Legal Counsel - West & Central Africa

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 an interim Legal Counsel to join our Legal team to support our West & Central Africa region.  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, particularly in our West & Central Africa region, across a broad range of complex legal and governance. You will be part of the Global Hub Legal Team, reporting to Deputy General Counsel, and will also work directly with our regional and country offices, as well as senior stakeholders within the Regional Office and Global Hub’s globally located and multidisciplinary business units.  Legal Counsel will provide legal advice and, where necessary, coordinate specialist legal advice from various firms on domestic and international legal and governance issues, and use your technical and professional legal expertise as an entry point to problem-solve more broadly.

The Individual

We are looking to recruit a fluent French and English speaking lawyer who is both qualified (3+ years PQE) in, and has significant experience practicing as a lawyer in, a West or Central African jurisdiction. Ability to speak Portuguese and/or dual qualification in one of UK, US or a European jurisdiction are 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 and you will also have strong experience in at least one of the West or Central African jurisdictions in a significant number of the following areas of law and inhouse practice: employment and labour law, commercial/contract, restructuring, corporate governance (including subsidiary management), charity/not-for-profit, data privacy, intellectual property, dispute resolution or management of legal claims, as well as advising and reporting on legal and other risks.

To be successful in this role you will be a highly professionally and creative problem solver who is constructive and positive in their approach, and who demonstrates high levels of integrity and alignment with Plan’s values. You will be self-motivated and highly organised and you will be a collaborative team player. You will be able to communicate effectively in French and English, with Portuguese language skills being additionally desirable.

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 January 2024 (WACA).docx

Location: This role will be based in one of Plan International’s Country Offices in the West & Central Africa region where Plan International has an office* and you have the pre-existing right to work and live may be considered. Occasional travel to another office may be required.

Salary: Plan International offers a competitive package in the context of the sector with an option of flexible of working hours. We will be happy to disclose the salary and applicable benefits to applicants as part of this process, however, please kindly 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: 1 year fixed term ideally to start between October - December 2024

Closing date: Sunday 6th October 2024, with the view to hold interviews w/c 14th October

 *Applicable locations include: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad,, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo

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.