[Hiring] Head of Legal @GiveWell

Role Description

GiveWell’s prior General Counsel recently transitioned to the role of Chief Operations Officer, and we are now looking for an experienced, pragmatic attorney to lead GiveWell’s legal function and build a team that can scale with our expected growth. This role will report to the COO and will be a strategic senior leader and thought partner, helping to shape the growing Operations team as well as GiveWell more broadly. Along with owning GiveWell’s legal portfolio and strategy, the Head of Legal will also support and manage our high-performing Grants Administration function.

We are open to candidates at various levels of experience, including candidates who have had multiple turns as General Counsel as well as candidates who would be stepping into the most-senior in-house role for the first time. Candidates will default into the “Head of Legal” role, which is a Senior Director-level position. However, those candidates who have significant prior GC experience, especially in grantmaking or operating nonprofits, may be considered for hire at the Vice President level.

In this role, you will:

• Build and lead GiveWell’s legal function and serve as the organization’s primary legal decision-maker, developing a calibrated legal strategy as GiveWell continues to scale.
• Maintain and improve GiveWell’s strong compliance posture as a nonprofit that receives donations, makes grants, and operates in multiple jurisdictions.
• Provide strategic leadership and management for GiveWell's Grants Admin function, including guidance on complex or novel grant structures as they arise.
• Own contracting across all of GiveWell’s functional areas (grants, contributions, employment, software, independent contractors and vendors, etc.) and build the systems, processes, and controls needed to help the organization operate efficiently.
• Modernize how GiveWell's legal administration work gets done, prioritizing technology and tools that increase capacity and reduce reliance on manual review.
• Act as a thought partner to the COO and other leaders, helping shape how the growing organization operates and scales.
• Respond to internal legal questions promptly with clear, actionable guidance grounded in GiveWell’s goals and values.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of legal experience, including significant in-house experience; prior experience as a General Counsel or similar senior legal leadership experience is a plus.
• Active state bar membership in good standing, preferably in California or New York.
• Excellent people management skills, including experience building, leading, and coaching legal and other professional teams.
• Expertise in legal and compliance areas relevant to GiveWell’s work – this portfolio includes nonprofit and tax-exempt law, data privacy, contract negotiation, international corporate governance & expansion, and employment.
• Prior success leading complex legal or compliance projects where results depended on cross-functional stakeholder engagement.
• Strong communication skills, particularly in translating complex legal issues into clear, actionable guidance for non-legal colleagues and leadership.
• Sound judgment and experience in calibrating legal guidance to the practical stakes involved, preferably within multiple different environments.

Requirements

• Experience in philanthropy, global health, or international development (preferred).
• Experience managing or partnering closely with adjacent functions, such as grants administration, HR, or partnerships (preferred).
• Experience with international legal and regulatory environments (e.g., UK operations or establishment of corporate subsidiaries abroad) (preferred).
• Experience and comfort with legal technology and self-service/automation tools that increase team efficiency (preferred).
• Experience working with or advising nonprofit boards (preferred).

Benefits

• Fully funded health, dental, vision, and life insurance (we cover 100% of premiums within the US for you and any dependents).
• Four weeks of paid time off per year.
• One week all-office closure.
• 16 weeks of fully paid parental leave.
• Ergonomic home workstations or coworking space memberships.
• Automatic contribution equal to 5% of your gross salary into your 403(b) retirement plan (for US-based staff).

Company Description

GiveWell is dedicated to finding and evaluating highly cost-effective global health and development opportunities, and we publish all the work, reasoning, and uncertainties behind our funding decisions. Our giving funds enable donors to contribute to the most impactful and cost-effective programs our researchers identify.

• GiveWell is one of the world’s largest private funders of global development efforts.
• Trusted annually by tens of thousands of donors, GiveWell searches for highly cost-effective programs that save or improve lives the most.
• Since 2007, more than 150,000 donors have given over $2.6 billion through GiveWell to the most promising programs its research has identified.