Playing an essential role in the U.S. economy, Fannie Mae is foundational to housing finance. Here, your expertise can help fuel purpose-driven innovation that expands access to homeownership and affordable rental housing across the country. Join Fannie Mae to grow your career and help people find a place to call home.

Job Description

The Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel provides and oversees legal advice and other legal services for Fannie Mae’s Single-Family Business. The Single-Family Business is managed by Jake Williamson, Executive Vice President and Head of Single-Family Business and his leadership team, with support from the corporate finance, risk, operations and technology, human resources, legal and other centralized functions. This SVP leads a team of 38 legal professionals.  

We are seeking an individual who is dedicated to the mission of Fannie Mae and who will be invigorated by the challenge of working within an organization at the forefront of change within the financial services market and the economy. 

This executive will be a key advisor to business leaders and will be a person of impeccable judgment, professionalism and unquestioned integrity and ethics. Leading by example, this individual will be collaborative, attuned to building a culture within the legal organization of partnership and trust, and will put the needs and interests of the organization above their own. 

Key Responsibilities

• Serving as the senior legal advisor to the Single-Family business, providing strategic counsel across the full residential mortgage lifecycle, including loan origination, underwriting, pricing, acquisition, servicing, asset management, and secondary market execution. 

• Partnering with executive leadership to advise on legal, regulatory, and policy matters impacting Fannie Mae's Single-Family business, balancing business objectives with legal, compliance, and enterprise risk considerations. 

• Leads, develops, and mentors a high-performing legal organization responsible for supporting one of the nation's largest residential mortgage businesses, fostering a culture of collaboration, sound judgment, and client-focused legal counsel. 

• Collaborates with Risk, Compliance, Technology, Operations, and Enterprise Security leadership to identify and mitigate legal and operational risks while enabling innovation and business transformation. 

• Provides strategic legal counsel on the application of artificial intelligence throughout the Single-Family mortgage lifecycle—including origination, underwriting, servicing, asset management, and secondary market activities – helping the business navigate a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape while enabling innovation and maintaining compliance with applicable legal and policy requirements.

• Regularly reporting orally and in writing to the Fannie Mae Board of Directors and Management-level committees on matters pertaining to the Single-Family Business. 

• Serving as the General Counsel’s proxy and delegate on key matters related to the Single-Family business, as needed. 

• Overseeing and coordinating legal services related to the mortgage selling and servicing contracts and guides, and loan documents for the purchase and securitization of single-family mortgage loans. 

• Overseeing legal services related to lender counterparty management. 

• Overseeing legal services related to loan surveillance, including breach review, loan repurchase and legal delegation. 

• Developing and implementing strategies for litigation and other dispute resolution activities relating to Single-Family business activities. 

• Promoting customer engagement with legal counterparts at Fannie Mae’s Single-Family customers, including but not limited to organizing periodic legal conferences and other external legal events. 

• Advising the General Counsel and other members of the legal department leadership team on Single-Family legal and strategic issues. 

• Overseeing and coordinating legal services related to policy, product development and enhancements, loan acquisition, delivery and servicing. 

• Developing, providing and managing training and presentations for internal and external customers at all levels on complex legal matters and policies. 

• Coordinating and managing outside counsel and alternative legal service providers (including implementation of fixed fee and other alternative billing arrangements, where appropriate). 

​​Candidate Qualifications

• 15+ years of legal experience, ideally including foundational training at a well-regarded firm and senior in-house legal experience within a bank, non-bank mortgage loan servicer, mortgage finance company, or other highly regulated financial services environment. 

• Deep understanding of housing finance, mortgage banking, mortgage finance, real estate, troubled real estate debt, asset resolution, lending, capital markets, and the applicable regulatory environment.  

• Experience building, leading, and mentoring a large, high-performing, client-focused legal team. Proven management skills and a strong team orientation, with the ability to foster cooperation and collaboration across organizations and functions.  

• Strong business judgment and the ability to balance legal, regulatory, reputational, and commercial considerations. Understands how legal advice affects growth, scalability, operational execution, and business outcomes, and can translate complex legal issues into practical, actionable guidance. 

• Demonstrated success serving as a trusted advisor to C-suite executives, influencing enterprise strategy and delivering pragmatic, business-oriented legal counsel in complex, fast-paced environments. 

• Significant legal leadership experience in mortgage finance, consumer lending, banking, capital markets, or other highly regulated financial services businesses. 

• At least 7 years of experience leading and developing high-performing legal organizations, including responsibility for talent strategy, succession planning, and organizational development. 

• At least 15 years of total legal experience, ideally a mix with a premier law firm, coupled with substantial in-house legal leadership within a large, matrixed organization. 

• J.D. from an accredited law school and admission to practice in at least one U.S. jurisdiction. 

• Shows curiosity and adaptability in learning and responsibly applying new technologies, including artificial intelligence, to reimagine how we work.​​

Target Pay Range: $400,000 - 450,000

Qualifications

Education:

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For most roles, employees are expected to work onsite on a regular basis at their designated office location. In-office work cadence is determined by your manager. Proximity within a reasonable commute to your designated office location is preferred unless the job is noted as open to remote.

Fannie Mae is an equal opportunity employer and considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity/gender expression, marital or parental status, or any other protected factor. Fannie Mae is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities who are employees or applicants for employment, unless to do so would cause undue hardship to the company. If you need assistance using our online system and/or you need a reasonable accommodation related to the hiring/application process, please complete this form.

The hiring range for this role is set forth below. Final salaries will generally vary within that range based on factors that include but are not limited to, skill set, depth of experience, certifications, and other relevant qualifications. This position is eligible to participate in a Fannie Mae incentive program (subject to the terms of the program). As part of our comprehensive benefits package, Fannie Mae offers a broad range of Health, Life, Voluntary Lifestyle, and other benefits and perks that enhance an employee's physical, mental, emotional, and financial well-being. See more here.