Closing date: August 29, 2024

North Carolina’s City of Arts & Innovation, the vibrant and historic City of Winston-Salem, NC, seeks an attorney with considerable local government experience in large organizations to serve as its City Attorney. The Winston-Salem City Attorney will lead a notable legal department with passionate, hard-working staff who value excellence, transparency, autonomy, and decision-making authority and take pride in the department's outcomes.

The City Attorney acts as a well-respected advisor who exemplifies integrity and excellence while upholding the city’s DEI values and its mission to provide quality, affordable services that ensure community members' health, safety, and well-being while collaborating throughout the community to ensure its economic, social, and environmental vitality.

To this position, the next City Attorney will bring familiarity with city code, state processes and laws, communicating parameters, ensuring compliance, and consistently and equitably interpreting city laws. The ideal candidate has successfully implemented methods and best practices in navigating and balancing the political and administrative pieces of the position, risk management, and the diverse perspectives of the Mayor and Councilmembers while remaining assertive in their role of providing independent unbiased advice.

Joining an organization with a recently appointed City Manager, the City Attorney will be able to grow and help shape the organizational culture alongside the new City Manager and their team and build upon the established legacy of the legal department. The Winston-Salem Mayor and City Council seek a City Attorney who is an effective manager, delegator, and relationship builder – someone who is accessible for consultation and advice.

About the Organization:
Operating under a Council-Manager form of government, the City of Winston-Salem has a mayor elected at-large and an eight-member City Council elected every four years in each of the City's eight wards. The City Council is responsible for adopting and providing for all ordinances, rules, and regulations necessary for the city's general welfare. It approves the city budget, sets property taxes and user fees, appoints the City Manager and City Attorney, and approves appointments to city boards and commissions.

About the Department and Position:
Winston-Salem’s legal department advises and represents the City of Winston-Salem in all settings where legal advice and representation are needed or requested. The department advises the Mayor and City Council, the city manager, assistant city managers, city departments, and boards and commissions. The City Attorney’s work involves preparing and reviewing legal documents for the city and representing the city at state and federal trials, appellate court, and administrative proceedings. The City Attorney must exercise independent judgment, discretion, and initiative in completing assignments. Tact and courtesy with taxpayers, attorneys, and the public are essential to the position.

Reporting to the Mayor and City Council, the City Attorney manages a $2.4M budget and oversees five legal assistants (one of which is within the Neighborhood Services Department) and nine attorneys. The Winston-Salem City Attorney works directly with the Mayor, City Council, City Manager, senior management, and various Boards and Commissions as necessary.
The ideal City Attorney has worked with and understands the legal requirements, statutes, and authority of cities in regard to economic development projects, applicable statutes, and compliance. Experience with community nuisance abatement ordinances, North Carolina General Statutes, and other challenging aspects of community legal issues is highly desired in the next City Attorney.

Qualifications:
Minimum Qualifications:
- Graduation from an accredited school of law.
- License to practice law in North Carolina or licensure reciprocity, 180 days from appointment.
- 10 years of experience as a practicing attorney performing high-level legal and trial work.
- Experience with municipal legal provisions.
- Experience in judicial procedure, rules of civil and criminal procedure, and rules of evidence.
- Experience in management and supervision of licensed attorneys.
- Experience in public employment law.

Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience in Municipal or Public Law, Contract Law, Employment Law &/or Environmental Law.
- Strong litigation background.
- Experience as a City Attorney or with other public sector entities.

Salary and Benefits: The hiring range for this position is $235,000 - $265,000. Starting salary range is dependent on experience and qualifications. The city offers a comprehensive benefits package. Winston-Salem residency is required within 6 months of appointment.

To apply, please visit https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/developmentalassociates and click the "City Attorney – City of Winston-Salem, NC” link.
Please note the following:
● All applications must be submitted online via the Developmental Associates application portal (link above) – NOT the City’s employment application portal or any other external website.
● Resumes and cover letters must be uploaded with the application.
● Applicants should apply by August 29, 2024.
● The hiring team will invite successful semi-finalists to participate in virtual interviews and skill evaluations on October 3 - 4, 2024. Candidates are encouraged to reserve these dates for virtual meetings should they be invited to participate.
● Interviews with the hiring team will follow at a subsequent time.
● Direct inquiries to hiring@developmentalassociates.com.

The City of Winston-Salem, NC, is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Developmental Associates, LLC manages the recruitment and selection process for this position. To learn more about our selection process, visit https://developmentalassociates.com/client-openings/ and scroll down to “Important Information for Applicants.”