Deputy General Counsel – Maternity Cover

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 this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And it’s girls who are most affected.

Working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children.

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.

We have been building powerful partnerships for children for over 85 years, and are now active in more than 75 countries.

The Opportunity 

As the Deputy General Counsel, you will support the General Counsel to deliver an effective legal advisory service on behalf of Plan International’s Legal Team.  

This includes the provision of high-quality advice, support, and representation on legal issues to our leadership and business units, furthering the delivery of our strategy and ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory requirements by Plan International Inc. (PII) and its subsidiaries.  

You will provide direct secondary support to General Counsel by providing professional leadership on legal and governance issues. You will deputise as General Counsel in their absence, and together with them provide overall leadership in legal matters to PII. 

About You 

• Qualified as a lawyer in the UK and/or the US with significant post qualification experience, including in house.  
• Highly experienced at providing legal advice in house and internationally on a diverse range of highly complex issues.  
• Demonstrable experience of line managing and providing support to a highly effective legal team 
• Thorough understanding of the legal and corporate governance issues affecting international not for profit organisations and understanding of the impact within decision making 
• Strong resource management knowledge and experience in terms of managing a highly pressurised team operating in a complex environment  
• Strong legal drafting skills and powers of analysis with good attention to detail including when under pressure.  
• Skilled at applying legal expertise to the development and implementation of policy and strategy.  
• Strong strategic thinking capabilities which are combined effectively with ability to implement workable solutions.  
• Creative problem solver and able to adapt recommendations and decisions quickly to a changing priorities and environment  

Please follow this link for a full role profile; Deputy General Counsel_Role Profile_2022.pdf 

Please respond to the requirements of the role in your cover letter.  

Only CVs and cover letters in English will be accepted.   

Location: This role will ideally be based in the UK or a central timezone, employed from the Global Hub for Plan International which is based in Woking, Surrey however other locations where Plan International has an office* that can employ on behalf of the Global Hub and you have the pre-existing right to work and live may be considered. You may be office, home or hybrid based 

Type of role: 12 month fixed term contract, maternity cover. 

Salary: We will be happy to disclose the salary and applicable benefits to applicants as part of this process, however, please kindly note that the salary and employment benefits will be set according to your location and therefore it is not possible to include full details here.  

Closing Date: 6th Septemeber 2022

*Applicable locations include: Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, China, Colombia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Finland, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Korea, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Uganda, United Kingdom, Vietnam, Zambia, Zimbabwe

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.