Senior Associate Counsel - Employment Law

JOB DESCRIPTION

At Avient, we’re innovating materials solutions that help our customers win while enabling a more sustainable world. That ambition takes more than science—it takes people who are bold, collaborative, and relentlessly customer ‑ centric.

The Senior Associate Counsel, Employment Law serves as a trusted advisor to our HR organization and business leaders, delivering practical, business ‑ minded guidance on a full range of U.S. employment law matters. In this role, you’ll help shape an employee experience that’s transparent, equitable, and deeply aligned to Avient’s Leadership Behaviors—from playing to win to collaborating seamlessly across Avient. You’ll balance risk and innovation, apply data ‑ informed judgment, and enable decisions that support a high ‑ performance culture and profitable growth.

This is a hands ‑ on, high ‑ impact role for a lawyer who thrives in a fast ‑ paced, matrixed environment, values partnership, and is energized by solving complex challenges with clarity and pragmatism.

ABOUT US

Our purpose at Avient Corporation is to be an innovator of materials solutions that help our customers succeed, while enabling a sustainable world.

Innovation goes far beyond materials science; it’s powered by the passion, creativity, and diverse expertise of 9,000 professionals worldwide. Whether you’re a finance wizard, a tech enthusiast, an operational powerhouse, an HR changemaker, or a trailblazer in materials development, you’ll find your place at Avient.

Join our global team and help shape the future with sustainable solutions that transform possibilities into realities. Your unique perspective could be the key to our next breakthrough!

We believe that all of our global employees are leaders and that the six most important behaviors for driving our strategy and culture are the same no matter if an employee is a leader of self, a leader of others, or a leader of the business.

By playing to win, acting customer centric, driving innovation and profitable growth, collaborating seamlessly across Avient, and motivating and inspiring and developing others and yourself you will accelerate your ability to achieve Avient’s strategic goals, to meet our customer needs, and to accomplish your career goals.

At Avient, we believe a wide variety of thoughts, ideas and backgrounds gives us the creativity to be successful in a rapidly changing world. In support of this, we stress equality of opportunity for all qualified individuals in accordance with applicable laws. Decisions on hiring, promotion, development, compensation or advancement are based solely on a person’s qualifications, abilities, experience and performance.

Avient is an equal opportunity employer. We maintain a policy of non-discrimination in providing equal employment to all qualified employees and candidates regardless of race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, color, religion, national origin, disability, genetic information, protected veteran’s status, or other legally protected classification in accordance with applicable federal, state and local law. If you need an accommodation because of a disability to complete an online application, please contact the Avient HR Team by emailing, [email protected] .

RESPONSIBILITIES

Key Responsibilities

• Be a culture ‑ forward change agent: Model Avient’s Leadership Behaviors and bring a solutions ‑ oriented, “play to win” mindset to every matter—supporting both immediate needs and future ‑ ready practices.
• Serve as primary counsel to HR and leaders on U.S. employment law issues, including hiring, performance management, investigations, accommodations, leaves of absence, discipline, termination, wage and hour, and workplace policies.
• Provide clear, actionable guidance on federal, state, and local laws (e.g., Title VII, ADA, ADEA, FMLA, FLSA, NLRA and state equivalents), translating requirements into business ‑ aligned practices.
• Lead and elevate internal investigations (from plan to findings and remediation), ensuring fairness, consistency, and documentation that withstands scrutiny.
• Draft, review, and refine employment ‑ related agreements (e.g., separation agreements, restrictive covenants, offer letters, and employment terms) that align with Avient’s values and risk posture.
• Advance policy and practice excellence: Develop, review, and implement HR policies/processes that are compliant, scalable, and enable a high ‑ performance culture across the enterprise.
• Enable strategic workforce actions: Advise on reductions in force, restructurings and organizational changes, including WARN Act analysis and integration planning.
• Educate and empower leaders: Build capability through targeted training for HR and managers on key legal developments, compliant practices, and manager effectiveness.
• Manage litigation and agency matters: Oversee U.S. employment litigation, administrative charges, and audits—owning strategy, position statements, discovery, metrics, and outside counsel management.
• Collaborate globally where needed: Coordinate with external counsel and internal HR partners on non ‑ U.S. matters, ensuring alignment with Avient’s global policies and operating model.
• Leverage data and insights: Use trends from investigations, claims, audits, and employee relations to tell a compelling story, inform proactive risk mitigation, and drive continuous improvement.
• Strengthen compliance and ethics: Support investigations, reporting, training, and controls that reinforce integrity and accountability across the workplace.
• Continuously scan the horizon: Monitor emerging regulations and case law and proactively advise HR and business leaders on impacts to policies, processes, and strategy.
• Promote a positive employee experience by delivering practical, business ‑ oriented legal solutions that build trust and enable results.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required:

• Juris Doctor (J.D.) from an accredited law school
• Active license to practice law in at least one U.S. jurisdiction, with the ability to provide employment law counsel nationwide; eligibility for admission in Ohio is preferred
• 6+ years of employment law experience with significant counseling of HR and business clients
• Strong working knowledge of federal and state employment laws and regulations
• Experience managing or partnering on employment litigation, agency charges, and internal investigations
• Demonstrated ability to translate legal requirements into clear, practical, and actionable guidance
• Demonstrated ability to craft solutions that thoughtfully balance business needs with legal and regulatory requirements, enabling win ‑ win outcomes
• Strong business judgment, problem ‑ solving skills, and the ability to balance risk with business objectives
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to influence and guide leaders
• High integrity, discretion, and capability managing sensitive and confidential matters
• Ability to work independently while building trusted, cross ‑ functional partnerships
• Comfort operating in a fast ‑ paced, dynamic environment with shifting priorities
• Collaborative, customer ‑ centric, and solution ‑ oriented mindset aligned with Avient’s culture

Preferred:

• Prior in ‑ house counsel experience in a manufacturing, chemical, or industrial company
• Experience advising on US multi ‑ state compliance and enterprise ‑ wide policy development
• Familiarity with labor relations, collective bargaining, or union/works council environments

Travel Requirements:

Up to 10–15% domestic travel for site support, investigations, litigation matters, or HR partnership meetings