investigations and whistleblower programs.
- Demonstrated experience in crisis management.
- Unquestionable integrity.
- Ability to travel (domestic and international) up to 20% of the time.
Applicants must be authorized to work in the US without requiring sponsorship now or in the future.
We believe in supporting you from the moment you join us, which is why Kohler offers day 1 benefits. This means you’ll have access to your applicable benefit programs from your first day on the job, with no waiting period.
The salary range for this position is $188,200 - $302,200. The specific salary offered to a candidate may be influenced by a variety of factors including the candidate’s experience, their education, and the work location. In addition, this position is eligible for a performance bonus/variable incentive compensation.
Why Choose Kohler?
We empower each associate to #BecomeMoreAtKohler with a competitive total rewards package to support your health and wellbeing, access to career growth and development opportunities, a diverse and inclusive workplace, and a strong culture of innovation. With more than 30,000 bold leaders across the globe, we’re driving meaningful change in our mission to help people live gracious, healthy, and sustainable lives.
About Us
It is Kohler’s policy to recruit, hire, and promote qualified applicants without regard to race, creed, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin, disability or status as a protected veteran. If, as an individual with a disability, you need reasonable accommodation during the recruitment process, please contact kohlerjobs@kohler.com. Kohler Co. is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.
