Senior Counsel - Corporate & Compliance in London

Eku Energy is looking for an enthusiastic and highly motivated Senior Counsel - Corporate & Compliance to support our rapidly growing global energy storage business. This newly created role will be based in London, reporting to our Chief Legal Officer. It will involve working with colleagues across the business and with our co-investor representatives.

Our new Senior Counsel - Corporate & Compliance is a generalist legal and compliance role, responsible for group-wide legal entity management, corporate governance, corporate contracting, and the development and strengthening of our core compliance initiatives and controls. We are looking for a positive, collaborative lawyer with approximately 5 years’ PQE who brings clear thinking and practical judgement to the role, enthusiastic to drive adoption of Legal Operations design principles and best practices within our expanding established Legal, Governance & Compliance team. The successful candidate will be passionate about contributing to an emerging industry within the clean energy transition and excited by the challenge of providing high-quality legal support in a fast-paced and dynamic international environment.

Responsibilities of the role

• Corporate Governance: Ensuring robust compliance with applicable company law requirements for all Eku Energy managed legal entities around the world, with support from external legal and corporate service providers as necessary, including managing Eku Energy group subsidiary board meetings to ensure appropriate visibility and oversight for directors and officers to exercise their fiduciary duties.
• Designing and implementing governance processes for any new Eku Energy’s joint venture vehicles on establishment to comply with applicable law, constitutional documents and co-investor expectations under any negotiated joint venture agreements.
• Collaboration across all Eku Energy functions to ensure requisite corporate approvals are sought and secured on a timely basis to deliver on our business commitments, working closely with Eku Energy Finance and Eku Energy country-level local Development and Delivery Teams business team members.
• Ensuring Eku Energy group companies’ statutory books and records are maintained and updated on a timely basis and that accurate, up to date key company information is accessible in a user-friendly format to relevant internal and external stakeholders.
• Collaboration with colleagues within Investment Management, Development & Delivery, Technology, Markets & Trading, Finance and Tax Teams with regard to setting up, adjusting and maintaining an optimum group structure.
• Support for Chief Legal Officer with Eku Energy Group parent company board and committee meeting management and record keeping.
• Supporting required reporting on Eku Energy group corporate structure and developments to third party finance providers.

• Corporate: Providing internal legal support to Eku Energy’s global Enabling Functions (including Finance, HR People & Culture, Business Office Management, and Information Technology) with commercial contracting and general legal advice, working with outside counsel and external legal process outsource service providers as appropriate.
• Identifying, explaining and helping to mitigate legal risks.
• Developing templates and managing intra-group contracting including (non-project) intra-group service arrangements and intra-group funding agreements.
• Managing Eku Energy group international trademark applications and registrations with support from external trade mark counsel.

• Compliance: In collaboration with Eku Energy Chief Legal Officer, leading core compliance initiatives and developing and delivering Eku Energy staff training modules, with initial focus on anti-bribery and corruption, sanctions & watchlists and privacy.
• Developing, maintaining and updating Legal function owned Policies & Procedures and raising awareness of internal policy compliance commitments with all Eku Energy staff.
• Primary responsibility for third party business partner compliance screening (KYC screening) on behalf of Eku Energy and escalating as necessary.
• Liaising with our investors and co-investors to respond to screening requests received from third parties in respect of Eku Energy managed entities, representatives and investors.
• In collaboration with Eku Energy People & Culture Team and Eku Energy Information Technology Teams, maintaining Eku Energy compliance with applicable privacy laws (including contributing to maintenance of Eku Energy group Record of Processing Activities (ROPA)).

• Legal Operations: Identifying opportunities for enhancing Legal function efficiency and business support through legal operations design principles, best practices and technology.
• Maintaining and enhancing Legal function owned workflows and processes, SharePoint sites, technology tools and legal know-how management.
• Supporting Eku Energy Legal team with managing relationships with outside counsel and providing oversight of external legal budget deployment.
• Providing general support to Eku Energy Chief Legal Officer.

Qualifications:

• Experienced lawyer with background in company and commercial matters.
• Around 5 years’ PQE with experience in reputable private practice or in-house legal team.
• Interested in developing a generalist in-house practice.
• Clear thinker, ability to recognise practical impact of written policies, procedures and guidelines; confident to share ideas for process improvement and take drive through to implementation.
• Curious and confident to ask questions, remaining open-minded to alternative requirements, solutions and outcomes under different international legal systems.
• Enthusiastic attitude and approach to work.
• Confident interacting positively with colleagues, our investors and international legal advisors.
• A proven team player with strong interpersonal skills.
• Highly self-motivated.
• Excellent organizational and project management skills with close attention to detail.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with an ability to demonstrate resilience and manage competing demands.
• Solution-focused and collaborative approach with an ability to stay calm under pressure and build relationships.
• Excellent time management with the ability to multi-task, prioritise and adapt to changing business demands.
• Highly proficient with Microsoft Office Suite (MS Word, PowerPoint, Excel, SharePoint), workflow design and confident to adapt to using new business process technology tools.
• Business level fluency in English and excellent communication and legal drafting skills.

Benefits:

• 25 Days of annual leave.
• Flexible working arrangement.
• Short Term Incentive bonus based on company and personal targets.
• Great working culture globally.
• Attractive remuneration package.

Our commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: The diversity of our people is one of our greatest strengths. An inclusive and equitable workplace enables us to embrace that diversity to deliver more innovative and sustainable solutions for our people, clients, shareholders, and communities. At Eku Energy, you will be encouraged to be yourself and supported to perform at your best. We want you on our team. If you need adjustments made to the recruitment process or while you are working with us, please let us know. As an inclusive employer, we do not discriminate on the grounds of age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marriage, civil partnership, pregnancy, maternity, race (including colour and ethnic or national origins), religion or belief.

Joining Eku Energy means you will be able to work in a way that suits you best. With the right technology, support and resources, our people can work in a range of flexible ways. Talk to us about what working arrangements would help you thrive.