GENERAL COUNSEL

01. Role Overview

Energy Africa Recruitment is representing an international energy business that develops, invests in, builds and operates renewable and low carbon generation, storage and transmission assets. Its technology base spans wind, solar, hydro and biomass generation, battery energy storage and pumped storage.

The business has a long-established presence in South Africa and a growing regional footprint. The Southern Africa portfolio includes multiple operating wind farm assets, with further wind, solar and battery energy storage capacity under construction for public and private off-takers. Hydropower projects are in development elsewhere in the region.

This is a newly created executive position. The legal function has grown from one person to a team of ten as the business has scaled. The company now needs more maturity and experience in the function than it has carried before. The General Counsel leads the full legal function for the Southern Africa business: project and business legal, corporate legal and company secretariat, and ethics and compliance.

The role reports to the CEO of the Southern Africa business and holds a formal seat on the Executive Committee. It carries a functional link to the group's legal leadership for Africa at group head office. Two managers report in, covering corporate legal and company secretariat, and project legal. A dedicated ethics and compliance lead also reports to the role.

Location: Cape Town, office based. Permanent appointment. Travel is limited, largely negotiation sessions in Johannesburg or at group head office as and when required.

02. What You Will Do

• Lead the legal function through two managers: a head of legal projects carrying six legal counsel, and a group company secretary carrying one company secretarial report. The team spans two South African offices.

• Lead contract negotiation and legal strategy across power purchase agreements, common terms agreements and project financing documentation through to financial close, alongside joint ventures, partnership and joint development agreements, construction and operations and maintenance agreements, supply contracts, sale and purchase agreements and shareholder agreements.

• Provide strategic direction on the company's live claims and litigation.

• Provide strategic legal input on mergers, acquisitions and corporate initiatives.

• Contribute at Executive Committee level and manage the interface with group head office.

• Oversee corporate legal and company secretariat, run day to day by the company secretary, spanning approximately 15 active boards held in co-control.

• Represent the company as a director on special purpose vehicle and joint venture boards. Seats are handed over from the executive team once the role is established. Company policy caps any director at five boards.

• Take ownership of external legal spend across the operating company and the project vehicles, and bring greater discipline to how internal and external resources are used. The General Counsel has full authority over panel firm selection.

• Oversee ethics and compliance, and hold the interfaces with group audit, internal control and insurance.

The role is approximately 90 percent supervision and 10 percent hands-on drafting.

03. What We're Looking For

• Genuine depth in project finance. You know what a power purchase agreement is, what a common terms agreement is, and what it takes to reach financial close.

• Minimum 15 – 20 years in a legal environment, preferably within energy, infrastructure or large industrial projects.

• Experience leading and developing a legal team.

• Experience structuring large contractual projects for the construction and operation of major assets.

• Strong working knowledge of the South African market, its regulatory environment and its legal advisory landscape.

• Executive-level presence. You have operated at or alongside an executive committee and can hold your own with international stakeholders.

• South African citizen or permanent resident.

• An LLM in commercial, corporate, contract or international business law.

• Independent power producer or renewable energy sector experience prefereable, otherwise energy or large infrastructure

• Exposure to insurance law and intellectual property.

How you work

• Commercially oriented across a wide and complex issue set.

• Rigorous and tenacious, with the ability to carry an argument.

• Transparent, alert and responsive.

• A strong manager who builds capability in the people around them.

04. What We Offer

• A newly created executive appointment reporting to the CEO, with a formal seat on the Executive Committee of the Southern Africa business.

• Leadership of the full legal mandate for the region: project and business legal, corporate legal and company secretariat, and ethics and compliance.

• Board directorships on special purpose vehicle and joint venture boards, handed over from the executive team.

• Ownership of the external legal budget, with full discretion over panel firm selection.

• Exposure to a portfolio spanning wind, solar, battery energy storage, transmission and hydro, with a growing regional development pipeline.

• A competitive package with an annual performance bonus.

• Cape Town, office based, with limited travel.

 

 

This role is being placed exclusively by Energy Africa Recruitment.

Should you not hear back from us within 7 days, your application has been unsuccessful.