SA - Head of Legal

Company Overview:

Mainstream is a global developer of utility scale wind and solar assets operating across Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa.  Our core business is to develop, build and operate renewable energy plants thereby helping to build a sustainable future – globally and locally.

Mainstream Renewable Power South Africa has been awarded a total of 2.1 gigawatts of wind and solar projects under the Government’s renewable energy procurement programme since the first round in 2011.

In Chile, Mainstream owns 1.3GW of fully contracted wind and solar projects in operation, in construction or at late-stage development, due to its unprecedented success in government auctions. In Asia, the company is developing large-scale projects in Vietnam and the Philippines.

In 2021, Mainstream completed a process to find an equity partner to help finance the development and construction of its wind and solar asset pipeline. Our partnership with Aker Horizons enables the Company to strive towards our ambitious targets of securing 5.5 GWs of renewable assets to FC and be IPO ready by 2023. Aker Horizons develops green energy and green industry to accelerate the transition to Net Zero. The company is active in renewable energy, carbon capture and hydrogen and develops industrial-scale decarbonization projects. In 2022, an equity partnership with Mitsui strengthened our position and continued our growth trajectory across the world.

Mainstream has raised more than €3.0bn in project finance to date and employs over 700+ staff across 11 countries.

Summary of Role:

The purpose of this role is to lead the legal workstream providing primary support to the Mainstream DevCo teams and, high level oversight of legal and compliance activities of the Mainstream Asset Management and Construction teams, in South Africa.

The role will involve significant interaction with management teams and requires working closely with and advising colleagues in many functions across the business (Commercial, Development, Construction, Procurement, etc).

This is a challenging position with wide ranging duties and responsibilities; it will offer you the opportunity to work in a dynamic and entrepreneurial organisation, in a growing market, and in a fast-paced industry. As a member of the local senior team, your expertise and engagement are crucial.

What you will do:

• Service and provide front-line negotiation, drafting and support of key commercial contracts.
• Be familiar with relevant terms and conditions of the suite of project documents, including project finance agreements, equity agreements, and construction contracts; and provide commercial support related to effective execution of these contracts.
• Support the procurement team with negotiation of construction contracts including turbine supply agreements, balance of plant, EPC contracts and long-term service contracts
• Advise and assist on a range of corporate transactions from investments, M&A, fundraisings and structuring at project and corporate level.
• Provide legal oversight, the ability to identify key legal risks, research issues and formulate strategies to mitigate exposures.
• Promote legal awareness and update the business on relevant legislative changes and case law affecting Mainstream’s business and the wider renewable energy sector including regulatory, planning and environmental matters.
• Provide legal support on all key business initiatives and projects.
• Lead and develop a small team of experts in legal, compliance and company secretarial functions.

Practice areas:

• Project finance; corporate finance.
• Company law; joint ventures; acquisitions and disposals.
• Legal due diligence.
• Full range of commercial contracts, including NDAs, consultancy and agency agreements, and service agreements.
• Working with external law firms putting in place appropriate facility agreements and associated security.
• Equity related agreements including MOUs, Joint Development Agreements, Shareholder Agreements, etc.
• Procurement and construction contracts.
• Power purchase agreements; and other Government facing agreements.
• Legal relationship management and legal risk management.
• Data privacy, anti-bribery, corruption, and ethics compliance.
• Assist with a range of other contracts and legal issues that may arise across the business including Information Systems, HR, Health & Safety, & Environmental, and general litigation.

What we require:

• Completed LLB (or similar) qualification.

• Minimum 5 years’ experience at a similar level.

• Strong people management skills, including the development of the members of the team, in line with company principles and values.

• Experience or secondments in-house to a multinational company would be advantageous but not essential.

• Experience in project finance, and in structuring JVs and shareholders’ agreements will be an advantage.

• Knowledge of engineering, procurement, contracts, construction and commissioning processes would be advantageous.

• Strong negotiation and commercial contract drafting skills essential.

• Be a self-starter with the ability to prioritise work, multi-task and work to set deadlines within a dynamic and fast-moving environment.

• Candidates should be capable of managing internal and external resources.

• We are looking for a candidate that can assimilate complex information, who can support a diverse and high-performing team in a demanding environment.

• A creative problem solver and a proven track record in the delivery of solutions to a range of challenging corporate issues.

• As you will be a central point of contact, you will need strong organisational skills, a confident manner and ability to communicate clearly with the executive and senior management.

• A key feature of this role will be collaboration, both internally and externally, with the ability to work cross-functionally with all departments.

• Proficient with MS Office Suite.

• Experience in the energy, and particularly the renewable energy industry, will be an advantage.

• The candidate must be fluent in English; fluency in other languages is considered an advantage.

What we offer:

We offer you the opportunity to work in a dynamic and entrepreneurial organisation, in a growing market in a fast-paced industry.  You will receive a very competitive total benefits package including an excellent base salary and bonus scheme.