Assistant General Counsel, General Contracting and Transactions Reports

Job Title: Assistant General Counsel

Location: SBC Corporation

Department Name: General Counsel Office

Req # : 0000206599

Status: Salaried

Shift: Day

Pay Range: $250,000.00 - $350,000.00 per year

Pay Transparency: The above reflects the anticipated annual salary range for this position if hired to work in New Jersey.

The compensation offered to the candidate selected for the position will depend on several factors, including the candidate's educational background, skills and professional experience.

Assistant General Counsel, General Contracting and Transactions Reports

Job Overview:

RWJBarnabas Health, is a leading nonprofit academic health system dedicated to excellence in patient care, education, and research. With a mission-driven culture and commitment to innovation, RWJBarnabas Health serves as a trusted healthcare partner to communities across New Jersey and beyond. The Assistant Genereal Counsel, General Contracting, plays a key leadership role within the Office of General Counsel, overseeing all aspects of contracting operations for a large, complex academic health system. This position ensures operational excellence, effiency, and compliance in the management of contracts across clinical, academic, research, and administrative areas. The Assistant General Counsel, General Contracting will supervise a team of 3–4 attorneys and paralegals, manage a high volume of complex agreements, and lead initiatives to improve contracting workflows, leverage technology, and strengthen enterprise-wide risk management. Experience with artificial intelligence (AI)–enabled contract management systems and legal technology is strongly preferred. As a leading nonprofit academic health system in New Jersey, RWJBarnabas Health is committed to improving the health and well-being of the communities we serve. This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced attorney with strong leadership, contracting, and operational management skills to make a meaningful impact within a respected academic health system. If you are a collaborative legal professional who thrives on efficiency, innovation, and service excellence, we invite you to apply.

Location: West Orange, New Jersey - Hybrid/Remote Work Schedule Available

Reports to:

The Assistant General Counsel, General Contracting and Transactions Reports to SVP/Deputy General Counsel.

Qualifications:

• Juris Doctor (J.D.) from an accredited law school.
• Active license to practice law in New Jersey (or eligibility for NJ limited in-house counsel license).
• Minimum of 15 years of legal experience, with considerable experience in contract drafting, negotiation, and management.
• Proven success supervising attorneys and legal staff in a fast-paced, high-volume contracting environment.
• Exceptional negotiation and drafting skills; demonstrated ability to negotiate high-stakes contracts with a strong grasp of both legal risk and business priorities
• Strong working knowledge of healthcare laws and regulations (e.g., Stark, Anti-Kickback, HIPAA, federal tax-exemption requirements) and general corporate contracting principles.
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex projects and collaborate effectively with senior executives and operational leaders.
• Experience with contract management systems and AI-driven legal technology strongly preferred.
• Exceptional communication, organizational, and leadership skills, with a focus on operational excellence and client service and a pro-active, collaborative work style.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Prior in-house experience at a hospital, health system, or academic medical center.
• Familiarity with CLM tools such as Contraxx, Cobblestone, Icertis, Ironclad, or DocuSign CLM.
• Experience leading process improvement and technology adoption within legal or contracting functions.
• Commitment to the mission and values of a nonprofit academic health system.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and manage a team of 3–4 attorneys and paralegals responsible for drafting, reviewing, and negotiating contracts.
• Oversee daily contracting operations to ensure timely, efficient, and legally sound contract execution across the health system.
• Develop and maintain standardized templates, playbooks, and procedures to drive consistency and process excellence.
• Identify and support the integration of AI and automation technologies into legal operations and contract management procedures to improve efficiency, accuracy and compliance.
• Review, draft, and negotiate a broad range of complex agreements, including, including supply chain vendor agreements (purchase and service agreements), IT agreements, consulting and professional services agreements, pharmacy-related agreements (including 340B related agreements), various clinical-related agreements, and reimbursement and finance-related agreements.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Procurement, Compliance, Finance, and operational teams to improve workflows and manage risk.
• Implement and optimize contract lifecycle management (CLM) systems and explore AI-based tools to enhance contracting efficiency and accuracy.
• Track and report key metrics on contract turnaround times, volume, and performance; identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
• Advise leadership on contracting risks, legal requirements (including, without limitation, the Stark Law, Anti-Kickback Statute, HIPAA, tax-exemption requirements and other federal and state healthcare laws), and operational best practices.
• Provide training and education to business units on contracting policies and legal compliance.
• Provide pre-litigation contract dispute resolution support and advise on contractual rights, obligations, and risk mitigation strategies.

Other Duties:

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

At RWJBarnabas Health, our market-competitive Total Rewards package provides comprehensive benefits and resources to support our employees physical, emotional, social, and financial health.

• Paid Time Off (PTO)
• Medical and Prescription Drug Insurance
• Dental and Vision Insurance
• Retirement Plans
• Short & Long Term Disability
• Life & Accidental Death Insurance
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Health Care/Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts
• Wellness Programs
• Voluntary Benefits (e.g., Pet Insurance)
• Discounts Through our Partners such as NJ Devils, NJ PAC, Verizon, and more!

RWJBarnabas Health is an Equal Opportunity Employer