General Counsel

Position: General Counsel – Village Enterprise

Location: Flexible/Global

Reports to: Chief Executive Officer

Department: Legal

Position Type: Full-time, Executive Leadership

__________________________________________________________________

Organization Overview:

Village Enterprise’s mission is to end extreme poverty in rural Africa through entrepreneurship and innovation. Village Enterprise targets the poor, provides business training, seed capital/startup funds and on-going mentoring to over 10,000 new entrepreneurs to start 3,000 enterprises each year. Since its inception in 1987, Village Enterprise has started over 40,000 micro-enterprises.

Summary of the Role

Village Enterprise seeks an experienced, strategic, and mission‑driven General Counsel to establish and lead the organisation’s first formal Legal Department. This executive-level role will serve as the organisation’s principal legal advisor, responsible for designing and implementing a comprehensive legal framework that supports Village Enterprise’s global operations across Africa and the United States.

The General Counsel will oversee all legal affairs, ensure compliance with international donor requirements, manage organisational risk, and provide counsel to the CEO, Board of Directors, and senior leadership. This is a unique opportunity to build a legal function from the ground up within a rapidly growing, high‑impact international NGO.