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Date: 7 May 2025
Location: UK or, Kenya
Company: Plan International
The Organisation
Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. We believe in the power and potential of every child but know this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And it is girls who are most affected.
Working together with children, young people, supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges girls and vulnerable children face. We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood and we enable children to prepare for and respond to crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge.
For over 85 years, we have rallied other determined optimists to transform the lives of all children in more than 80 countries.
We won’t stop until we are all equal.
The Opportunity
Plan International is looking for a Legal Counsel to join our Legal Team. The Legal Team helps drive good governance and decision making by providing global insights, thought leadership and technical expertise for governors, leaders and staff as they strive for a just world that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.
As Legal Counsel you will engage at all levels of the organisation across a broad range of complex legal and governance issues. You will be part of the Global Hub Legal Team, reporting to Head of Legal (Regions), and will also work directly with our regional and country offices, as well as senior stakeholders within the Regional Offices and Global Hub’s globally located and multidisciplinary business units. Our Legal Counsels provide legal advice and, where necessary, coordinate specialist legal advice from various firms on domestic and international legal and governance issues. You will also use your technical and professional legal expertise as an entry point to problem-solve more broadly.
The Individual
We are looking to recruit a lawyer who is qualified (3+ years PQE) in the UK, the US and / or Kenya. You will need to have a good level of spoken and written French to be able communicate effectively, as well as fluency in English.
Previous experience working as an in-house lawyer is highly desirable, but not essential.
You will have a demonstrable ability to use legal skills to solve problems and identify and implement pragmatic solutions. You will be able to give legal advice internationally on a diverse range of issues as well as advising and reporting on legal and other risks.
You will have good drafting skills and experience in commercial / contract matters as well as in some of the following areas: employment and labour law, restructuring, corporate governance (including subsidiary management), charity/not-for-profit, data privacy, intellectual property, tax, dispute resolution or management of legal claims.
To be successful in this role you will be a highly professionally and creative problem solver who is constructive and positive in your approach, and who demonstrates high levels of integrity and alignment with Plan’s values. You will be self-motivated and quick to learn, highly organised and a collaborative team player. You will have experience of, or an interest in, work arising in jurisdictions across Africa.
Please respond to the requirements of the role in your cover letter.
Only CVs and cover letters in English will be accepted. Interviews will be in a combination of French and English.
Please click here for the full role profile – Legal Counsel Feb 2025_.docx
Location: This role can be based in Plan International’s Global Hub in Woking, UK or in our Kenyan Office in Nairobi and you must have the pre-existing right to work in either of these locations. We are mostly remote working with occasional visits (approximately 3 times a month) into the office in Woking if you are based in the UK.
Salary: Plan International offers a competitive package in the context of the sector with an option of flexible working hours. We will be happy to disclose the salary and applicable benefits to applicants as part of this process; however, please note that this will vary according to the location of the appointed candidate and, therefore, it is not possible to include full details here.
Type of Position: Permanent or maximum fixed term contract as per employing office’s standard terms and conditions.
Closing date: 28th May 2025
Equality, diversity and inclusion is at the very heart of everything that Plan International stands for.
We want Plan International to reflect the diversity of the communities we work with, offering equal opportunities to everyone regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.
Plan International is based on a culture of inclusivity and we strive to create a workplace environment that ensures every team, in every office, in every country, is rich in diverse people, thoughts, and ideas.
We foster an organisational culture that embraces our commitment to racial justice, gender equality, girls’ rights and inclusion.
Plan International believes that in a world where children face so many threats of harm, it is our duty to ensure that we, as an organisation, do everything we can to keep children safe. This means that we have particular responsibilities to children that we come into contact with and we must not contribute in any way to harming or placing children at risk.
A range of pre-employment checks will be undertaken in conformity with Plan International’s Safeguarding Children and Young People policy. Plan International also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In line with this scheme we will request information from applicants previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms their understanding of these recruitment procedures.
Please note that Plan International will never send unsolicited emails requesting payment from candidates.
