English Senior Legal Officer at ECOWAS Bank

Main Duties and Responsibilities
Job Summary:

• Working under the direct supervision of the Head of Legal/Compliance Division, the senior legal officer will be, amongst other things, in charge of the provision of the legal services to the Department of Private Sector Operations of the Bank for the project finance and development in the English-Speaking Countries of the ECOWAS.

Duties

• Review and ensure that Development Finance Institution (DFI), Environmental & Social Obligations and Sanctions provisions are reflected in all financings and that the relevant checklists are up to date;
• Appraisal of Private Project finance to ensure all legal, regulatory, environmental risks are well addressed in the transactions structuring;
• Ongoing monitoring and advising on legal issues arising from closed transactions from time to time; Deal with the legal aspects of facility agency and security agency roles relating to the bank's transactions;
• Deal with legal aspects of restructured and non- performing loans and assets;
• Deal with the legal aspects of the bank's investments and transactional matters, covering project finance and project development transactions;
• Structure transactions in a manner that is consistent with the mandate, policies and objectives of the bank and provide innovative and practical solutions to legal issues pertaining to the bank's transactions and activities;
• Deal with the legal aspects of the credit approval process relating to transactions;
• Draft, review and negotiate term sheets, Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs), mandate letters, project agreements, financing and security agreements;
• Review conditions precedent and coordinate closing of the financing including perfection of security based on local jurisdiction requirements; • Provide technical inputs including but not limited to legal analysis, drafting of policies and development of procedures;
• Undertaking such other duties/assuming such other responsibilities as are assigned from time to time by the Director of Legal Department.

Required Qualification, Experience and Skills

• LLM Master's degree in Law (especially in banking, finance or business law);
• Minimum of seven (7) years Post qualification experience with a legal or financial advisory firm or financial institution; English/Common law qualification and/or experience desirable;
• Experience in Project Finance and Project Development experience;
• Ability to exercise independent judgment and provide practical legal advice;
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work as a team with professionals from other disciplines;
• High ethical standards, impeccable integrity and a deep sense of fairness;
• Strong organizing, work planning and scheduling skills, capable of handling large volumes of assignments accurately and thoroughly while balancing several agenda;
• In-depth knowledge and appreciation of project finance and borrowing transactions;
• Ability to conduct due diligence relating to financial transactions, i.e. project finance, structured finance and corporate finance;
• Good knowledge and understanding of the global legal framework (corporate and commercial law);
• Ability to think strategically and holistically and to appreciate the systematic impact of various legal policies, issues and solutions;
• Analytical mind, sense of organization and ability to work in a multicultural environment and capacity to accommodate cultural differences;
• Ability to take initiative, well-disciplined and able to work unde pressure;
• Ability to manage a team in a multi-cultural environment, ability to develop good relationships with other staff members, impart knowledge and be able to delegate duties and responsibilities, supervise and take decisions; Excellent written, drafting and oral communication skills;
• A good working knowledge in French will be appreciated.

Other Requirements:

• Be a national of one of the ECOWAS Member States;
• Must not be above 45 years at the time of recruitment;
• Have sound knowledge of computer tools (Word, Excel, Access and Power Point);
• Fluent in French and/or English and/or Portuguese, and proficient in one of the other two languages.

Salary Grade
Grade P4.