Legal Counsel

Permanent, Part‑time – 28 hours per week.

Location: London, UK. UK hybrid working – a minimum of 40% of working time is spent face‑to‑face (London office, external meetings or travel). 60/40 hybrid working at WaterAid means roughly three days wherever you work best and two days together in person.

Salary: £50,000 to £51,439 (Pro‑rota) per year with excellent benefits.

Change starts with water. Change starts with you.

Every day, millions of people live without clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene. WaterAid exists to change that – for everyone, everywhere. Join us, and your energy will help unlock people’s potential and create a fairer future.

About WaterAid

We’re a global federation driven by one vision: a world where everyone, everywhere has clean water, sanitation and hygiene by 2030. Powered by our values of Respect, Accountability, Courage, Collaboration, Integrity and Innovation, we work alongside communities, partners and supporters to make change happen.

About the team

The role sits within the Legal and Compliance Team as part of the Finance and IT Directorate. We are looking for a UK qualified lawyer who is looking to start working or build experience in the NGO sector and work in a broad, challenging and interesting role as part of a dynamic team.

In this role, you will

• Be a point of contact for all legal queries across WaterAid, responding to enquiries from colleagues and proactively identifying legal issues along with any broader organisational risks to ensure appropriate legal advice is provided.
• Review and negotiate contracts between WaterAid UK and third parties, including commercial contracts, contracts for services such as consultancy contracts and partnership agreements.
• Assist with the drafting and updating of contract templates.
• Contribute to the development of policies and training for colleagues to drive best practice in contract management and value for money.
• Respond to risk by ensuring contracts are negotiated effectively.
• Promote compliance with legal requirements, staying up‑to‑date with relevant regulatory changes.
• Champion WaterAid’s commitment to equity, inclusion and safeguarding.

Requirements – To be successful, you will need

• To be a qualified solicitor (English/UK law) with 2+ years PQE and experience of commercial and contract law.
• Excellent drafting skills, with broad experience of drafting a variety of contracts and other legal documents.
• Experience in identifying legal risks and providing pragmatic and balanced solutions, managing expectations, maintaining confidentiality and displaying high ethical standards.
• Ability to build credibility and effective relationships across the organisation and communicate effectively across different cultures and business needs.
• Excellent written communication skills, able to convey information clearly and accurately.
• Proactive approach and demonstrable experience of prioritising, delivering and supporting a variety of projects to deadlines and managing multiple tasks in a fast‑moving environment.
• Good IT skills, effective user of online resources and IT and communication technologies, particularly Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, Teams and Zoom.
• Highly organised and methodical with excellent attention to detail.
• Able to work efficiently with minimal supervision and prioritise own workload effectively whilst being able to work as part of a team.
• Good understanding of the context in which WaterAid works and a commitment to the aims and values of WaterAid.

Preferred (but not essential)

• In‑house experience an advantage, particularly in the charity sector.
• Awareness of relevant Charity and Company law and knowledge of best practice.
• Knowledge of the workings of the Charities Commission and the Fundraising Regulator.
• Experience of providing high quality service to a diverse range of customers.
• Ability to work calmly and effectively under pressure and supportively but assertively hold senior managers to account.

How to apply

Click Apply to upload your CV only and cover letter.

Application deadline

Applications close 12:00 PM UK time on 1 December 2025. Interviews may be scheduled on a rolling basis, and the role may close earlier if a suitable candidate is found.

Pre‑employment screening

To apply for this role, you must be able to demonstrate your eligibility to work in the respective country. All pre‑employment checks will be carried out according to local law and WaterAid’s Safer Recruitment policy. All UK‑based roles require a basic Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

Benefits

• 36 days’ holiday (including 8 Bank Holidays)
• Option to buy an extra 5 days’ annual leave
• Employer pension contribution up to 10%
• Flexible and hybrid working arrangements
• Season ticket loan
• Free annual eye tests
• ‘Give as you Earn’ charitable giving scheme
• Enhanced parental leave (maternity, adoption/surrogacy, shared parental and paternity)
• Sabbaticals
• One paid volunteer day each year

As part of our annual leave policy, all employees receive three additional days of annual leave on top of their standard allocation of 25 days. These days are designated to cover the period when our UK office closes between Christmas and New Year, allowing all UK WaterAiders to take a well‑deserved break. They are automatically scheduled and cannot be changed or moved. Annual leave is accrued based on your start date. If sufficient leave has not been accrued by the time of the closure, the 3 days will be taken as unpaid leave or pro‑rated, depending on your circumstances.

Equal Opportunities

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, beliefs, customs, traditions, ways of life and status. This includes, but is not limited to, race, ethnicity, caste, colour, gender, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, disability status, neurodiversity, age, marital and family status, sexual orientation and gender identity, health status, place of residence, economic and social situation.

Safeguarding

We are committed to protecting everyone we come into contact with. We have a zero‑tolerance approach to abuse of power, privilege or trust across our global work, and to any form of inappropriate behaviour, discrimination, abuse, bullying, harassment or exploitation. Safeguarding the people and communities we work with, our staff, volunteers and anyone working on our behalf is our top priority, and we take our responsibilities extremely seriously. All offers of employment are subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks (which can include counter‑terrorism, safeguarding and criminal records checks).

Seniority level

Associate

Employment type

Part‑time

Job function

Legal

Industries

Non‑profit Organizations

Our Global Commitment

We will work with passion and focus to make sure everyone everywhere has clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene. WaterAid is a place of purpose – where people have a real commitment and shared responsibility for the impact we have. We are a global community with diverse backgrounds and perspectives, motivated by inspiring, stimulating work. We are determined to be a place where people feel safe and able to contribute their voice and truly live our values.

We’ll change the world through water

Join us and be part of the change!