What are the responsibilities and job description for the Legal & Compliance Specialist – Auto Retail position at KPA?
Position Description:
KPA is the leading provider of compliance and risk mitigation solutions in the automotive industry, with a national clientele of approximately 15,000 dealerships and service centers. The Automotive Retail Legal & Compliance Specialist supports KPA by strengthening and advancing the company's federal and 50-state compliance capabilities for Advertising, Sales, and Finance & Insurance (ASFI).
Reporting to the Chief Legal & Strategy Officer, this strategic individual contributor partners closely with the National Sr. Director of ASFI and the Director of Legal Affairs to monitor and interpret legal and regulatory developments, maintain and enhance compliance guidance, strengthen consultant enablement, and support the continued evolution of KPA's AI-enabled compliance capabilities.
The role combines legal and regulatory research, compliance analysis, knowledge management, consultant enablement, and AI-assisted innovation to ensure KPA's compliance methodologies, guidance, and resources remain industry-leading while continuing to evolve with changing laws, regulations, and technology.
\nSupport and strengthen KPA's leadership in automotive retail compliance by:
- Monitoring and interpreting federal and state legal and regulatory developments affecting Advertising, Sales, and F&I;
- Maintaining, enhancing, and expanding KPA's 50-state compliance guidance and knowledge resources;
- Supporting ASF consultants through practical compliance tools, standardized review methodologies, and knowledge assets;
- Supporting advertising review operations and regulatory inquiries; and
- Leveraging AI to enhance compliance research, reporting, knowledge management, and consultant productivity.
Legal & Regulatory Intelligence
- Monitor federal and state legislation, regulations, agency guidance, enforcement actions, and significant court decisions affecting Automotive Advertising, Sales, and F&I;
- Research and interpret legal and regulatory requirements impacting automotive retailers;
- Evaluate legal and regulatory developments and provide practical implementation guidance for internal teams and clients;
- Maintain current knowledge of state-specific automotive retail laws and consumer protection requirements;
- Support Legal Affairs by maintaining consistent legal and regulatory interpretations across KPA's consulting services, compliance resources, and solutions; and
- Contribute to the continued refinement of KPA's federal and 50-state regulatory monitoring and analysis processes.
Compliance Knowledge Management
- Maintain, enhance, and expand KPA's 50-state compliance libraries, regulatory matrices, state summaries, decision trees, reference guides, FAQs, and implementation guidance;
- Refine standardized compliance methodologies and interpretations that promote consistency across consulting engagements;
- Translate complex legal and regulatory concepts into practical operational guidance for consultants and clients;
- Maintain and enhance client-facing educational materials, compliance alerts, and regulatory communications; and
- Identify emerging trends and opportunities to further strengthen KPA's compliance content and proprietary knowledge assets.
Consultant Enablement & Advertising Review
- Support the Director of Regulatory Affairs in managing and advancing KPA’s services and related consumer protection compliance initiatives;
- Maintain and further enhance standardized methodologies for Advertising, Sales, and F&I compliance assessments;
- Refine review checklists, playbooks, examples, and reporting guidance used by ASF consultants;
- Support the continued enhancement of AI-assisted report-generation workflows while preserving professional judgment and editorial review;
- Analyze recurring compliance findings to identify opportunities to strengthen consultant guidance, educational resources, and review methodologies;
- Partner closely with the National Sr. Director of ASFI Consulting to support consultant effectiveness, consistency, and client service excellence; and
- Provide additional subject matter expertise to promote continuity across advertising review operations and regulatory inquiry functions.
AI-Enabled Compliance Innovation
- Leverage AI technologies to enhance regulatory research, compliance analysis, report development, and knowledge management;
- Further develop and refine AI-assisted prompts, knowledge agents, review workflows, and reporting tools that improve consultant productivity;
- Support the continued enhancement of KPA's automated advertising review capabilities by refining legal and regulatory logic, state-specific review criteria, and AI-assisted analysis methodologies;
- Evaluate AI-generated compliance analyses and recommendations to ensure legal accuracy, consistency, transparency, and practical usefulness;
- Collaborate across Legal, Consulting, Product, Engineering, Marketing, and Learning & Development to ensure compliance expertise is consistently reflected throughout KPA's services and solutions; and
- Identify opportunities to responsibly integrate emerging AI capabilities into established compliance services and consultant workflows.
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience
- Five or more years of experience in automotive retail compliance, dealership operations, consumer protection, regulatory affairs, legal research, compliance consulting, or a related field
- Strong understanding of Automotive Advertising, Sales, and F&I
- Demonstrated ability to research, analyze, and interpret complex legal and regulatory requirements
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to translate legal and regulatory concepts into practical business guidance
- Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills
- Exceptional attention to detail and commitment to accuracy
- Demonstrated proficiency utilizing AI tools to enhance research, knowledge management, document development, or professional workflows
- Ability to collaborate effectively across multiple business functions
Preferred Skills & Experience
- Juris Doctor (J.D.) strongly preferred
- Licensed attorney
- Experience supporting automotive retailers, dealership groups, OEMs, finance companies, compliance organizations, or related industry participants
- Experience conducting advertising compliance reviews
- Familiarity with federal and state laws governing automotive retail, including the FTC Act, UDAP/UDAAP principles, TILA, ECOA, FCRA, GLBA, privacy laws, CAN-SPAM, TCPA, and state advertising requirements
- Experience maintaining or enhancing compliance guidance, policies, educational materials, regulatory resources, or knowledge-management systems
Within the first year, the successful candidate will:
- Become a trusted internal subject matter expert for Automotive Advertising, Sales, and F&I legal and compliance matters;
- Further strengthen KPA's 50-state compliance guidance and regulatory knowledge resources;
- Enhance consistency and quality across advertising reviews and ASF consulting engagements through refined methodologies and practical guidance;
- Expand and improve compliance resources utilized by consultants and clients;
- Advance AI-assisted workflows that improve regulatory research, report development, and consultant productivity; and
- Contribute to the continued evolution of KPA's automated advertising review capabilities through enhanced legal and regulatory logic, state-specific review criteria, and AI-enabled knowledge resources.
- Establish key internal partnerships with:
- National Sr. Director of ASFI
- Director of Legal Affairs
- Product Management
- Engineering
- Marketing
- Learning & Development
- Client Success
- Executive Leadership
- You will work in a flexible, mostly remote capacity. KPA’s headquarters office is in Lafayette, CO. Occasional travel (approximately 5%) for internal meetings, client engagements, training, and industry conferences.
- Annual base compensation range between $95-115k commensurate with experience.
- Bonus potential up to 10% annually
Physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- Visual Recognition - Constantly
- Stationary sitting or standing position - Constantly
- Working at a computer typing and view a screen - Constantly
- Speaking, Hearing, and Listening - Often
- Travel - Occasional/as needed