Pooled fund on International Energy (PIE) - Head of Legal and Risk

About PIE

The Pooled Fund on International Energy (PIE) exists to accelerate the transition to clean electrification across power, industry, and the wider energy system. We believe the 2030s will be the decade electricity becomes the backbone of the entire energy system, and our strategy is built to make that shift fast, fair, and focused where it matters most.

This is no longer just a climate goal. Clean, reliable, affordable electricity, free from pollution, is a national and economic imperative: essential to human development, shared prosperity, security, and a climate-safe world. PIE drives this transition by pathfinding strategies, building alliances, and enabling action where it can have the greatest impact, while mobilising a global network of partners spanning governments, industry, civil society, and philanthropy.

We work as three things at once: a strategist who identifies the leverage points that accelerate clean electrification, an alliance builder who incubates promising ideas and unites partners across sectors, and a grantmaker who moves capital to where it can do the most good.

Since 2012, PIE’s work has helped shape and accelerate some of the most important energy transition efforts around the world. We have incubated more than 20 organisations, supported work in 60 countries, and built relationships with more than 1,000 partners across the Global South, Asia, and beyond. Through strategic grantmaking, alliance building and long term support for locally led initiatives, we have helped strengthen the ecosystem driving progress toward a cleaner, more electrified future. Our annual funding has grown significantly since then, reflecting both the urgency of the moment and the trust PIE has earned in one of the most consequential transitions of our time.

For a lawyer looking to build something real, this is a rare opportunity: the chance to build an entire legal, compliance, and risk function from the ground up, inside an organisation operating at the centre of global climate action, with the autonomy to shape how that function works and a mission that gives the work its stakes.

About the Role

PIE is seeking a pragmatic, solutions-oriented legal professional to build PIE’s legal function from scratch, establishing and leading our legal, compliance, and risk function. As a global philanthropic organisation of approximately 65 staff, we require a trusted advisor and partner who can provide practical legal guidance tailored to a highly distributed, global workforce and a cross-geography regranting ecosystem, while building agile, fit-for-purpose systems, policies, and processes. PIE is registered as a foundation in the Netherlands and operates globally.

This is a standalone role that combines strategic advice with hands-on delivery. The successful candidate will be equally comfortable advising leadership on risk and governance issues, drafting contracts, managing compliance requirements, and coordinating external legal counsel when specialist expertise is needed.

The role’s primary objective is to enable PIE’s impact while protecting the organisation, its people, and its partners.

Please note: this is an operational legal role and is not focused on climate litigation.

Key Responsibilities

Legal Advisory & Organisational Partnering

Act as PIE’s primary legal advisor.
Provide practical, risk-informed advice and training to PIE leadership, teams, and governing bodies.
Support strategic initiatives, partnerships, and organisational growth.
Build trusted relationships across grantmaking, programmes, strategic partnerships, finance, people, and operations functions, and ensure that external communications are risk-appropriate.

Contracting

Lead the drafting, review, negotiation, and management of contracts.
Develop and maintain contract templates and contracting processes.
Support grants, donor agreements, consultancy contracts, employment arrangements, vendor contracts, and partnership agreements.
Improve organisational contract management and legal workflows.
Ensure international grantmaking processes comply with global regulatory standards while maintaining an impact-first, partner-centric approach.

Compliance, Privacy & Policy Development

Ensure compliance across corporate law, labour law, intellectual property, environmental law, GDPR and data protection, and other industry-specific regulations.
Develop and maintain key organisational policies and procedures related to ethics, compliance, and regulatory requirements.
Set up the legal operations function, utilising automation where possible.
Monitor legal and regulatory developments affecting PIE.
Support compliance reviews and audits as required.

Risk Management & Governance

Support organisational risk management and risk assessments.
Advise PIE’s Supervisory Board and internal team on legal, operational, financial, and reputational risks.
Lead key governance processes, including the Risk & Audit Committee and cross-functional Risk Management Group.
Advise on policies and procedures to enable risk-informed decisions around grantmaking, travel, and other areas for the organisation.
Advise on and help develop duty-of-care policies and protocols to protect PIE’s team, including risk assessment, health and security preparedness, and emergency response for staff travel and fieldwork across PIE’s global operating environments.
Support insurance and risk mitigation arrangements.

External Counsel & International Growth

Commission specialist legal support and manage relationships with external legal advisors where needed, particularly related to PIE’s global footprint as a grantmaker, grantee, employer, and partner.
Support expansion into new jurisdictions and operating models.
Advise on emerging funding, contracting, and employment requirements globally, and on anti-corruption compliance requirements.

Requirements

Essential

Qualified lawyer or equivalent legal professional.
6-10 years’ experience in legal, compliance, governance, or risk management roles.
Strong contract drafting and negotiation experience.
Understanding of Dutch law and experience operating across multiple jurisdictions, including outside of Europe.
Knowledge of GDPR and data protection requirements.
Ability to provide practical, solutions-focused advice.
Experience supporting international employment arrangements.
Experience working collaboratively with cross-functional teams.
Location: able to work within ±2 hours of GMT+1 and travel easily to The Hague, London, and other locations across Europe.

Desirable

Experience in nonprofit, philanthropic, or international organisations.
Familiarity with grantmaking and donor-funded environments.
Knowledge of US philanthropy and global funding structures, including Equivalency Determination experience.
Experience supporting organisational expansion into new jurisdictions.

Key Competencies

Excellent legal judgement and problem-solving skills.
Creative, can-do attitude.
Strong commercial and operational mindset.
Ability to balance risk management with organisational agility.
Skilled at managing competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.
Strong communicator and relationship-builder.
Comfortable operating independently while knowing when to seek specialist advice.
A “roll up your sleeves” mentality for both strategic and tactical work.

Success in the First 12 Months

Establish PIE’s in-house legal function.
Refresh and standardise contract templates and processes.
Implement a practical GDPR and privacy framework.
Develop a legal, compliance, and policy roadmap.
Build a trusted network of external legal advisors.
Support organisational growth and international expansion.
Become a valued partner to leadership and teams across PIE.

How to Apply

John and Snyder, LLC, a boutique retained executive search firm specializing in legal, compliance, and grants leadership for philanthropy and mission-driven organizations, is conducting this search on PIE’s behalf.

To apply, please submit the following to John and Snyder, LLC: