Legal and Administrative Assistant

ABOUT VILLAGEREACH

VillageReach transforms health care delivery to reach everyone. We are driven by a vision of a world where each person has the health care needed to thrive. VillageReach’s goal is to reduce inequities in access to quality primary health care for 350 million people by 2030. We work with governments, the private sector, partners and communities to build responsive primary health care systems that deliver health products, information and services to the most under-reached. As a locally driven and globally connected organization, VillageReach has offices in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and the United States.

SUMMARY

Role Duration: This is a temporary hire for 3 months (May - August 2025)

This position provides dedicated administrative and organizational support to Senior Legal Counsel, managing daily tasks, document management, and communication. This assistance extends to compliance and risk management, enabling the organization to meet regulations and effectively deliver quality primary health care.

The Legal and Administrative Assistant (Direct Support) provides dedicated administrative and organizational support to Senior Legal Counsel, assisting with day-to-day operations, document organization, and liaison with internal and external stakeholders. While the role is embedded in a legal context, the focus is on high-quality administrative assistance rather than substantive legal work.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following. Other duties, responsibilities, and activities may change or be assigned anytime. 

• Directly provide the Senior Legal Counsel with comprehensive legal and administrative assistance.
• Organize and maintain confidential electronic legal records, facilitating easy access and retrieval.
• Manage file organization and access permissions within our shared folders in SharePoint.
• Support the implementation of the compliance program and risk management framework through administrative actions such as communicating with pro bono support, updating tracking systems, and following up with designated staff.
• Assist in creating legal presentations, materials for meetings, and training resources.
• Coordinate with internal departments and external entities on the Senior Legal Counsel's behalf.
• Anticipate and address the needs of the Senior Legal Counsel based on a thorough understanding of organizational priorities.
• Execute other administrative and legal support tasks as assigned.

COMPETENCIES:

VillageReach has ten (10) Organizational Competencies that describe how we work together and get things done that are grouped into three strategic areas of Achieving Great Results, Setting Direction and, Bringing Others With you. For a full description, please download our Organizational Competency document. 

Achieving Great Results: 

1. Risk Taking and Innovation 

• Key Behaviors: Comfort with ambiguity, curiosity, adaptability, unconstrained and undeterred creativity, resourcefulness. 

2. Business Judgement 

• Key Behaviors: Getting to root causes, understanding environment, navigating complexity and ambiguity, entrepreneurial energy.  

3. Building Strong Teams 

• Key Behaviors: Trust in Subject Matter Experts (SME’s); radical candor to resolve conflict, hold each other accountable as colleagues, focused on results, commitment to mission. 

Setting Direction: 

4. Compelling Communication 

• Key Behaviors: Clear and evidence-based communication, audience adaptability, curious listener.   

5. Resilient Self Leadership 

• Key Behaviors: Self-aware, plan how one shows up, emotionally intelligent, use one’s own agency and takes accountability. 

6. Stewardship and Personal Alignment 

• Key Behaviors: Take ownership, display ethical conduct, effective at resource management, alignment of personal objectives with organizational goals and mission, focus on continuous improvement and sustainability. 

Bringing Others with You: 

7. Influencing Leadership 

• Key Behaviors: Cultivate trust, influences to make change, navigate the matrix structure. 

8. Radical Partnership 

• Key Behaviors: Share information and credit, address conflict, increase impact through collaboration, political and contextual awareness. 

9. Cultivates a Growth Mindset 

• Key Behaviors: Seek out diverse input, demonstrate flexibility in thinking and curiosity, embrace challenges, demonstrate persistence, seek learning opportunities. 

10. Cultural Intelligence and Inclusion 

• Key Behaviors: Continuous learning and ally-ship across cultural lines, challenge prejudice and bias, modeled in one’s own behavior. 

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

This position has no supervisory responsibilities.

Education & Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Law, Legal Studies, Business Administration, or equivalent certification
• 5+ years of demonstrated experience working as a legal assistant in an International NGO or developmental context is desired
• Excellent command of written and spoken English is essential.
• Exceptional organizational and time management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines effectively for one individual.  
• Impeccable attention to detail and accuracy.
• Proven ability to maintain strict confidentiality and exercise discretion.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to interact professionally with individuals at all levels.  
• Ability to work independently and proactively, anticipating the needs of the supported individual.  
• Strong problem-solving skills and a proactive approach to tasks.

Other Qualifications:

• Established cultural competency in partnering with racial, cultural and linguistically diverse groups.
• Demonstrated understanding of challenges with working in rural, underserved and low-income context; experience living in and/or working in a low-income country a plus.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Excel) and comfortable in a fast-paced technical environment.
• English required; Portuguese and French desired.
• Experience in Admin role 5 years or more desired.

Personal Attributes:

• Highly professional and discreet.
• Exceptional work ethic and reliability.
• Proactive and resourceful.
• Strong sense of responsibility and ownership.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and a collaborative spirit.
• Calm and composed under pressure.
• Ability to anticipate needs and take initiative.

Environment and Physical Demands:

VillageReach employees typically work in a shared, open environment with task and conference rooms accessible to employees for privacy and meetings. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet. Due to the time zone differences across our USA, Kenya and Country Offices and location of other global staff, we have established core collaboration hours between 6am Pacific Time and 18:00 South Africa Time (GMT+1) Monday through Thursday. All staff, regardless of location are expected to be available between these hours. During Daylight Savings Time, this allows for 12 hours per week (3 hours/day) of collaboration time and during Standard Time, 8 hours (2 hours/day). We do not hold cross-office meetings on Friday.

Approximately 90% of the workday is spent sitting.  Must be able to lift 25 lbs.

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY & INCLUSION:

VillageReach is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer committed to workforce diversity. We believe that diverse, equitably weighted perspectives foster an organizational capacity to create novel solutions that improve health in the most under-reached and hard-to-reach areas. To align our values, innovations and impact, VillageReach is committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse global workforce.

APPLICATION INFORMATION:

This is an immediate hire and therefore resumes will be reviewed on a rolling basis until [Input Date]. To apply, please submit your resume and a cover letter [plus any other desired materials] to our online portal: http://www.villagereach.org/join-us/.  In your cover letter, please address (1)Why you are interested in this position, (2)What is one reason you think you’d be a good fit for this position and (3)what is one strength you would bring to this position?

Hiring Process:

The hiring process will include the following steps:

1.      Review submitted applications

2.      Conduct 20-30 minute screening interviews for shortlisted candidates

3.      Conduct skills and value-based interviews for 3-5 candidates.

4.      Request that top candidates submit a practical assessment (designed to take no more than two hours to complete). Sometimes the assignment will occur before the interview.

5.      Conduct final interview if necessary

6.      Request references 

7.      Make offer 

8.      Conduct background check

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted, but candidates who proceed to step 2 will be notified if they are not chosen for step 3.

Safeguarding:

VillageReach is committed to promoting the welfare of children, young people, adults, and beneficiaries with whom it engages. We expect everyone working with us to share this commitment through our code of conduct.All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks, which may include criminal records. VillageReach participates in the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme and, in line with this Scheme, we will request information from job applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By applying, the job applicant confirms his/her understanding of these recruitment procedures.

Compensation & Benefits:

VillageReach has an established compensation structure that is based on the relevant market and internally transparent. The range for this position is $24,600 to $31,600 per year. We hire people into the established range based on one’s experience and education and considering internal equity. We do not inquire about salary history. Please refer to our compensation overview on our website for more information and for more information on employee benefits.