Legal Counsel – Legal

Our mission and objectives

• British International Investment is the UK’s development finance institution, owned by the UK Government. We invest with the aim of solving the biggest global development challenges by investing patient, flexible capital to support private sector growth and innovation.
• We have 75 years of experience successfully supporting the sustainable, long-term growth of businesses in Africa and Asia, and have recently expanded to invest in the Indo-Pacific and Caribbean.
• We invest to achieve impact and a financial return which is then reinvested for more impact. Over the past five years, we have committed £7 billion of new investments, with our net assets growing in value to approximately £8.1 billion. We are now invested in 1,400 businesses which directly employ over 950,000 workers and support many more. Over the next five years, we plan to grow further, and aim to commit around £9 billion of new investments over the period.
• Our current five-year strategy responds to the opportunities and challenges facing developing and emerging economies. To ensure our capital is used in the best way possible to meet these opportunities and challenges, it sets out three clear strategic objectives – to invest in productive, sustainable and inclusive development. These objectives mean an increased focus on climate finance, including investing in green infrastructure; on financing digital transformation; and on driving inclusive outcomes, including through gender and diversity finance.
• We changed our name to British International Investment in 2022, to more accurately reflect our central role in the UK Government’s international financing offer.
• In the last few years, we have expanded our presence in Africa and Asia by opening new offices in Bangladesh, Egypt, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Ghana and Singapore; with further expansion planned.
• We take an entrepreneurial approach to investment. We think innovatively about ways to deploy our capital, attract, and mobilise other investors, and drive transformational impact.
• Deliver impact. We are a team of over 600 and place immense value on diversity within our organisation.
• Read more about us and the strategy at www.bii.co.uk

Team and role overview

• The BII Legal & Tax team is divided into groups of lawyers supporting different types of investment: Equity, Debt and Funds, plus corporate and tax support.
• The Debt legal team is further divided into two sub-groups: one focussed exclusively on project finance, working with our “Infrastructure and Climate” commercial teams, usually as lender but occasionally as borrower; the other advising on all other forms of debt.
• This role is for a place in the former Project Finance sub-group, based in London and reporting to the Deputy Chief Legal Officer – Project Finance. This is an exciting opportunity to work in-house on complex, project finance transactions at the cutting edge of the net-zero transition in developing economies.

Responsibilities

• Advising BII on all stages of its debt investments, including structuring, negotiation, execution and portfolio management.
• Working with investment teams to ensure that transactions are pursued in a timely manner and legal risks are identified and appropriately managed.
• Project-managing broader elements of transactions (such as taxation, E&S and business integrity matters) to ensure that relevant input is obtained and BII’s core requirements (including BII’s Policy on Responsible Investing) are met.
• Managing external counsel.
• Interpreting due diligence reports and other advice from external counsel on legal risks and applying them to the commercial context to solve problems.
• Explaining legal issues and risks concisely to investment professionals, investment committees and BII’s board where necessary.
• Reviewing documentation prepared by external counsel (and in some instances drafting documentation) for a broad range of debt transactions.
• Building and sharing know-how and best practice, including training and precedents.

The candidate

Background, skills, aptitude

The successful candidate will:

• have a strong work ethic, a commercial mind-set and be constantly seeking solutions;
• be able to assess risks and make well-reasoned, independent and transparent decisions under time pressure;
• be able to explain legal issues and risks concisely to investment professionals, recommend appropriate courses of action and resolve problems;
• be a self-starter, able to work independently (without the back-up traditionally associated with large companies particularly law firms);
• have very good interpersonal skills, able to work effectively across cultures, with occasional travel; and
• be motivated by BII’s development mission and ideally demonstrate some commitment to development or social goals through previous executive or non-executive activity.

Technical Skills

• A senior project finance lawyer, qualified in a common law jurisdiction, with post-qualification experience in an international law firm or the legal department of an international or development finance institution.
• Experience working for international lenders making project finance investments in developing markets including sub-Saharan Africa and, preferably, India.
• A solid and detailed understanding of the risk tolerances and expectations of those international lenders, in particular, in single offtaker jurisdictions.
• Experience reviewing, negotiating and drafting standard English or New York law finance documents (LMA and, if possible, DFI standards).
• Familiarity with environmental, social and anti-corruption policies preferable. 

Our cultural values

We look for team members who aspire, as we do, to work at our best and to be:

• Impact-led, commercially rigorous
• Tenacious in the face of challenges
• Collaborative and caring

British International Investment is committed to diversity and inclusion and welcomes all applicants regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation or educational background. 

Please provide a cover letter with your application

Salary: Competitive