Henry Ford Health partners with millions of people on their health journey, across Michigan and around the world. We offer a full continuum of services from primary and preventative care to complex and specialty care, health insurance, a full suite of home health offerings, virtual care, pharmacy, eye care and other health care retail. With former Ascension southeast Michigan and Flint region locations now part of our team, Henry Ford's care is available in 13 hospitals and hundreds of ambulatory care locations. Based in Detroit, Henry Ford is one of the nation's most respected academic medical centers and is leading the Future of Health: Detroit, a $3 billion investment anchored by a reimagined Henry Ford academic healthcare campus.

Deputy General CounselHealthcare Transactions, Technology, and Privacy

Job Title

Deputy General Counsel Healthcare Transactions, Technology, and Privacy

About the Department

Join the dynamic legal team at Henry Ford Health, headquartered at One Ford Place in Detroit's vibrant New Center. Our corporate hub is steps away from Amtrak, the QLINE, and the Fisher Building's shops and cafes. Here, you'll be part of a team that drives strategic growth, innovation, and operational excellence across our health system. Our department is dedicated to providing exceptional legal counsel, ensuring compliance, and enabling transformative healthcare solutions.

Role Overview

The Deputy General Counsel – Healthcare transactions, Technology, and Privacy, serves as a senior legal leader for Henry Ford Health, responsible for overseeing legal strategy and execution related to significant healthcare transactions, technology, privacy related matters, managed care, payor contracting, and pharmacy services. The position plays a critical role in enabling growth, innovation, and operational excellence across the health system, including assisting with the development of the ASC and JV strategies, legal entity management, and related governance guidance.  This role exercises delegated authority on behalf of the Chief Legal Officer for assigned portfolios, including final legal approval of high‑risk or strategically significant transactions. This position will report directly to the EVP, Chief Legal Officer.

Why Henry Ford Health

At Henry Ford Health, we are relentless advocates for exceptional care for our patients, communities, and each other. We come to do meaningful work and grow our careers, and we stay for the connection, support, and shared pride in making the impossible, possible.

What You Will Do

Contracting & Commercial Transactions

• Provide strategic legal oversight for a high volume of complex commercial agreements, including clinical services, mergers, acquisitions, professional services agreements, management, services agreements, joint ventures, and other significant enterprise-wide contracts
• Lead negotiations for significant system-wide agreements, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and risk tolerance
• Develop and implement standardized contracting processes, templates, and playbooks to improve efficiency and consistency
• Partner closely with Strategy, Business Development, Finance, and operational leaders on contract strategy and execution

Technology and Privacy Matters

• Oversee all technology, digital health, data enablement, and privacy matters, ensuring strong partnership with IT, Innovation, Compliance, and Data Security and Privacy to enable compliant, scalable, and secure solutions, including:
  • Health information technology agreements
  • Software licensing, SaaS, cloud services, and vendor contracts
  • Digital health, telehealth, and emerging technology initiatives
  • Data use, data sharing, and technology commercialization arrangements
  • Support and counsel providing intellectual property services, including, protecting, managing, and enforcing intellectual property rights
  • Partner with IT, Innovation, and Compliance teams to support secure, compliant solutions
  • Navigating the legal frameworks that regulate the collection, storage, use, and sharing of personal and confidential information, including oversight of:
    • Privacy counsel, partners with the Chief Privacy Officer, privacy breaches, OCR matters, and enterprise data security
    • Ensures compliance with HIPAA, state privacy laws, incident responses and regulatory engagement.

• Leadership & Team Management

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of attorneys and legal staff specializing in contracting, IT, technology and privacy
• Foster a high-performing, collaborative legal team aligned with organizational values and priorities
• Allocate resources effectively to manage workload and ensure timely, high-quality legal support

• Strategic Counsel

• Serve as a trusted advisor to executive leadership on legal matters related to contracting, technology, and privacy
• Participate in enterprise strategic initiatives, offering legal perspective on growth, innovation, and transformation efforts

What You Will Need

Qualifications

Education & Licensure

• Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school
• Active license to practice law in the State of Michigan (or ability to obtain promptly)

Experience

• Minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible legal experience
• Significant experience in healthcare provider contracting required
• Demonstrated experience leading complex, enterprise‑level transactions
• Prior experience in a large health system, academic medical center, or healthcare-focused law firm strongly preferred
• Experience advising senior leaders and managing complex, high-value transactions
• Experience serving as a primary legal advisor to executive leadership or governing bodies

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Deep expertise in healthcare contracting, IT agreements, data privacy laws (including HIPAA), and payor contracting
• Strong business acumen with the ability to provide practical, solutions-oriented legal advice
• Excellent negotiation, communication, and stakeholder management skills
• Ability to manage complex, high-stakes matters in a fast-paced environment
• Proven ability to influence senior leadership and drive strategic outcomes

Key Competencies

• Executive presence and influence
• Collaboration and cross-functional partnership
• Financial and legal spend management
• Change leadership and resilience
• Team leadership and development

Other duties may be assigned or delegated based upon organizational need.

What We Offer

At Henry Ford Health, you¿ll have the opportunity to grow your career in a collaborative, mission-driven environment. We foster a culture of continuous learning, innovation, and professional development, empowering you to make a meaningful impact in healthcare.

Join Our Team

Ready to make a difference? Apply now and be part of a team that¿s transforming healthcare.