General Counsel

Job Summary

Creating Trust, driving Progress.

Ready to create trust and drive progress on a global scale? At Kiwa, we are the trusted partner ensuring quality, safety, and sustainability across industries worldwide. Our comprehensive Testing, Inspection, and Certification (TIC) services empower businesses to achieve compliance, enhance performance, and build trust.

As we continue to grow globally, we are looking for a visionary General Counsel to lead our legal strategy and governance while enabling our business ambitions. This is your opportunity to shape the future of a purpose-driven organization committed to making the world safer and more sustainable.

About the role

As General Counsel, you will be a key member of Kiwa Group’s leadership team. You’ll report directly to the CEO and act as Secretary to the Board. You will coordinate a global team of legal experts and board secretaries, supporting Kiwa’s strategic objectives through expert legal leadership. Your focus will span M&A, integration processes, contracts, claims, and corporate matters.

This role requires a strategic, forward-thinking legal leader with a collaborative mindset and a deep understanding of the balance between legal risk and business opportunity. You will uphold and promote Kiwa’s core values: Ambitious, Reliable, and Engaged.

How You’ll Make an Impact

• Lead Kiwa’s global legal strategy, advising the Board and business leaders to enable sustainable, compliant growth.
• Drive and support M&A activities, including post-deal integration, ensuring smooth legal execution.
• Oversee corporate governance and company secretary responsibilities at Group level. You’ll prepare and facilitate the board meetings, with support of a team of board secretaries who also report to you.
• Inspire and lead a high-performing legal team and the board secretaries.
• Safeguard Kiwa’s ethical business practices while fostering a culture of trust, inclusivity, and psychological safety.
• Collaborate with the board, cross-functional teams and the business to provide pragmatic legal solutions supporting Kiwa’s strategic and operational goals.
• Ensure Kiwa is future-ready, by keeping pace with the changing legal landscape and anticipating global challenges.

Do you have what it takes?

This is an opportunity for a legal leader who thrives at the intersection of strategy and execution. If you bring a hands-on approach, proven expertise, and a collaborative mindset, you may be the General Counsel we’re looking for. Do you have what it takes?

• A Master’s degree in Dutch Law.
• 10+ years of international legal experience, with expertise in corporate governance, M&A, and complex integration processes.
• Proven leadership capabilities, with a pragmatic, hands-on, solution-oriented mindset.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills to engage at all organizational levels.
• Fluency in Dutch and English (additional languages are a plus).
• Based in the Netherlands, with willingness to travel internationally.
• A proactive and adaptable approach, thriving under pressure while maintaining focus on Kiwa’s long-term ambitions.

What can you expect from us in return?

A strategic leadership role within an ambitious, expanding international organization. Flexible working arrangements that allow you to balance office hours with remote work, supporting your work-life balance. Further we offer an attractive package, including 33 days of annual paid leave, a good pension scheme, a performance-based bonus and continuous learning and development opportunities to grow as a leader.

Where are you going to work?

In this role, you’ll be responsible for Kiwa’s Corporate Legal department and the board secretaries, with our Rijswijk (The Netherlands) office as your location. The team is small and is characterized by an informal atmosphere.

If you’re ready to take on this exciting opportunity and help Kiwa drive progress on a global scale, we want to hear from you!

Apply now via our Careers Portal using the blue application button.

For more information, contact Tom Coumans, Group Talent Acquisition, at +31 (0)20 737 07 03. We look forward to meeting you!

About Kiwa

Kiwa is an independent, impartial global leader in Testing, Inspection, and Certification (TIC). We support customers in virtually all markets, in both the public and private sectors. With over 12,000 employees in 35+ countries, our mission is to create trust by contributing to the transparency of the quality, safety, and sustainability of products, services, and organizations.

Our headquarters are in Rijswijk, the Netherlands, and we are proud to be part of the global SHV Family of Companies.