SVP, Legal & Compliance

Overview We are a national, high-service PEO—one of the largest in the U.S.—serving small and mid-sized, predominantly white-collar employers, particularly in the professional, financial, and technology sectors. Privately held with a long-term ownership view, we source business through multiple channels, including independent brokers and referral partners, and manage over $5 billion in client employment costs. We operate with a disciplined, data-driven culture focused on client outcomes, risk stewardship, and profitable growth. Who You Are The Senior Vice President, Legal & Compliance, is the enterprise leader responsible for all legal, regulatory, risk, and compliance matters for the Professional Employer Organization. This role ensures the company operates in full compliance with federal, state, and local employment, benefits, tax, and insurance laws governing PEOs while enabling scalable growth, operational excellence, and strong client trust. Reports to: Chief Executive Officer or another similar senior executive What You'll Do Legal Strategy & Advisory • Serve as chief legal advisor to the CEO, executive team, and Board of Directors. • Provide strategic counsel on co-employment risk, workforce management, benefits administration, insurance, and regulatory strategy. • Lead legal review and negotiation of client agreements, vendor contracts, carrier agreements, and strategic partnerships. • Advise on M&A, corporate governance, capital transactions, and expansion into new states or markets. Regulatory & PEO Compliance • Own enterprise compliance with all applicable PEO laws and regulations, including: • State PEO licensing, registration, and reporting requirements – in coordination with Finance & Tax departments • Federal and state employment laws (FLSA, FMLA, ADA, ADEA, Title VII, etc.) • Payroll tax compliance and wage/hour regulations • ERISA, ACA, COBRA, HIPAA, and benefits compliance • Workers’ compensation, EPLI, and other insurance regulations • Lead regulatory examinations, audits, and inquiries at the federal and state level. • Manage relationships with regulators, outside counsel, auditors, and industry associations. • Monitor regulatory changes and proactively assess impact on products, pricing, and operations. Risk Management & Litigation • Oversee all litigation, claims, and disputes, including employment, benefits, tax, and regulatory matters. • Manage employment practices liability exposure and co-employment risk across the client base. • Partner with our Benefit Management Team to optimize coverage and risk mitigation strategies. Compliance Operations & Enablement • Build and lead a high-performing Legal & Compliance team, including internal counsel, compliance officers, and external partners. • Design scalable compliance programs, policies, controls, and training for employees and clients. • Partner closely with HR, Payroll, Tax, Benefits, Sales, Product, and Client Success to embed compliance into day-to-day operations. • Support client-facing compliance guidance while maintaining appropriate risk boundaries. Governance & Ethics • Oversee corporate governance, board materials, and entity management. • Maintain and enforce codes of conduct with Human Resources, ethics programs with the entire senior leadership team, and general compliance. • Ensure data privacy and security compliance in partnership with IT and Security teams. Other • Other tasks and responsibilities as assigned. What You Bring • Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school; active bar membership in good standing. • 15+ years of legal experience, including senior leadership responsibility. • Prior experience in a PEO, HR services, payroll, benefits, insurance, or staffing organization. • Deep expertise in employment law, benefits, payroll, and regulatory compliance. • Demonstrated experience operating in highly regulated, multi-state environments. • Proven ability to manage regulators, audits, and complex legal risk. • Strong executive presence with the ability to influence across functions. Preferred • Experience with employment law and benefits • Background in scaling legal/compliance functions in growth-stage or private-equity-backed companies. • Experience leading and supporting a compliance team Location & Travel Remote with an expected on-site presence at the MetroPark, NJ headquarters once a month, with occasional travel to Tampa, FL offices. Leadership DNA (how you operate) We value leaders who partner, are low-ego, evidence-seeking, and resilient. The right SVP Legal and Compliance sustains pace without drama, builds trust across teams and brokers, and turns complexity into executable plans. You invite dissent to get to the truth, stay composed under load, and convert feedback and data into timely course corrections. Relationships matter—internally, outside counsel, and with clients. How We Operate As one of the largest PEOs in the U.S., we operate with scale and momentum, serving predominantly white-collar SMBs—especially professional, financial, and technology firms—where compliance intensity and service complexity reward rigorous operations and disciplined risk stewardship. Growth comes through multiple channels with a strong independent broker component, making close partnership with Sales/RevOps, pricing discipline, and service-recovery excellence central to performance. We are privately held with a long-term ownership view, enabling stable priorities, faster decisions, and hands-on mentorship from the CEO and Founder. We work in a highly collaborative “beehive” model—interdependent teams, shared metrics, and fast handoffs with open information flow and constructive challenge. The operating bar is high: delivering high service at scale in a broker-led model demands leadership rooted in data, OKRs, and measurable improvements in NPS, SLA discipline, and unit economics. What We Offer Compensation & Advancement Market-competitive base salary, performance bonus tied to operating KPIs, and a long-term incentive aligned with multi-year value creation. Why us? • National platform with a high-service reputation and strong broker relationships • Clear mandate to modernize operations with technology, analytics, and smart automation • Hands-on mentorship from a seasoned CEO and an engaged Founder and Chairman We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and considers all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law. 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