Legal Counsel

Position type: Full time, permanent, 37.5 hours per week.Part time hours (minimum 22.5 hours per week) and flexible working will be considered

Responsible to: Head of Legal & Risk

Direct reports: None

Location: ShelterBox HQ, Truro or remote (within the UK) with regular trips to HQ

Role purpose:

This is an opportunity for a commercial lawyer to become an integral part of the organisation assisting and advising across a broad range of legal, data protection, governance and corporate risk issues relevant to our domestic and international work, helping to ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and assisting with the effective management of both legal & wider corporate risk.

In assisting the Head of Legal & Risk you will play a key role in supporting the development and continued professionalisation of a dynamic and growing organisation and ultimately ensuring we help more families affected by disaster and conflict.

Who are we looking for?

You will be a qualified solicitor or barrister with at least two years’ experience gained either in private practice or in-house, including commercial, data protection or charitable experience.

You will be comfortable with a varied and challenging workload and be able to work under your own initiative with minimal supervision.

You will have the interpersonal skills necessary to manage relationships with colleagues at all levels and to work successfully with stakeholders from across the organisation.

Ultimately, this is a role for a person who wants to use their legal skills and experience to make a real difference – helping transform despair into hope for hundreds of thousands of people around the world. Your day will no longer be driven by timesheets and targets, and you will have a healthy work-life balance.

Duties will include but not be limited to:

• Drafting, reviewing and negotiating template agreements and amendments with donors and partners relating to the development and delivery of overseas aid programmes;
• Supporting other teams with partner due diligence, logistics agreements and other legal issues that may arise in relation to ShelterBox’s overseas deployments;
• Supporting our Procurement and Supply Chain teams with template documents and negotiation of agreements;
• Supporting ShelterBox with its data protection compliance, including advice on GDPR, PECR and other relevant legislation;
• Conducting legal research and assisting with know-how
• Assisting with all legal aspects of the charity’s relationship with its overseas affiliates, including affiliate agreements, funding agreements and reviews of the affiliate network structure;
• Assisting on corporate governance issues and company secretarial matters relating to the charity, its trading subsidiary and its overseas subsidiary in the Philippines;
• Dealing with compliance and regulatory issues including charity and company law;
• Advising on legal aspects of fundraising;
• Assisting with the management of all legal aspects of the charity’s real estate portfolio;
• Assisting the Legacy Officer on legacies, as required;
• Monitoring the charity’s portfolio of intellectual property rights and ensuring these are appropriately managed and maintained;
• Contributing to the development and updating of procedures, processes and policies to ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements;
• Assisting the Head of Legal & Risk to provide effective general legal advice and support to all areas of the organisation, and engaging and managing external legal advisors when required, ensuring the organisation receives high quality advice and value for money.
• Assisting with the management of the risk register and monitoring of effective risk mitigation strategies.