Senior Legal Advisor (IFISA) - Fixed Term Contract at Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA)

Job Description    

• The Senior Legal Advisor is responsible for providing legal advice and support to clients on the financing activities of IFISA, ensuring that all actions, initiatives, and investments are legally sound and protect the investment portfolio. Mitigate legal risks and prevent adverse reputational or other negative consequences for IFISA. Provide guidance and leadership to junior legal advisors, fostering their development and ensuring consistency in legal counsel across the organisation.

Key Responsibilities    
Legal Advisory Services and Contracting

• Collaborate with core project teams to support Investment Officers in structuring a diverse portfolio of investment projects, with a strong emphasis on project finance and equity transactions.
• Conduct comprehensive legal due diligence on investment opportunities to identify risks and ensure informed decision-making.
• Undertake in-depth legal research across a broad spectrum of issues relating to investment initiatives and commercial transactions.
• Provide legal input into the drafting and review of appraisal reports, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and sound legal positioning.
• Participate in DBSA/IFISA credit and/or management committees, offering expert legal guidance to support robust credit decisions.
• Prepare, review, and negotiate detailed term sheets for investment projects, particularly within project finance environments.
• Lead legal negotiations with clients, co-funders, and key stakeholders to secure favourable and commercially sound outcomes.
• Draft, review, and vet complex legal agreements and documentation, ensuring clarity, enforceability, and compliance with applicable laws.
• Identify matters requiring specialised legal expertise and manage the appointment and oversight of external legal counsel.
• Collaborate with external attorneys to prepare comprehensive legal briefs and manage transaction execution.
• Manage the legal budget related to external service providers, ensuring cost-effective utilisation of legal resources.
• Support the execution and implementation of investment transactions, particularly from a legal structuring and security perspective.
• Provide general legal advisory support across operational and corporate functions, ensuring alignment with legal and regulatory requirements.
• Risk identification and mitigation across legal, regulatory and commercial dimensions.
• Collaborate and develop infrastructure procurement documents to ensure that they adhere and align to compliance principles laid out in the following: The Constitution; National Treasury Supply Management Circulars, Directives and Guidelines; Supply Management policies; Public Finance Management Act (PFMA); Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA); Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act (PPPFA); Broadbased Black Economic Empowerment Act (BBBEE); Other applicable Procurement Laws and Public Law principles.

Compliance and Regulatory Support

• Monitor compliance with applicable legislation, internal policies, and regulatory frameworks in all legal matters.
• Work closely with Compliance to strengthen and maintain effective regulatory and governance frameworks.
• Stay abreast of legal and regulatory developments, proactively advising management and colleagues on relevant changes and implications.
• Review all documents and decisions made for compliance with various legislation, policies and regulations.
• Monitor and advise on relevant legislative and regulatory developments impacting the organisation.
• Support the implementation of governance and compliance frameworks.

Dispute Resolution and Litigation

• Provide legal guidance on complex disputes, litigation, and potential contentious matters, ensuring alignment with the organisation’s risk appetite and strategic objectives.
• Lead the assessment and resolution of disputes, formulating and driving litigation and settlement strategies that optimise legal, financial, and reputational outcomes.
• Lead the briefing and performance management of external legal counsel, ensuring high-quality legal representation and value for money.
• Manage litigation risk by advising management on exposure, safeguarding the organisation’s legal and reputational interests and recommending alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.
• Monitor that disputes are resolved in a timely, cost-effective, and commercially sound manner while safeguarding the organisation’s interests and reputation.

Stakeholder Management

• Collaborate with internal stakeholders to provide practical and commercially sound legal solutions.
• Build effective working relationships with business units to support informed decision-making.
• Provide legal training and awareness on legal and regulatory developments to internal stakeholders.

Key Measurements of Outputs

• Achievement of favourable or commercially acceptable outcomes in investment transactions, aligned with the organisation’s legal strategy and risk appetite.
• Quality, timeliness, and impact of legal advice provided
• Effective handling of disputes to minimise adverse reputational impact on the organisation.
• Minimisation of financial losses, penalties, and contingent liabilities arising from disputes and litigation.
• Time taken to prepare and or review contracts, agreements and legal opinions.
• Quality and accuracy of agreements, opinions and solutions provided.
• Effective management of legal claims and litigation risks.
• Management of total case/agreement/opinion / other legal costs.
• No litigation due to contractual errors and or omissions.
• Effective monitoring of the contracts and agreements.
• Clean audit.

INTERNAL LIAISON RELATIONSHIP (*The list is not exhaustive)

• IFISA Team
• DBSA/IFISA management committees
• All divisions and staff
• Other Professionals in the DBSA Legal Unit

EXTERNAL LIAISON RELATIONSHIP (*The list is not exhaustive)

• Third-party/Service providers
• External Counsel / Attorneys
• Infrastructure South Africa
• National Treasury
• Government Departments and SOCs
• Public & Private Sector Stakeholders
• DFIs

Expertise & Technical Competencies    
Minimum Qualification

• A Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB) or Legal postgraduate qualification.
• Admitted Attorney/Advocate of the High Court of South Africa.

Minimum Experience

• A minimum of 8 years of experience in a commercial/finance/banking or corporate law environment providing legal support on investment transactions such as project finance, structured and corporate finance.
• Proven experience in contract drafting, legal risk management, and regulatory compliance.
• Strong track record in drafting, reviewing and negotiating transaction or projects documentation, including term sheets, facility agreements, shareholder agreements, security documents, and intercreditor agreements.
• Demonstrated experience in conducting legal due diligence and advising on transaction risks, mitigants, and structuring solutions.
• Solid understanding of banking and finance law, corporate law, security structures, and regulatory frameworks, particularly within a development finance or infrastructure investment environment.
• Experience working on multi-stakeholder transactions, including engagements with sponsors, lenders, DFIs, regulators, and external counsel.
• Ability to manage execution from term sheet to financial close, including conditions precedent and condition precedent waivers.
• Experience in supporting workout, restructuring, and enforcement of distressed project finance exposures.
• Demonstrate knowledge of legislation, regulations, policies, processes and procedures governing infrastructure planning and development in South Africa such as PFMA, MFMA, PPP Regulations.

Desirable Requirements

• A postgraduate qualification in development finance or investment banking.
• Experience in the financial services or banking industry.
• Experience in credit committee processes, including providing legal input into investment memoranda and approvals.
• Exposure to cross-border transactions and multi-jurisdictional legal considerations.

Deadline:6th August,2026