Senior Legal Counsel – Project Finance

Senior Legal Counsel – Project Finance

Responsible for providing strategic legal oversight on complex financing transactions, with a primary focus on project finance, structured funding, and infrastructure financing arrangements.

The role partners closely with Investment, Funding, Finance, and Risk teams to structure legally sound and commercially viable transactions, ensuring appropriate risk mitigation while enabling efficient deal execution and financial close.

This is a deal-facing role embedded within the funding lifecycle from structuring through to post-close management and post-close compliance.

Position of the job in the organisation:
Senior Legal Counsel – Project Finance will report directly to the Head of Legal.

• Lead legal structuring of project finance and structured funding transactions.
• Review, and negotiate complex financing documentation including loan agreements, intercreditor agreements, security documents, guarantees, and related funding instruments.
• Review and negotiate lender-provided financing documentation and prepare borrower-side or bespoke financing documents where required.
• Provide legal input into term sheets and transaction structuring alongside Investment, funding, and finance teams.
• Ensure project agreements align with funding requirements and bankability standards.
• Conduct high level bankability reviews of revenue and offtake agreements, including Power Purchase Agreements and wheeling arrangements, to confirm alignment with lender requirements and project finance risk thresholds.
• Coordinate legal deliverables required for conditions precedent, security perfection, and financial close.
• Support transactions through due diligence, negotiation, and financial close.

• Translate legal risks into clear commercial implications.
• Provide legal input into investment, funding and transaction approval memoranda.
• Ensure enforce ability and robustness of security structures and collateral frameworks.
• Advise on risk allocation across lenders, sponsors, contractors, clients/offtakers and other.
• Identify structural risks early and propose mitigation strategies to protect project value and prevent disputes.

• Advise and ensure compliance with applicable energy, electricity market, and grid regulatory frameworks.
• Monitor regulatory developments affecting electricity markets, wheeling frameworks, licensing, and grid access.
• Provide legal guidance on funding instruments, including debt facilities, guarantees, bonds, and blended finance structures.

• Act as lead legal negotiator with sponsors, lenders, DFIs, and government entities.
• Manage and coordinate external legal counsel appointed for project finance, funding, and related transaction matters.
• Support internal stakeholders, including Finance, Funding, and Commercial functions.
• Provide bankability focused input during negotiations with clients and counter parties where commercial positions may affect lender requirements or funding viability.

• Provide legal oversight on refinancings, restructurings, waivers, and amendments.
• Support enforcement strategies and distressed asset management where required.
• Advise on covenant compliance and ongoing legal exposure within the portfolio.
• Assess legal implications of operational issues that may trigger lender notifications or default risks.

Perform additional responsibilities consistent with the scope and seniority of the role.

• LLB degree
• Admitted Attorney in South Africa (required)
• Postgraduate qualification in Finance, Project Finance, Infrastructure Funding, Energy Law or Commercial Law (advantageous).
• 8–10 years post-qualification experience in project finance, structured finance, banking law, or infrastructure funding.
• Strong technical knowledge of project finance structures, security packages, intercreditor arrangements, syndicated lending, and financial close processes.
• Demonstrated experience drafting and negotiating complex financing agreements and transaction documentation.
• Sound understanding of credit risk…