General Counsel — Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance
- Location
- Le Grand-Saconnex
- Contract
- full-time
- Posted
- 22 days ago
Role overview
Position title: General Counsel Contract type / duration: 5 years defined duration Location: Geneva Department: Legal Team: Legal Reports To: CEO N° of positions supervised (if applicable): 9 Career Step: 7 1.
The 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.
- Position title: General Counsel Contract type / duration: 5 years defined duration Location: Geneva Department: Legal Team: Legal Reports To: CEO N° of positions supervised (if applicable): 9 Career Step: 7 1.
- The General Counsel leads Gavi's Legal function and reports directly to the CEO.
- Key Responsibilities
Main responsibilities
- Key Responsibilities
Application process
- 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.
- 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 Skills Years of experience
Additional details
- About the Role The General Counsel leads Gavi's Legal function and reports directly to the CEO.
- 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
- 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
- Assessed on: strategic reasoning on a settle-or-fight decision.
- Knowledge management and legal-technology adoption to streamline a legal function, including use of AI, and more generally, expert management of legal operations.
- Ability to communicate in spoken and written French would be an asset. 4. How You Work (Behaviours and Mindsets)
Notes and original content
- 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
- 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
Questions about this listing
What salary does Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance offer for this role?
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance lists CHF 60'500 - 91'500 gross per year for this position in Le Grand-Saconnex. This is the salary published in the original listing (or, when the employer omits a figure, a realistic estimate for the role and sector) — the calculator on this site converts it to your actual net take-home once cross-border tax and social contributions are applied.
Is this a full-time role, and what type of contract does Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance offer?
This listing is a full-time position. The contract type shown here comes directly from the employer's original posting; always confirm exact hours, notice period and probation length with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance during the application process, since these details can vary by role even within the same contract category.
Do I need a cross-border work permit for a role in Geneva?
EU/EFTA residents living in the border zone of the country adjoining Canton Geneva can apply for a G permit; the Swiss employer files it with that canton's migration office after the contract is signed. Border-zone rules and processing times vary by neighbouring country and canton, so confirm the specifics with Geneva's cantonal migration office or with HR during the application.
How do I apply for this position at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance?
Use the "Apply now" button on this page — it links directly to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance's original listing at fs-2662.my.salesforce-sites.com, so your application goes straight to the employer's own applicant-tracking system. Frontaliere Ticino does not collect or forward applications itself.
