Location: The Netherlands
Location type: Remote
Reporting to: Chief of Staff and Operations
Annual salary: $146,560 - $183,200 USD. Candidates must have the right to work in the Netherlands.
Contract type: Regular
Working hours: Full-time
Candidate level: Management
Closing date: Monday 3rd November, 9:00 am CET
Background
The Global Methane Hub (GMH) is the first coordinated philanthropic approach to methane mitigation funding. We support ambitious catalytic investments, lay the groundwork for long-term transformation of challenging sectors, and deliver quick wins in sectors that are ripe for action on the ground. The Hub focuses on the energy, agricultural, and waste sectors, which account for 96% of human-caused methane emissions.
Our actions are global in nature, but we believe quick wins will only be had if we engage sub-nationals and local communities. Our grant making focuses on the highest emitting sectors and regions, with a team spread out across six continents and is headquartered in Santiago, Chile.
Purpose of role
The Head of Legal and Compliance ensures legal, regulatory, and ethical integrity across GMH's grant-making activities and operations, while ensuring regulatory accountability across multiple jurisdictions. This is a strategic and hands-on role that serves as the primary legal advisor and compliance lead, contributing to due diligence, risk management, contract management, governance, regulatory filings, and policy development at the organisational level.
The position reports to the Chief of Staff and Operations (COSO). This is a cross-functional role and will partner closely with the Financial & Administrative, Development & Impact, and program teams to deftly manage complex internal and external legal relationships.
Primary responsibilities
Strategic legal advisory
- Provide legal counsel to the Leadership Team and Board on legal and regulatory matters affecting GMH's operations and strategic direction.
- Design and execute comprehensive legal and compliance plans to achieve established goals for the legal function, enabling achievement of broader GMH programmatic goals and strategy.
- Advise on corporate governance matters and ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and best practices across multiple jurisdictions and regulatory environments.
- Serve as a decision maker within the legal area of expertise while understanding the need to consider broader implications to GMH when making decisions.
- Lead cross-functional compliance, governance, and risk-related projects, ensuring alignment with GMH values, fiscal sponsor requirements, and international regulatory frameworks.
- Lead and coordinate ongoing legal compliance for GMH's Dutch stichting.
- Oversee annual filings and compliance processes, including preparing, updating, and submitting required legal and organisational documentation across multiple jurisdictions.
- Monitor regulatory developments across GMH's operating regions and integrate compliance requirements into organisational operations.
- Identify, assess, and manage legal, reputational, and related risks GMH faces, implementing comprehensive strategies to mitigate organisational risks.
- Independently develop, implement, and maintain comprehensive compliance frameworks and policies for global operations, working with external counsel on complex matters.
- Provide legal guidance to People Operations on employment-related matters, including contracts, policies, disputes, and regulatory compliance.
- Oversee comprehensive due diligence processes for all grant-making activities, including assessment of grantee legal status, governance structures, organisational documents, regulatory compliance, and operational capacity across GMH's global portfolio.
- Conduct legal and compliance due diligence on new and existing funders, preparing comprehensive reports for leadership on grant approvals, renewals, and terminations.
- Design and implement standardised due diligence frameworks and checklists tailored to different grantee types (NGOs, government entities, academic institutions, private sector partners) and regional regulatory requirements.
- Coordinate with external legal counsel and specialist firms in various jurisdictions to conduct enhanced due diligence on high-risk or high-value grant recipients, managing relationships for cost-effective specialised legal support.
- Collaborate with Finance and Programs teams to establish legal criteria for grant approvals and develop risk mitigation strategies for grants in challenging regulatory environments.
- Lead drafting, review, and negotiation of funding agreements, consultancy contracts, grant agreements, partnerships, and vendor engagements with advanced technical depth.
- Develop contract templates and negotiation frameworks that protect GMH's interests while facilitating strategic objectives.
- Oversee legal disputes and litigation management, ensuring effective resolution of legal challenges.
- Build and maintain strategic relationships with external legal counsel, regulatory bodies, and compliance experts across GMH's operating jurisdictions.
- Represent GMH in legal and regulatory matters, engaging with government agencies, key partners, legal counterparts, and compliance authorities.
- Coordinate with the fiscal sponsor on legal and compliance matters affecting organisational structure and operations.
- Support complex employment law matters across multiple jurisdictions, working with Employer of Record and fiscal sponsor on employee-related legal requirements.
- Support board governance activities, including preparation of board materials on legal and compliance topics.
- Present directly to key stakeholders, including the Leadership Team, board, and principal funders, on legal and compliance initiatives.
- Lead development and implementation of organisational policies, procedures, and training programs on legal and compliance matters.
- Review and provide legal input on GMH’s internal policies, ensuring alignment with legal requirements and organisational governance standards.
- Actively contribute to and drive a culture of ethical integrity and regulatory accountability across the organisation.
- Create and maintain legal resource materials, templates, and guidance documents for organisational use.
- Additional responsibilities as required.
The following offers an aspirational view of our ideal candidate profile; however, we encourage applications from candidates with a wide range of experiences and backgrounds, especially those from underrepresented groups.
Experience
- Demonstrates organisational values of equity, agility, humility, integrity, and care.
- Bachelor of Law degree required, relevant advanced degree and certifications preferred.
- At least 8+ years of legal experience across relevant fields of law (contract law, non-profit law, and regulatory compliance preferred),
- Demonstrated expertise in non-profit, international, or philanthropic environments across multiple jurisdictions.
- Expertise in Dutch non-profit law required, including engaging with the Dutch Tax Authority (Belastingdienst) on ANBI matters and familiarity with the Dutch Civil Code (Burgerlijk Wetboek) Book 2 provisions on foundations.
- Proven track record navigating legal topics in international environments and achieving objectives across diverse cultural, regulatory, and economic landscapes.
- Experience with GDPR, cross-border data transfers, and privacy impact assessments.
- Knowledge of Dutch AML regulations.
- Expert negotiation and contract drafting abilities with a track record of protecting organisational interests while facilitating strategic transactions.
- Highly collaborative with excellent interpersonal skills and ability to relate to all levels of the organisation, external partners, and grantees.
- Proven experience with cross-functional compliance, governance, and risk-related projects.
- Global perspective with understanding of legal nuances across different jurisdictions and ability to manage legal issues on an international scale.
- Strong subject matter expertise in legal and compliance areas, serving as an emerging thought leader in non-profit legal operations.
- Written and oral fluency in English and Dutch required, working proficiency in Spanish desired.
- Exceptional problem-solving abilities and analytical mindset with keen attention to detail.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to influence and persuade stakeholders and decision makers at senior levels.
- Strong networking skills enabling effective collaboration with diverse groups of stakeholders across multiple jurisdictions.
- Passionate about being part of the climate change solution.
Terms and conditions
- This will be a full-time (40 hours/week) remote role and will require considerable time flexibility in order to support and collaborate with staff and stakeholders in multiple time zones. The position supervisor is in the GMT-3/-4 time zone.
- Ability and willingness to travel internationally (~10%).
- Please note that the successful candidate may undergo reference checks prior to starting employment.
Hiring Statement
The Global Methane Hub is committed to attracting, developing, and retaining exceptional people, and to creating a work environment that is dynamic, rewarding, and enables each of us to realize our potential. Our work environment is safe and open to all employees and partners, respecting the full spectrum of race, color, religious creed, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, political affiliation, ancestry, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, and all other classifications protected by law in the locality and/or state in which you are working.
Employees will be offered a local employment contract through Atlas, an Employer of Record service. Benefits will include all statutory requirements for the hiring location, but at a minimum, GMH offers: 100% employer-paid health, dental, and vision insurance for employees and their families; 4 weeks of paid time off, up to 15 days of paid sick leave, 16 weeks of parental leave, holidays according to the local calendar, and an additional week of paid time off for end of year office closure. Employees receive wellness, technology, and home composting benefits in addition to professional development and training opportunities.
If you have any questions about the role or organisation, please reach out to McAra Kirby-Fahey at mcara@upsallinternational.com.
To note: in order to keep your application safe and ensure your data is GDPR compliant, applications will not be accepted via email.
· The deadline for applications is Monday 3rd November, 9:00 am CET ·
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Upsall International actively promotes equality, diversity, and inclusion. In recruiting candidates, we seek candidates with the proven skills required, irrespective of race, gender, religion or belief, age, disability, or sexual orientation.