Main areas of focus: Enterprise Partnerships (Revenue & Program), Data Privacy & Security, Enterprise Risk & Governance, Nonprofit & International Law
Location: Remote - U.S. only
Eligibility: At this time, we are only considering candidates who are eligible to work in the United States without the need for company sponsorship now or in the future.
JOB HIGHLIGHT:
You’ll serve as charity: water’s senior legal leader, enabling partnerships across both revenue and program teams while partnering closely with leaders to support the responsible use of data and AI as the organization scales globally.
JOB SUMMARY:
As the General Counsel, you’ll report directly to the President and serve as a member of the Executive Team. You’ll lead all legal matters across the organization, with a core focus on enabling partnerships and growth across revenue and program functions, advising on data privacy, security, and supporting strong governance and global compliance.
You'll provide practical, solution-oriented legal guidance that helps teams move quickly and confidently—unlocking opportunity, protecting trust, and advancing the mission.
YOU'LL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR...
Enabling partnerships and growth
- Providing proactive legal counsel to support partnerships across revenue and program teams, including fundraising, brand partnerships, cause marketing, implementing partners, collaborations, sponsorships, and strategic alliances
- Negotiating, reviewing, and developing contracts, MOUs, and agreements that support both revenue-generating and programmatic initiatives
- Developing scalable legal templates, playbooks, and workflows that increase speed, consistency, and clarity across partnership-driven work
- Advising senior leaders on legal considerations related to growth initiatives, new platforms, and evolving partnership models
Advising on data privacy and security
- Partnering with leaders to advise on data privacy and security
- Drafting and maintaining privacy policies, terms of use, data processing agreements, and incident response protocols
- Advising on legal considerations related to technology platforms, vendors, integrations, and data use
- Leading or supporting legal response to crisis (including data) incidents, including investigation, escalation, notification decisions, and post-incident learning
Strengthening enterprise decision-making and risk frameworks
- Developing and maintaining structures, frameworks, and processes that help the Executive Team and Leadership Team identify enterprise-wide risks and opportunities to make informed decisions
- Ensuring legal, data, and governance considerations are integrated into strategic planning, partnerships, and execution
Supporting governance and Board effectiveness
- Supporting strong corporate governance of the mission by partnering closely with Board leadership
- Helping shape Board materials, agendas, and meeting execution related to legal, governance, data privacy, and strategic matters
- Maintaining core governance policies and ensuring clear communication between management and the Board
Ensuring global compliance and operational integrity
- Ensuring all entities (U.S., UK, and international) are compliant with applicable local, state, federal, and international laws and regulations
- Partnering closely with People & Culture (HR) leadership on employee-related legal matters, including employment practices, performance management considerations, investigations, and employee relations issues
- Advising on and supporting global employment structures, including working with Employer of Record (EOR) partners to ensure compliant international hiring, contracts, and workforce practices
- Partnering with Finance and People & Culture leadership on organizational policies (including, but not limited to: whistleblower, conflicts of interest, compensation, travel, discrimination, employee handbook.)
Building strong legal operations
- Coordinating outside and pro bono counsel to extend internal capacity while maintaining consistency, judgment, and alignment with charity: water’s values
- Assuring maintenance of all corporate records
YOU MUST HAVE…
- A law degree from an accredited university and be in good standing with a U.S. state bar
- 8+ years of relevant legal experience, including significant in-house experience within a global nonprofit, mission-driven, or complex organization
- Demonstrated experience enabling partnerships and growth through practical legal guidance
- Strong experience advising on data privacy, data governance, and security
- Required certifications in data privacy:
- CIPP/E (Certified Information Privacy Professional – Europe)
- CIPM (Certified Information Privacy Manager)
- Experience partnering closely with executive leaders across revenue, program, finance, product, technology, and People & Culture
- A collaborative, service-oriented approach with sound judgment and high integrity
IT’S AN ADDED PLUS IF YOU HAVE…
- Experience supporting both revenue and program partnerships
- Experience with international operations and multi-jurisdictional compliance
- Prior experience working with 501(c)(3) organizations and related corporate entities
- Experience supporting mergers, integrations, or complex strategic partnerships
YOU’LL BE SUCCESSFUL IF…
You’re a strong cross-functional partner
You collaborate effectively with executive leaders and teams to help the organization move forward with clarity and confidence.
You’re a clear, trusted advisor
You translate complex legal, data, and technology considerations into practical guidance leaders can act on.
You lead with integrity and care
You steward trust thoughtfully and hold a high bar for accuracy, confidentiality, and ethical decision making.
TEAM OVERVIEW
The Legal function partners closely with Program, Revenue, Finance, Product, Technology, and People & Culture to enable partnerships, support growth, and safeguard trust across the organization.
The current General Counsel will support onboarding and transition activities and, following the transition period, will continue to serve as a Special Advisor reporting to the new General Counsel.
