Legal Counsel

About the role

PowWater is seeking its first in‑house Legal Counsel to lead the company’s legal function from the ground up. You will act as the trusted legal voice for leadership, ensuring compliance, managing contracts, and overseeing debt recovery across our water delivery network in Kenya.

Key responsibilities

• Draft, review and negotiate a wide range of contracts, including customer agreements, supplier contracts, partner agreements, leases and NDAs.
• Own regulatory and statutory compliance, handling company law filings, data‑protection obligations and sector‑specific requirements.
• Prepare and maintain corporate and legal documentation such as licenses, permits, corporate records and internal policies.
• Support corporate governance activities, including board documentation and resolutions.
• Lead debt‑recovery efforts for overdue customer accounts, from demand letters to escalation for collection or court action.
• Advise leadership on legal risks related to commercial, HR and operational decisions.
• Manage relationships with external law firms for litigation or specialised matters.

Required profile

• LLB from a recognised university and a Diploma in Law from the Kenya School of Law.
• Admitted Advocate of the High Court of Kenya with a current practising certificate and good standing with the Law Society of Kenya.
• Minimum 4 years post‑admission experience as a generalist lawyer, preferably with in‑house, SME or start‑up exposure.
• Strong contract drafting and negotiation abilities.
• Hands‑on experience in debt recovery and issuing demand letters.
• Ability to work independently as the sole in‑house counsel and discern when to involve external counsel.
• Experience in logistics, utilities or other regulated consumer‑facing sectors is a plus.

Required skills

What we offer

• Opportunity to build PowWater’s legal function from scratch.
• Broad generalist scope covering contracts, compliance, governance and recovery.
• Direct access to senior leadership with real influence on commercial decisions.
• Mission‑driven environment improving water access across Kenya.