General Counsel and Company Secretary in Belfast

MCS Group are exclusively partnering with Northern Ireland Water (NI Water) to recruit a General Counsel & Company Secretary to join their Executive Committee and help lead the organisation through a complex legal, regulatory and governance landscape. You will play a critical role in NI Water in helping them to deliver safe, reliable water to customers every day. This is a rare opportunity to operate at the highest level of a major public utility, combining strategic legal leadership, Board-level governance, and executive influence.

The General Counsel and Company Secretary is a strategic leader, reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer. The postholder is responsible for overseeing all legal, governance, and compliance matters across Northern Ireland Water (NI Water), combining legal expertise with strong business acumen, leadership, and strategic thinking to support the company's goals. They lead the company's Secretariat, which comprises both Legal and Compliance functions.

The postholder has strategic responsibility for the full range of legal services for NI Water and acts as principal adviser to the Board of NI Water Alpha. They provide strategic and tactical legal advice to NI Water's Board, and Executive Committee (EC) on all legal matters that impact the company, ensuring they are properly briefed and proactively advised on relevant matters. As a key member of the Executive Team and advisor to the NI Water Group Boards, the postholder ensures robust corporate governance, and upholds the highest standards of regulatory compliance in a complex and highly regulated environment. They forge and maintain a vital relationship with the company's Shareholder, to ensure a high level of co-operation and collaboration.

As part of the NI Water Executive Committee, the postholder shares responsibility for leading and managing NI Water's services effectively, ensuring value for money. This strategic role involves crafting and implementing strategies to achieve the corporate vision of being world-class and advancing priorities in Customer, Water, Economy, Nature, and People.

Essential criteria

• You will be qualified as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Judicature of Northern Ireland, with a minimum of 5 years' post-qualified experience and current registration to practice in Northern Ireland.
• 5 years' significant, relevant and successful experience of providing legal advice on matters including corporate law, regulatory compliance, contracts, employment law, and risk management, to a large and complex organisation.
• Providing detailed advice at Board and Executive Leadership level, on a range of complex legal, strategic and compliance matters.
• Management and leadership of teams, including qualified solicitors and administrative support staff.
• Working in collaborative partnerships and influencing and negotiating at all levels, both internally and externally, with key stakeholders.

Desirable criteria

• 2 years' significant, relevant and successful experience of working in a Company Secretary role, ideally within a regulated or listed organisation, demonstrating a deep understanding of corporate governance frameworks, board operations, and compliance with relevant legislation.
• Managing Board and Committee meetings, and statutory filings.
• Experience working in a large and complex public sector or highly regulated organisation.

How to Apply:

Your submission to this advert will be taken as an expression of interest, you will then receive a Candidate Briefing Pack, which will explain how to complete your full application. Applications should be made via email by 4.00 pm Friday, 13th February 2026 and must include in separate documents: Your cover letter and CV must clearly set out how you meet the Candidate Essential Criteria and Competencies as listed, and motivation for applying for this role. Your cover letter should be a maximum of two sides of A4 in Arial 12 Font. A comprehensive curriculum vitae (CV) providing supporting evidence.

A full schedule of the Recruitment and Selection process and dates will be detailed in our Candidate Briefing Pack. If you have a disability which means you require assistance at any stage of the recruitment process, please contact Sam Boles directly at MCS Group and we will endeavour to facilitate your request. All conversations will be treated in the strictest of confidence. NI Water is committed to equality of opportunity.

Following receipt of your application, you will receive an acknowledgement from MCS Group. Within this response, you will be required to provide consent under the General Data Protection Regulation. If you fail to provide this consent your application will not be processed further.