General Counsel

Job Details: General Counsel

Full details of the job.

| Vacancy No | VN2510 |
| Job Title | General Counsel |
| Location | Geneva |
| Team | Legal |
| Reporting to | CEO |
| Career Step Level | 7 |
| Job Description | | |
| --- |
| Position title:   General CounselContract type / duration:    5 years defined durationLocation:    GenevaDepartment:    LegalTeam: LegalReports To:    CEON° of positions supervised (if applicable):   9 Career Step:    71. About the RoleThe General Counsel leads Gavi's Legal function and  reports directly to the CEO. In this role, the General Counsel provides independent legal advice and strategic advice, delivers legal support to all Gavi Secretariat teams, ensures administrative legal support is provided to IFFIm, an independent legal entity constituted under English law, and is a trusted strategic advisor  to the CEO and to Gavi's Board.The role enjoys regular interactions with senior internal and external stakeholders across the Alliance: the CEO and Leadership Team, the Board and its committees, and Gavi's third-party partners and counterparties — donors, partners, manufacturers, and suppliers — as well as Gavi's regulators across Switzerland, the UK, and the US.The mission of the role is to position the legal team as a strategic business partner and enabler, endowed with rigor and professionalism, notably as gatekeeper of compliance across the organisation: thus ensuring Gavi's activities and operations comply with applicable laws, Board policies, and contractual obligations. This encompasses the application and promotion of effective legal risk management, ensuring Gavi's rights, assets and reputation are adequately protected — while maintaining and encouraging a solution-oriented and collaborative, growth mindset. 2. Key Responsibilities - Advise the CEO, Executive Leadership Team, Compliance Group and the Board as principal legal counsel, including on Gavi's operating model and in close coordination with the Governance team — notably on interpretation of bylaws, board composition, corporate policies, and the application of Board decisions — communicating complex legal positions to non-lawyer decision-makers with clarity and simplicity.- Supervise the drafting, review, and negotiation of legal agreements entered into by Gavi, including contracts with donors, partners, manufacturers, suppliers, and employees.- Provide strategic advice on legal risks arising from Gavi's operations, assessing the legal implications of business decisions and proposing suitable mitigation strategies that leadership can act on.- Enable regulatory compliance across Swiss, UK, and US regulatory bodies — including data protection, sanctions, finance, and donor compliance as applicable — and support Gavi's ethics and compliance programme by promoting a culture of integrity.- Lead legal claims and disputes management whether initiated by or against Gavi — arranging representation before tribunals and other bodies, coordinating and cost-effectively managing outside counsel, and advising on settlement or litigation strategy, including employment matters.- Manage and develop the Legal Team as a high-performing function — defining and monitoring objectives, managing budgetary resources, and fostering a motivating environment aligned to Gavi's values.3. Your Experience and SkillsYears of experience- Typically 15 or more years of senior legal experience, including time in prime law firm and at General Counsel or equivalent executive leadership level, in public or private sector.Type of experience required to succeed in the role- Experience working in complex organisations with an international presence in the developing and developed world, ideally including public-private partnerships with complex governance structures. Experience across the private sector and / or international development sector is a strong asset.- Broad General Counsel-level experience across governance, transactions, human resources, contracting, litigation, ethics, finance, and investigations/audit; a successful track record in negotiation and influencing within complex environments; experience managing larger teams and delivering complex legal services; experience managing staff from diverse backgrounds.Education and qualifications- Essential: qualified lawyer, licensed to practise in at least one jurisdiction; advanced university degree in law.Technical and functional skills - Public international law and institutional legal practice – Advises the Board and Leadership Team on public international law questions arising from an international institution’s operations, including how that body of law shapes its rights, obligations, privileges and immunities, and relationships with governments and partner organisations; brings knowledge of the legal policies and practices of non-governmental and private sector, applying this understanding to governance, partnerships, transactions, and regulatory engagement in a complex international setting.- Privileges and immunities  - Commands the legal status of an international institution in Switzerland and the immunities attaching to it, including how they affect exposure to claims and regulation, and the judgement to assert, waive, or preserve them. - Governance, bylaws, and corporate instruments - Interprets and advises authoritatively on bylaws, board composition, corporate policies, and the application of board decisions in a multi-constituency structure, including advising a board on its own composition. - Multi-jurisdictional regulatory compliance - Directs compliance across data protection, sanctions, finance, and donor obligations spanning Swiss, UK, and US regimes concurrently, embedding compliance into how the organisation operates. - Complex contracting and transactions - Negotiates and structures agreements with donors, partners, manufacturers, suppliers, and employees, allocating and mitigating legal risk and securing terms that protect the organisation's rights, assets and reputation. - Litigation and dispute resolution strategy - Leads claims by or against the organisation, directing representation before tribunals, courts of law or arbitration as the case may be, managing external counsel, and deciding whether to settle or litigate, including employment matters. Assessed on: strategic reasoning on a settle-or-fight decision. Good to have:- Familiarity with health-sector or vaccine-supply legal frameworks.- Experience with the legal aspects of fund recovery and investigations in a donor-funded context.- Knowledge management and legal-technology adoption to streamline a legal function, including use of AI, and more generally, expert management of legal operations.Languages needed- Fluency in spoken and written English is required; Ability to communicate in spoken and written French would be an asset.4. How You Work (Behaviours and Mindsets) - Relationships and influence: Works effectively in an international, diverse, multi-stakeholder environment, building harmonious relationships within and outside Gavi. Communicates clearly and persuasively, with exceptional oral, written, and interpersonal skills. An effective influencer in complex, rapidly changing environments, with tact, diplomacy, and discretion on sensitive issues.- Executing for results under ambiguity: Comfortable with ambiguity and uncertainty, adapting nimbly and leading others through complex situations. Acts with decisiveness, resilience, and integrity, with high confidence and reasoned decision-making.- Independence and integrity: utmost personal integrity and high standards of personal conduct, a role model for ethical behaviour. Self-reflective and aware of their own limitations. Leads by example with an attitude of continuous improvement, open to feedback.- Setting strategy: Formulates and presents strategy and policy at a high level, providing collaborative leadership on global policies and new approaches within a changing environment. Creates realistic goals and implementation plans grounded in the organisation's capacity for change. - Judgement balancing impact and risk: Brings a conceptual and strategic analytical capacity, providing high-quality legal advice and identifying alternatives in planning and decision-making. Diagnoses and resolves multiple concurrent problems. Exercises sound judgement to balance impact with risk mitigation and strategic thinking.​​​​​​​5. Your Leadership - One Gavi Mindset: Thinks and acts with Gavi and the Alliance best interest in mind, role models values and behaviours, fosters shared accountability, promotes and exhibits strong collaboration within and across departments. - Agile Leadership: Adapts quickly to shifting contexts, guides teams through uncertainty, and drives decisions that balance long-term strategy with short-term responsiveness.- Strategic-Pragmatic: Balances long-term vision with operational realities, translating strategy into clear, outcome-driven actions.- Influence and Drive Change: Builds alignment and commitment among diverse stakeholders, driving progress through diplomacy, credibility, and shared purpose.Talent Development: Grows talent with an organisation-wide perspective, cultivates high-performing teams by setting clear expectations, providing regular feedback, and mentoring talent to thrive in a dynamic, mission-driven environment. | |