Counsellor jobs in East of england

UNICEF ensures more of the world’s children are vaccinated, educated and protected than any other organisation. We have done more to influence laws and policies to help protect children than anyone else. We get things done. And we’re not going to stop until the world is a safe place for all our children.

This is a great opportunity to join the UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK) as General Counsel & Company Secretary, you will lead UNICEF UK’s legal, governance and regulatory strategy, ensuring the organisation operates with integrity, sound judgement and confidence. Acting as the principal legal adviser to the Executive Team and Board, you will provide pragmatic, commercially focused advice to support high-quality decision-making. You will also lead a multi-disciplinary department, positioning legal, governance and risk functions as strategic enablers of organisational impact.

You will bring significant senior-level experience leading legal and governance functions within a complex organisation, with a track record of supporting executive and board-level decision-making. You combine strong commercial acumen with sound judgement, able to balance legal risk with organisational priorities and provide clear, practical advice. You are an influential and collaborative leader, skilled at building relationships and leading high-performing, multi-disciplinary teams.

We have partnered with GatenbySanderson for this search and we invite you to learn more about this opportunity and visit our dedicated microsite. The site contains further information about the role, UNICEF UK, further details on how to apply, our recruitment process, as well as contact details of our search partner, GatenbySanderson. 

Closing date: Friday 31st July, 2026 at midnight

Interview date: Late August into September 2026. Specific dates to be confirmed

In return, we offer:

excellent pay and benefits (including flexible working, generous annual leave and pension, big brand discounts and wellbeing tools)

outstanding training and learning opportunities and the support to flourish in your role

impressive open plan office space and facilities on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

an open culture and workplace with colleagues who share our values, enjoy their work and are motivated to do their utmost for children.

the opportunity to work in a leading children’s organisation making a difference to children around the world

Our application process: We use a system called "Applied" that anonymises your responses and focuses on your actual skills that are relevant to this role. This benefits you by giving you a greater chance of expressing your skills in this objective selection process.

We anticipate most colleagues will work one or two days a week in the office on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, East London and the rest of the time from home.  We will happily discuss other flexible options to suit your circumstances.

We particularly welcome applications from black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates, LGBTQ+ candidates, disabled candidates, and from men, because we would like to increase the representation of these groups at this level at UNICEF UK. We want to do this because we know greater diversity will lead to even greater results for children.

UNICEF UK promotes equality, diversity and inclusion in our workplace. We make employment decisions by matching business needs with skills and experience of candidates, irrespective of age, disability (including hidden disabilities), gender, gender identity or gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation.

We welcome a conversation about your flexible working requirements, personal growth, and promoting a workplace where you can be yourself and achieve success based only on your merit.

The successful candidate will be required to apply for a criminal records check. A criminal record will not necessarily bar you from working with us. This will depend on the nature of the role and the circumstances of your offences.

We only accept online applications as this saves us money, making more funds available for us to help ensure children’s rights.

If you do not hear from us within 14 days of the closing date, please assume your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion. Please note that we only provide feedback to shortlisted candidates.