Senior Legal Counsel / Legal Counsel (Fractional)

Asia Community Foundation (ACF) is the first Asia-wide platform for strategic and collaborative giving. ACF enables donors to pool resources, co-create solutions, and drive positive social and environmental impact across the region. Through the administration of philanthropic funds, implementation of hosted projects, and provision of thoughtful advice, ACF helps philanthropists give with confidence, transparency, and impact.

Position Summary

This role is ideal for an experienced in-house lawyer seeking a meaningful, flexible opportunity to help shape the legal function of a growing philanthropic organisation operating across Asia.

Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, the Senior Legal Counsel / Legal Counsel will provide practical legal advice across ACF’s operations and philanthropic activities. As one of two members of the legal team, the role will exercise independent judgment while working closely with the COO and colleagues across the organisation. This is a fractional role on a four (4) days per week arrangement. We are also open to a three (3)-day arrangement for the right candidate, with salary and benefits pro-rated accordingly.

Alongside day-to-day legal, governance and regulatory compliance support, the successful candidate will work with the COO to strengthen ACF's legal function. This includes developing practical legal processes, risk-based contract review and contract management frameworks, a trusted network of external legal advisors, and appropriate use of technology and AI-enabled tools to improve legal service delivery.

Key Responsibilities

1. Legal Advisory, Contracting & Legal Operations

• Provide timely, practical legal advice across ACF's operations and philanthropic activities.
• Review, draft and negotiate a broad range of operational and philanthropy-related agreements, identifying legal and regulatory issues arising from their cross-border nature, recommending and supporting the practical implementation of appropriate mitigating measures, and exercising sound, risk-based judgment independently.
• Maintain and improve standard contract templates, legal review processes and guidance materials to support consistent and efficient legal service delivery.

2. Governance, Regulatory & Cross-Border Support

• Support governance, regulatory compliance, and legal risk management across the organisation.
• Coordinate with external legal advisors across multiple jurisdictions on cross-border legal and regulatory matters, while helping to build and maintain ACF’s network of trusted external legal advisors in key jurisdictions.
• Monitor, or support the implementation of tools to facilitate the monitoring legal and regulatory developments relevant to ACF's operations and philanthropic activities in Singapore and across Asia, including foreign funding and cross-border giving requirements.

3. Legal & Compliance Function Development

• Partner with the COO to progressively develop a lean, scalable legal function as a core Centre of Excellence (COE) in the organisation, through practical legal policies, workflows and service standards.
• Support the establishment and maintenance of an effective organisational policy management framework, including ensuring key policies are appropriately owned, reviewed, approved, kept current and accessible, and translated into relevant staff compliance training and guidance.
• Work with the COO to establish and embed risk-based contract review processes, turnaround expectations and a fit-for-purpose contract management framework, including approval processes, a central contract register and monitoring of key contractual obligations.
• Help improve legal service delivery through stronger knowledge management, process improvements and appropriate use of legal and regulatory technology and AI-enabled tools.

4. Stakeholder & External Counsel Management

• Build trusted relationships with stakeholders across the organisation by providing clear, practical and accessible legal guidance that supports informed decision-making.
• Manage external legal advisors effectively to ensure timely, high-quality legal support, including scoping instructions appropriately and overseeing legal spend.
• Work with the COO to prioritise legal work and external legal resources in a manner that is proportionate to organisational needs and the scope of this fractional role.

What Success Looks Like After 12 Months

A successful first year is defined by progress across three complementary outcomes:

1. A Trusted and Responsive Legal Partner

The legal function is recognised as a practical, responsive and trusted partner. Legal advice and contract reviews are delivered reliably within agreed, risk-based service expectations, enabling timely decision-making while appropriately managing organisational risk.

2. Stronger Legal Operations, Progressively Built

ACF has made meaningful progress in establishing practical legal and compliance processes that improve consistency, visibility and efficiency. Standard templates, legal review procedures, a fit-for-purpose contract management framework, and appropriate adoption of legal and regulatory technology and AI-enabled tools provide greater oversight of organisational agreements, policies, and compliance requirements and processes.

3. Sustainable Foundations for Future Growth

ACF has begun building the foundations of a scalable legal function that supports its continued growth across Asia, including a trusted network of key external legal advisors, with legal and compliance work prioritised using a proportionate, risk-based approach that supports the organisation's long-term needs.

Desired Qualifications

• Singapore-qualified lawyer with minimum 5 to 7 years' post-qualification experience (PQE).
• Previous in-house experience supporting cross-border operations across Asia strongly preferred. Sector-adjacent experience, such as private wealth, private banking, family office, fund management or trust administration, would be advantageous.
• Demonstrated judgment and commercial acumen, with the ability to integrate into a lean team and work independently.
• Experience establishing or improving legal processes, contract management practices or legal operations, including through leveraging legal technology and AI-driven tools to enhance efficiency, accuracy, and service delivery is strongly preferred.
• Experience drafting, reviewing and negotiating a broad range of contracts, and advising on governance, regulatory compliance, organisational risk, data protection and employment matters. Knowledge of or experience navigating data protection and employment regulations across Asia would be an advantage.
• Excellent prioritisation skills, with the ability to balance competing demands and focus legal effort where it adds the greatest organisational value.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to provide clear, practical advice to both legal and non-legal colleagues.
• Passion for, or genuine curiosity about, philanthropy, social impact and the nonprofit sector.

Interested candidates are invited to send a cover letter and CV. All enquiries will be treated in strict confidence.

ACF is committed to building a diverse and inclusive team. We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds and are an equal opportunity employer, selecting on merit regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, religion, disability, or any other characteristic unrelated to the role.