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ESB Group Head of Legal/General Counsel

 
Vacancy Number:  28516
Category:  Legal
Job Type:  Full-time
 

Role Context

ESB is Ireland’s foremost energy company, established as a statutory body under the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1927.   As a strong, diversified utility, ESB operates across the full spectrum of the electricity market: including generation, transmission and distribution, and supply, in addition to using electricity networks to carry fibre for telecommunications, and other service offerings in retrofitting, energy project management, EV charging and home energy solutions. ESB is the leading Irish energy utility with a regulated asset base of approximately €15bn, a 24% share of generation and a 32% share of retail electricity in the all-island market, is the incumbent electricity company in the Republic of Ireland has considerable operations across GB and Northern Ireland.    

 

ESB’s legal, regulatory and operating environment is complex: ESB is the licenced onshore Transmission Asset Owner and Distribution Asset Owner in Ireland, ESB Networks is the licenced Distribution System Operator (DSO) in the Republic of Ireland and NIE Networks (part of the Group) is the DSO for Northern Ireland. ESB develops and operates a portfolio of wholly- and jointly  owned electricity generation assets throughout GB and Ireland, as well as retailing energy in those geographies, and has a significant energy trading portfolio.  

 

EBITDA and Operating Profit (both before exceptional items) for 2025 were c €1.9 billion and €914 million respectively.  The Group invested €2.7 billion in energy infrastructure in 2025 including in renewable generation.  ESB provides significant employment both directly, with over 10,000 employees at 31 December 2025, and indirectly through contractors and service providers. 

 

Role Purpose 

The Group Head of Legal in ESB leads and manages the delivery of best‑in‑class legal services across the Group through an in-house legal team of more than sixty people, and by engaging external expertise as required.  As ESB’s principal legal adviser, the Group Head of Legal provides strategic, expert and commercially-informed legal guidance to the ESB Board, the Executive Committee and senior management,  shaping and influencing commercial transactions and business strategies, ensuring that legal risk is appropriately identified, managed and mitigated, and that governance, compliance and decision-making across the Group are robust, ethical and aligned with legal and regulatory requirements.  

 

The role spans multiple legal disciplines, jurisdictions and regulators, reflecting the scale, complexity and regulated nature of ESB’s operations, and is central to ensuring that ESB meets its legal commitments and obligations, while delivering the Group’s Net Zero strategy. 

 

The role ensures that legal risk is appropriately identified, managed and mitigated, and that governance, compliance and decision-making across the Group are robust, ethical and aligned with legal and regulatory requirements. 

 

Key responsibilities:

Group‑wide Legal Leadership & Strategy 

  • Lead the Legal Function across the ESB Group, ensuring that expert legal advice is provided by in-house legal staff, taking account of regulatory structures, company structure and strategic delivery. 
  • Deliver value to the Group through expert opinion and by implementing improvements in service delivery and legal capability, including management of ESB’s external legal panel frameworks for the UK and Ireland.  
  • Set internal legal governance policies and advise on the impact of external legislative, regulatory and legal developments on ESB’s operations and obligations. 

 

Strategic Legal Advice & Risk Management 

  • Provide authoritative, expert and strategic legal advice to the ESB Board, Executive Committee and senior management on all areas of existing and emerging law and matters arising from ESB’s business activities.  
  • Evaluate and weigh multiple inputs and impacts of decisions or courses of action, anticipating legal and regulatory issues and considering risks strategically.  
  • Identify proactive solutions that eliminate or mitigate legal and associated risks. 

 

Governance, Compliance & Board Assurance 

  • Ensure that all submissions requiring Chief Executive or Board approval are reviewed for compliance with the law, ESB’s Regulations, Board Authority levels, the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies and ESB Group policies.  
  • Advise the Company Secretary on legal and governance related matters arising from Board and Executive decision-making.  
  • Advise on the development and maintenance of appropriate Group‑wide policies.  

 

Litigation & External Legal Management 

  • Lead and direct the Group’s strategic response to legal challenge, including litigation, involving ESB Group companies.  
  • Advise on the necessity for, and coordinate the procurement and management of, external legal advice where required, ensuring value for money and cost effectiveness.  

 

People Leadership & Capability 

  • Develop, motivate and direct the performance of the Group legal team.  
  • Provide advice, mentoring and support to legal managers leading centres of excellence, reviewing the operation of the Legal Function on an ongoing basis and making recommendations for improvement.  

 

Stakeholder Engagement 

  • Build trusted relationships with key internal and external stakeholders, including regulators, external legal advisers, and other external parties.  
  • Provide management information and reporting on legal services, articulating value and identifying opportunities for continuous improvement.

 

Skills, Knowledge & Experience: 

  • Ability to offer wise counsel to the Board, Chief Executive, Executive Committee and senior managers, through clear, well-reasoned and practical advice. 
  • Uphold the highest standards of ethics and integrity, evidenced by consistent, values-led decision-making and a professional reputation that reflects those standards. 
  • Have strong commercial awareness, demonstrated through proven effective negotiation abilities in a complex business environment. 
  • Provide timely and strategic legal advice to ensure compliance with applicable laws, policies, rules and regulations, evidenced through sound judgement, risk assessment and documented guidance. 
  • Apply proven leadership, relationship-building and negotiation skills to provide direction and leadership to a high-performing legal function, demonstrated through stakeholder feedback, delivery outcomes and team development. 
  • Experience in regulated sectors such as energy is advantageous but not a prerequisite. 

 

Qualifications 

Qualified lawyer with significant, demonstrable post qualification experience, preferably gained in a commercial law firm and/or large commercial or multinational organisation, operating at senior leadership level.  

 

Location  

This position will be based in 27 Fitzwilliam Street Lower, Dublin 2 (with occasional travel to other jurisdictions as required).    

 

Smart Working at ESB is designed to make ‘in-person’ time together as purposeful as possible while also enabling the effective use of digital tools and hybrid arrangements to preserve our commitment to flexibility. The successful candidate may work flexibly within the jurisdiction where they have been employed, with attendance at the workplace for in-person collaboration at least two days per week. All Smart Working arrangements are subject to regular review based on the operational requirements of the role, the team, and the business. It is expected that in-person attendance would be greater during the initial 6-12 months of appointment to this role. 

 

Reporting to

ESB Deputy Chief Executive

 

Closing Date

3rd June 2026

 

Notes

  • Your application will be held in reserve for 6 months should you be suitable for the role
  • The successful candidate will be required to evidence their right to work in the Republic of Ireland prior to commencement of employment
  • Psychometric assessment will be a feature of this process

 

ESB Data Privacy Notice

As part of the recruitment process, your personal data will be processed by ESB and may be shared with our recruitment partner, AMROP, who are supporting the assessment and selection process for this role.

By submitting your application, you acknowledge that your information will be used for recruitment purposes in accordance with ESB’s Privacy Notice, including sharing with trusted third-party providers engaged by ESB for this purpose. If you have any queries in this regard, please refer to the ESB Privacy Notices

 

 

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement

ESB is committed to being an equal opportunities employer. We welcome applications from all sections of society and ensure that no one is discriminated against on the grounds of race, religion or belief, ethnicity or nationality, disability, age, citizenship, marital status, domestic or civil partnership status, sexual orientation or gender identity, or any other basis as protected by law. 

Applicants who anticipate requiring assistance or reasonable accommodations for any part of the application or interview process may contact, in confidence, recruitment@esb.ie.  

About ESB

Join us in our mission to achieve a net-zero electricity system by 2040. ESB is Ireland’s leading energy utility, with activities spanning electricity generation, transmission and distribution, energy supply, energy services and international consultancy. Operating in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Great Britain, we invest over €1 billion each year to deliver a new energy future based on reliable, affordable zero-carbon electricity.
 

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