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When you join Sallie Mae, you become a champion for all students.

We’re on a mission to power confidence as students begin their unique journey. To help them plan their higher education, successfully finish, and prepare for life after school. To help them Start smart. Learn big.

Students need guidance navigating this important time in their life. They need someone who acknowledges that their education path is unique. They need a partner willing to evolve and not only meet but surpass their expectations. We’re changing. Because students need a better way.

We’re looking for people who are excited to drive this transformation. To break barriers and think of new ways to adapt, help, and create better experiences for students—and for each other.

This is where diverse backgrounds, beliefs, and perspectives matter. It’s where you’re empowered to bring your authentic self to work.

Feeling your best allows you to do your best. Our benefits take care of the whole you—from physical and mental to financial and professional. You’ll get opportunities to further your education and career, support for you and your family (including your pets!), paid time off to volunteer for the things that matter to you, and more.

We’re obsessed with impact and making a real difference. For us, that means putting relationships first, asking “why not?” when tackling challenges, and continuously learning new skills.

Come do more than join something, change something. For students, for future generations, for the future of education.

What You'll Contribute

We are seeking an experienced, business-savvy transactional attorney to join our legal team. The ideal candidate will have a background in transactions and commercial law, and will be a subject matter expert in business transactions, commercial contracts, contract negotiations, and incident response. They will play a key role in supporting the day-to-day operations of our procurement and business continuity functions, and will be located at either Sallie Mae’s Newark, Delaware headquarters office or its Sterling, Virginia office.

What You'll Do

+ Procurement and Vendor Management

+ Provide legal advice and strategic advisory support for the day-to-day operations of Sallie Mae’s Procurement, Vendor Management Office (“VMO”), and related functions.

+ Ensure the timely and accurate review of contracts and transactional items.

+ Support the legal aspects of business and financial transactions, to accelerate business objectives while ensuring compliance with regulations and mitigating future litigation risk.

+ Draft, review and negotiate complex commercial agreements, including sales agreements, master service agreements, vendor agreements, participation agreements, joint marketing agreements, IT agreements, nondisclosure agreements, and license agreements.

+ Analyze and identify relevant contract terms and conditions, and perform risk assessment at appropriate levels for contract scope.

+ Develop and implement training and education programs, policies and procedures related to commercial transactions, and contracting processes.

+ Identify process enhancements and create templates and playbooks where appropriate.

+ Incident Response and Cybersecurity

+ Provide legal advice and support to Information Security, Risk Management, and others relating to cybersecurity, incident response, and business continuity.

+ Provide advice to internal clients and stakeholders regarding cybersecurity laws and other business continuity areas in connection with Sallie Mae’s business and compliance requirements.

+ Support periodic cybersecurity/business continuity tabletop exercises for various audiences within the company.

+ Participate in the annual review of cyber liability insurance for the enterprise and support the insurance application and renewal process.

+ Develop Staff and Serve as a Leader

+ Take direct responsibility for the growth and development of the team’s non-lawyer paraprofessionals.

+ Contribute to department and company programs and projects as requested.

_The above information is intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by employees assigned to this job; it is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities and qualifications required of employees in this role._

What you have

Minimum: Indicate minimum education, skills and experience required.

+ Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from an accredited institution and an active license to practice law in a U.S. jurisdiction. Candidate must be eligible to obtain the necessary certification(s) to practice law as in-house counsel.

+ 5+ Years of experience in private practice and/or as in-house corporate legal counsel, advising and providing legal support to Procurement and Vendor Management functions, including negotiating contracts and providing legal analysis and risk assessment.

+ Demonstrated business acumen and strong understanding of business strategy and the ability to provide commercially pragmatic advice and counsel.

+ Extensive knowledge and experience in commercial/business law, contract negotiation, risk management, and compliance.

+ Excellent drafting skills, strong project management skills, and meticulous attention to detail. Experience drafting and revising policies, standards, and procedures.

+ Proficiency in Adobe, Microsoft Office, and legal software products, including legal research tools, as well as experience using data analytics in the legal setting.

+ Excellent oral and written communication and presentation skills.

+ Strong ability to resolve issues independently while building key relationships and working in team settings across disciplines.

+ In addition to following our current hybrid work policy, flexibility to be present at other Sallie Mae locations based on team or business needs. Some business travel required.

Preferred: Indicate “nice to haves” regarding education, skills, and experience.

+ Experience in the banking, consumer finance, or other highly regulated industry is strongly preferred, including familiarity with bank regulatory frameworks relevant to contracting principles.

+ Experience advising on intellectual property and technology transactions, as part of an IP transactional or technology transactions practice at a law firm or in a sophisticated in-house environment.

+ Experience in various forms of corporate transactions, including but not limited to mergers & acquisitions, real estate, and intercompany transactions.

+ Experience counseling on project management in transactional workstreams, including but not limited to AI usage and adoption in procurement, vendor management, or contract review workflows.

+ Basic familiarity with contract management tools and systems, including but not limited to Workday Strategic Sourcing and Workday Contract Lifecycle Management.

+ Knowledge and experience with federal and state laws governing cybersecurity and incident response.

The Americans with Disabilities Act

_The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) prohibits discrimination by employers, in compensation and employment opportunities, against qualified individuals with disabilities who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the “essential functions” of a job. A function may be essential for any of several reasons, including: the job exists to perform that function, the employee holding the job was hired for his/her expertise in performing the function, or only a limited number of employees are available to perform that function._

Feeling your best helps you do your best:

Our benefits take care of the whole you—so you can build your work around your life (not the other way around!).

+ Competitive base salaries

+ Bonus incentives

+ Generous PTO, Floating Holidays and 12 Federal Holidays observed

+ Support for financial-well-being and retirement 401k with employer match

+ Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, hospital indemnity, critical illness, pet insurance and more

+ Employer paid short-term/long-term disability and basic life insurance

+ Flexible hybrid working arrangements.

+ Paid parental leave and adoption reimbursement programs

+ Free access to on-site staffed fitness centers (in Delaware) and gym subsidy (for locations outside Delaware)

+ Confidential counseling support (EAP), Health Advocacy services and Wellness program with financial incentives

+ Tuition Reimbursement and Family Scholarship Programs

+ Career development and training opportunities

Not the right fit? Let us know you're interested in a future opportunity by clicking _Introduce Yourself_ in the top-right corner of the page or create an account to set up email alerts as new job postings become available that meet your interest!

Sallie Mae is proud to be an equal opportunity (EEO) employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, genetic information, gender identity, disability, Veteran status or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. Click here (https://salliemae.com/legal/pay-transparency-policy/)** **to view the U.S. Pay Transparency Policy,** **here (https://mandatoryview.com/?LicenceId=b723c601-1179-462b-a551-71dec216fdbf&ProductType=IntranetLicense&SubType=PG)** **for federal job applicant notices, and** **here (https://www.salliemae.com/content/dam/slm/writtencontent/Policies/CA\_Privacy\_Notice\_2023.pdf)** **to view the California Employee Privacy Notice.

Reasonable accommodations are available for applicants with disabilities in all phases of the application and employment process. To request an accommodation please call (855) 756-2007 and choose option 9. All information you provide will be kept confidential and will be used only to the extent required to provide needed reasonable accommodations.

Sallie Mae is proud to be an equal opportunity (EEO) employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, genetic information, gender identity, disability, Veteran status or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. If you'd like more information about your EEO rights as an applicant, please click https://https/www.eeoc.gov/employees-job-applicants. https://https/www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ofccp/regs/compliance/posters/pdf/OFCCP_EEO_Supplement_Final_JRF_QA_508c.pdf. Click https://https/www.salliemae.com/legal/pay-transparency-policy/ to view the U.S. Pay Transparency Policy.