Investment Counsel

Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois (TRS) • Chicago, IL, US • 2d ago

Agency:  Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois
Closing Date/Time:  02/07/2025
Salary:  $159,567-194,473
Job Type: Salaried
County:  Cook
Number of Vacancies:  1

****************A RESUME IS REQUIRED FOR THIS JOB POSTING****************

Please attach a DETAILED Resume/Curriculum Vitae (CV) to the MY DOCUMENTS section of your application. You WILL NOT be considered for the position if you attach a CMS100, CMS100b or any other document that is not a Resume or CV.

Job Summary

Under supervision of the General Counsel, provide legal counsel to the Investment Department with respect to the System’s investment portfolio. Review and negotiate investment documents, provide legal guidance regarding corporate governance (including Illinois statutory and regulatory requirements, TRS policies regarding investments, procurement and proxy voting), provide legal advice regarding compliance matters, and oversee certain external investment counsel matters.

The incumbent responds to matters brought to the attention of the legal department but must also proactively identify legal vulnerabilities and offer preventative guidance concerning TRS Investment operations in support of management’s planning, strategy and decision making.

The incumbent must be a graduate of an accredited law school and hold a valid license to practice law. To foster awareness of emerging legal issues and trends, the incumbent may maintain memberships in bar and professional organizations relevant to the assigned duties.

Essential Functions

Review and negotiate documents relating to investment transactions (for example, investment management agreements for separately managed accounts, limited partnership agreements, side letters, non-disclosure agreements, FCM/ISDA agreements). Coordinate with General Counsel, Investment Department and outside counsel in connection with same. Maintain log of counsel, transactions, and status.
Update TRS investment forms in connection with legal and regulatory developments.
Review and select "most favored nation" elections.
Monitor developments related to laws and regulations applicable to TRS investment activities. Communicate with the Investment Department and the Legal Department regarding these developments. Recommend changes to TRS policies to enable compliance.
Review and negotiate contracts (in addition to investment-related documents) with providers of software or services to the Investment Department, in coordination with the TRS Procurement Department.
Review the Systems’ board and internal governance and investment guideline materials as relevant to transactional work.
Provide legal counsel on issues relating to conflicts of interest and prohibited transactions under the Illinois Pension Code, as well as the Systems’ day-to-day investments operations.
Assist Investment Department and Procurement Department, as applicable, with drafting investment-related RFPs, RFIs or other documents and review and comment on responses to same upon request.
Monitor and track external investment counsel legal invoices to identify significant issues and trends.
Provide backup coverage to internal counsel on other System legal matters, subject to time constraints and proper attention to investment legal work.
Perform other duties as assigned or required, including special projects.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

Instills commitment to organizational goals
Demonstrates excellent judgement and decision-making skills
Ability to work within tight timeframes and meet deadlines
Proactively approaches responsibilities
Demonstrated written and verbal communication skills

Minimum Requirements

Must be a graduate of and hold a JD from an accredited law school and be a licensed attorney in good standing in the State of Illinois or obtain Illinois law license within one (1) year of onboarding with the System.
Minimum of 3 years of progressively responsible service handling complex legal matters in a law firm or corporate legal department.
Knowledge and experience reviewing and negotiating investment documentation for defined benefit plans
General knowledge of capital markets and private equity markets.
Must be able to prioritize and supervise numerous projects concurrently

Benefits

State, health, dental, life, and vision insurance
12 vacation, 12 sick, and 3 personal time days of compensated time
Teachers’ Retirement System Pension
Optional deferred compensation plan

Work Hours: 8:30-4:30 M-F
Work Location: 333 Wacker Drive, Suite 2610. Chicago, IL 60606
Agency Contact: cwalls@trsil.org
Job Family: Legal, Audit & Compliance

Agency statement: TRS provides retirement benefits for teachers who are employed by all Illinois public common and charter school districts located outside the city of Chicago. The Illinois Pension Code contains the laws relating to our creation, benefits, and administration

The main form of communication will be through email. Please check your “junk mail”, “spam”, or “other” folder for communication(s) regarding any submitted application(s). You may receive emails from the following addresses: