Legal Advisor at FNB South Africa

Job Description

• We have the below role within FNB Commercial Chief Risk Office.
• The purpose of the Legal Adviser is to provide leadership in the delivery of reliable, accurate, timely and well-informed advice on complex legal issues/matters and to identify and assess the potential legal implications for the Bank/Business Brand/business area.
• The Legal Adviser provides in context specialist sound legal advice to the business on complex legal matters relating to business products, services and transactions in the renewable energy sector and the execution of the activities related to this, with the intention of enabling strategic outcomes for the business area and the effective and efficient management of legal risk.

Are you someone who can:

• Providing advice to the leadership team across the range of the business area’s legal interests, risks and obligations.
• Contributing a legal assurance perspective to the business area’s strategic and governance processes, particularly the executive decision-making process.
• Providing professional legal services which may include sound legal advice, expert drafting of legal documentation, managing disputes, and managing of legal projects.
• Reporting to business area management on legal matters.
• Evaluate the merit of potentially litigious disputes and consult with the relevant stakeholders to protect the interests of the business area.
• Proactively identify emerging legal risks and ensure training on legal risk management takes place.
• Provide comments on emerging legislation that impacts business area.
• Report on legal risk management in the business area; seeking input and guidance on more complex ambiguous issues.
• Provide insight into the strategy for the business area and add value to decision-making processes alongside other business area managers.
• Drive the implementation of strategic objectives to sustain action towards the achievement of both organisational and the legal function objectives.
• Add value to the development and implementation of internal controls, policies and guidelines for the legal function and specific business area, ensuring their alignment to functional objectives and statutory requirements.
• Conduct medium to long-term planning, making decisions and taking action to achieve challenging goals and deliver on multiple complex tasks.
• Provide legal expertise to develop innovative and relevant technology requirements in order to drive the optimisation of work output.
• Use digitisation effectively to work smarter, more efficiently and accurately on document reviews, reporting, effective filing of matters and sharing of information with peers.
• Understand the business unit goals and consider same when executing transactions in an effective, efficient manner through the utilisation of technology and simplified processes.
• Providing guidance and mentoring to junior legal advisers and direct reports.
• Collaborating with legal advisers and legal subject matter experts across the group.
• Collaborating with risk and regulatory risk (compliance) stakeholders servicing the business area and across the group.
• Staying up to date in all developments in the law in relation to his/her areas of legal practice.
• Comply with all professional and ethical standards relevant to in-house legal advisers.
• Monitor, analyse and evaluate the impact and legal implications of developments in the industry and related areas, including the activities of competitors, and pro-actively work with the Legal Centres of Expertise and recommend effective courses of action so that either a stance may be adopted, or potential threats may be averted.
• Monitoring compliance with legal and statutory requirements related to legal risks of the organisation.

You will be the ideal candidate if you have:

• LLB
• Admitted legal practitioner in country of employment
• LLM advantageous

Experience and Skills

• Minimum of 5 to 8 years' experience proving competence in the provision of guidance and insight pertaining to the drafting, vetting, review, dissemination and/or negotiation of legal documentation and legal processes of a complex nature, with specific emphasis on power purchase agreements, operation and maintenance agreements, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) agreements and other agreements related to the implementation of renewable energy projects such as solar and wind.
• End-to-end deal execution on corporations associated with renewable energy projects including drafting and vetting of contracts related thereto such as sale of assets agreements, preference share subscription agreements and preference share terms, memoranda of incorporation, loan agreements and service level agreements.
• At least 5 to 8 years' legal experience within the renewable energy sector, either in legal practice or as corporate legal counsel.
• Expert contract negotiation, preparation, and administration skills (including the administration of the implementation of the conditions precedent to the various agreements, supporting with company secretarial administration related matters such as the allotment and issue of shares, drafting of resolutions and writing up of share registers).
• Expertise in formulating legal opinions.
• Ability to analyse emerging legislation, industry and other legal discussion documents, conduct standards and to collate comments on behalf of the group.
• Proven track-record in providing effective legal counsel and drafting contracts that mitigate risks and penalties.
• Able to identify and mitigate legal risks.
• Sound understanding of relevant functional practices and policies from a Risk and Compliance perspective.
• Sound understanding of relevant legislation and its impact on business strategy.
• Able to communicate effectively and to translate legal knowledge for a non-legal audience.
• Able to provide legal input for expressions of interest and/or responses to tenders on a regular basis, which will require the review of the tender terms and conditions and related documentation, e.g. non-disclosure agreements.
• Able to undertake legal due diligence investigations in respect of the acquisition of existing renewable energy assets and to draft the appropriate documents surrounding this type of transaction.

End Date: July 14, 2025