Legal Counsel

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private partnership committed to saving children's lives and protecting people's health by increasing equitable use of vaccines in lower-income countries. The Vaccine Alliance brings together implementing country and donor governments, the World Health Organisation, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry, technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and other private sector partners. Gavi uses innovative finance mechanisms, including co-financing by recipient countries, to secure sustainable funding and adequate supply of quality vaccines. Since 2000, Gavi has contributed to the immunisation of more than 1 billion children and the prevention of more than 17.3 million future deaths.

THE ROLE

Please note this is a temporary role, 6-8 months.

The Legal team provides legal risk analyses, proposes effective mitigation strategies and supports the Gavi Secretariat on all legal matters. The Legal team helps develop effective and efficient structures for Gavi projects and negotiates and drafts all agreements for Gavi as appropriate including agreements with donors, Alliance partners, vendors and consultants.

The Legal team also advises the Gavi Secretariat on legal matters concerning operations, employment, intellectual property rights, media and public relations, conflicts of interest, privileges and immunities, policies, governance and compliance with relevant laws and regulations, including in the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Switzerland.

MAIN DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

• As required, support all Gavi Secretariat teams by preparing legal documents for and advising on legal aspects of the Gavi Secretariat’s operations, including by:

a) Preparing or reviewing agreements, including Partnership Framework Agreements with implementing countries, Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs), policies or guidelines and proposal documents for Gavi support to countries;
b) Advising on and supporting the implementation of Gavi funded programmes in countries and the application of Gavi programmatic policies;
c) Preparing or reviewing grant agreements between Gavi and its donors;
d) Supporting the finance and operations team: preparing or reviewing contracts for the acquisition of goods and services, advising on intellectual property and IT matters, advising on matters related to Gavi’s investments;
e) Supporting the human resources (HR) team: drafting employment agreements, and providing advice on the development, application and implementation of HR policies, appeals and related processes;
f) Advising and providing support, working with the World Bank and other partners as appropriate, in relation to proposed innovative financing mechanisms and existing ones such as the International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm), the Advanced Market Commitment (AMC) and the Matching Fund.

• Prepare documents and supporting legal materials for Board meetings of Gavi and IFFIm, and their committees;
• Support the General Counsel and Head of Legal and/or the other members of the Legal team on specific matters as requested.

Note: The essential functions listed in this section are not exhaustive of the job responsibilities; other duties may be assigned consistently with the department needs.

QUALIFICATIONS

ACADEMIC

• Advanced university degree in Law and from an accredited law school. A first-level university degree in law from an accredited law school, in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience, may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree;
• License to practice law in a national jurisdiction.

WORK EXPERIENCE

• Minimum of 5 years of legal experience in a top-rated law firm or as in-house counsel
• Commercial and transactional experience;
• Public and global health experience an asset.

SKILLS/COMPETENCIES

• Ability to collaborate in an international environment;
• Ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously and maintain focus on priorities;
• Ability to communicate effectively to a wide variety of audiences both within and outside Gavi;
• Impeccable contract drafting skills;
• Excellent analytical and problem solving skills;
• Ability to identify and explain complex issues;
• Team player, yet equally able to work autonomously;
• Excellent interpersonal and diplomatic skills;
• Integrity and principles-based work ethics;
• Organised, thorough and detail oriented;
• Interest in public international law and/or health related development;
• Tact and discretion.

LANGUAGES

• Fluency in English required and ability to conduct legal work in French is an asset.

CONTACTS

• Secretariat stakeholders;
• External partners with which Gavi enters into agreements;
• Outside legal counsel.