Legal Advisor - Utilities

SUMMARY:
Our client is seeking an experienced Legal Advisor to lead strategic legal guidance and manage project development for major infrastructure projects, including power, water, wastewater, and renewables.
This role involves overseeing legal documentation, negotiation, and compliance to drive successful project outcomes from inception to financial close. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in legal due diligence, contract negotiation, and stakeholder management, with expertise in BOO/BOOT project development.

POSITION INFO:

Responsibilities:

Strategic Legal Guidance and Project Development

• Legal Guidance and Strategic Input: Provide strategic legal insights and protect the organization's interests in projects related to growth and strategy.
• Project Management: Oversee all aspects of project development and financing documentation, focusing on power, water, wastewater, and renewable projects.
• Legal Support Across Teams: Offer essential legal backing to finance, business development, construction, and operations teams throughout project deployment.

Legal Documentation and Negotiation

• Document Structuring and Review: Draft, review, and effectively negotiate a variety of documents, including but not limited to debt, equity financing documents, and agreements such as MOUs, NDAs, JDA, SHA, etc.
• Internal Approvals: Engage in internal approvals, collaborating with diverse teams, management, and the board.
• Legal Negotiations Leadership: Lead legal discussions up to Financial Close and provide the necessary support to the JV Support department.

External and Stakeholder Liaison

• Stakeholder Relationship Management: Build and maintain relationships with stakeholders, including lenders, developers, and investors.
• Consultant and Adviser Management: Oversee consultants and advisers involved in projects from recruitment to final settlements.
• Client Communication: Address ambiguities by raising clarifications with clients and responding to RFP issuers' queries promptly.

Knowledge Management and Sharing

• Industry Knowledge Maintenance: Maintain and share knowledge on completed projects and emerging best practices in the industry.
• Preparation and Learning: Document and prepare for challenges encountered in past transactions to inform future projects.

Legal Management of Diverse Projects

• Comprehensive Legal Oversight: Manage all legal aspects of tendered greenfield, brownfield construction projects, M&A, and bilateral projects.
• Contractual Review: Legally review contracts and create risk matrices.
• Legal Due Diligence: Conduct legal diligence for tendered greenfield/brownfield, M&A, or bilateral projects.

Compliance and Quality Assurance

• Legal Documentation: Prepare standardized legal documentation and Due Diligence Reports for management and the Board of Directors.
• Legal POC: Act as the primary point of contact for all legal-related activities during the project development stage.
• Quality and Compliance Assurance: Ensure alignment with relevant safety, quality, and environmental management procedures and controls, as well as legislative compliance and the delivery of high-quality products/services.

Collaborative Bid Development and Report Preparation

• Collaboration with BD Teams: Work with Business Development teams/Managers and JV Support managers to prepare bids and BOD Due Diligence (DD) Reports.
• Bid DD Report Preparation: Prepare bid DD Reports with team support for the BDD manager/JV Support/General Manager and other relevant stakeholders.

Minimum Qualification & Experience

• Bachelor’s or advanced law degree from a recognized university.
• MBA from an internationally recognized business school preferred.

• Minimum of 12 years overall experience, with expertise in managing legal aspects of BOO/BOOT project development from inception to financial close.
• Strong experience in legal documentation preparation, negotiation, and due diligence.