Legal Assistant

The mission of The Ocean Cleanup is to develop and scale technology to rid the world’s oceans and rivers of plastic. As a Legal Assistant, you will support our mission by playing a vital role in supporting the daily operations of our Legal department. This is an exceptional opportunity for driven legal professionals to enhance their skills while contributing to meaningful environmental impact within a dynamic and fast-paced environment."As Legal & Public Affairs Department, we pave the way for every crew member to successfully achieve our mission by providing strategic, high-quality, results-oriented, timely legal advice and guidance to foster sound decision-making in the organization. Be part of our team and bring your skills to a fast-paced, enjoyable, and innovative environment." - Letícia Passos, Director of Legal & Public Affairs.
THE ASSIGNMENTThe Legal Assistant is a hybrid position within the Legal department of The Ocean Cleanup. The Legal Assistant is responsible for providing general legal and administrative support to the organization’s legal team, working closely with the Director of Legal & Public Affairs and Paralegal to assist in a wide range of both administrative and substantive privacy-related tasks. This position is also an opportunity for someone with some knowledge or experience in Data Protection and Privacy to develop further in this area part-time (around 30% of the time).RESPONSIBILITIES

• Efficient Administrative Support (40%): Provide administrative support to the Director of Legal & Public Affairs, including agenda management, travel arrangements, and financial administration tasks.
• Continuous Process Improvement (30%): Identify opportunities for improvements within the administrative processes within the Legal department, implementing solutions to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.
• Comprehensive Privacy Advice (30%): Provide clear and actionable advice to internal stakeholders on privacy concerns and data processing in compliance with relevant regulations (e.g. GDPR).

Your key tasks include:

• Support Legal Counsels and Director of Legal & Public Affairs with the preparation of meetings for Supervisory Board and Audit Committee meetings and liaise regarding meeting availabilities (including checking agendas, filing documents, and preparing drafts of minutes of the meeting)
• Coordinate the onboarding process for new team members (full-time employees, interns, contractors, consultants, volunteers) of the Legal team in liaison with the Paralegal
• Conduct legal research as needed to support the activities of the Legal team
• Drafting Power of Attorneys, maintaining overview of delegation of authority across the organization, handling legalization and translations of documents
• Handle vendor management for the suppliers of the Legal team (raising POs, processing invoices, etc.)
• Provide day-to-day supervision of the Legal interns in liaison with the Paralegal
• Conduct final checks on contracts to be signed by the Management Board ensuring that all required reviews and approvals were obtained before signing
• Support the Paralegal with corporate housekeeping of the organization’s Dutch legal entities (e.g.: maintaining the entities’ business register extracts)
• Overseeing the legal filing process
• Oversee Legal intranet site
• Provide administrative support to the Director or Legal & Public Affairs (agenda management, travel support, financial administration)
• Provide advice to internal stakeholders regarding privacy concerns and processing of (personal) data
• Maintenance of the register of personal data processing activities

PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's in law
• Proven working experience as Legal Assistant or Legal Secretary, minimum 1-2 years
• Ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams, including colleagues from other departments, external legal counsel, and stakeholders
• Interest in privacy with a knowledge of the GDPR
• Prior professional experience with exposure to privacy and personal data processing matters is a plus
• Fluent in Dutch and English
• Good knowledge of MS Office
• Experience in a start-up/scale-up environment is a plus

PERSONAL QUALIFICATIONS

• A willingness to learn, adapt, and take on new challenges
• Ability to work independently with moderate supervision in a challenging, fast-paced environment
• Pragmatic and decisive where possible, but thorough when needed
• Team player with high cultural awareness and sensitivity
• Excellent communication and writing skills
• Thrives in a fast-paced, international environment
• Self-motivated and independent
• Intrinsic motivation to work on our ambitious and meaningful goal

ADDITIONAL DETAILS

• Starting date: As soon as possible;
• Work permit: A valid European Union work permit is highly preferred for this position. The role is based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands
• Please note: because we are a non-profit, our salaries reflect that of an organization fully reliant on donations rather than that of a commercial entity. Conducting a pre-employment check is part of our recruitment process.

Curious to hear how the legal team adds value to The Ocean Cleanup? Listen to Letícia Passos, Director of Legal & Public Affairs explain in the podcast.