JOB DETAILS:
The core responsibilities for this position is to manage and monitor the advisory services provided to African Governments by the ALSF and to assist the Division Manager & Head of Operations: in supporting, managing and monitoring legal counsel responsible for the legal analysis and advisory work, jointly with the capacity building unit, developing knowledge management solutions and initiatives, market research and sector analysis to support sound project proposals, and projects’ supervision and management of external counsel; in planning the funding requirements for ALSF’s project pipeline and implementation, build up the said project pipeline to meet the Facility’s objectives, and coordinating with the finance department to assess the liquidity needs for ALSF’s activities.

Key Functions:
• The Chief Legal Counsel will report to the Division Manager & Head of Operations and will work closely with internal and external stakeholders. The incumbent’s role includes but is not limited to:

• Analysis of country requests for legal assistance and review and supervise the preparation of project proposals and reports to the Director and Management Board of the Facility;
• Supervise and coordinate the preparation of briefs regarding legal due diligence required to carry out proposed operations;
• Assist in recruiting and managing external legal counsel, including negotiating cost effective fee arrangements;
• Assist in recruiting and managing internal legal counsel, including evaluating their performance;
• Regularly liaise and interact with senior government officials to discuss ALSF’s interventions;
• Provide advice to senior government officials in the context of complex commercial transactions;

• Contribute to compilation of precedents and best practices in negotiating complex commercial transactions;
• Establish ALSF's preferred market standards for transactions and coordinate the drafting of ALSF's standard agreements relevant to the Key Sectors;
• Liaise with partners, co-financiers and facilitate cooperation with other development partners;
• Assist the Division Manager & Head of Operations in the planning of the funding requirements for ALSF’s project pipeline and programme implementation;
• Coordinate with the finance department the assessment of the liquidity needs for ALSF’s activities;
• Assist in developing strategy to attract more project specific funding from development partners and private market participants;
• Assist in the drafting of policy documents on operational matters relating to the Facility;
• Mentor and assist with the development of team members;
• Assist with the development of a strategy to attract more project specific grants from development partners and private participants;

• Assist with the coordination the administrative process and funding structuring of the private entity funding framework; and
• Perform such other assignments as may be required from time to time by the Division Manager & Head of Operations, and Director of the Facility.

Competencies (skills, experience and knowledge)
• A minimum of a master's degree or related disciplines in Law plus admission to the Bar of a member of the African Development Bank. Any other professional qualification relevant to the position is an added advantage.
• Relevant Skills and Experience: at least eight (8) years of relevant work experience including experience in all of the following areas:
• Legal: Demonstrated experience and understanding of the sector(s) relevant to ALSF’s portfolio of projects;
• Finance: Demonstrated understanding of the financial concepts and principles underlying project financed transactions;
• Technical: Demonstrated understanding of the sector trends relevant to ALSF’s portfolio of projects.
• Relevant professional experience preferably with an established international law firm, and/or international financial institution, with proven technical competence and experience in international private law, project finance, extractive resources, international arbitration and/or commercial contracts;
• Strong skills in preparation and negotiation of complex legal documents including briefs, legal opinions, commercial transaction agreements and related transactions;
• Demonstrated effective management and coordination skills and an ability to work under pressure in a multicultural environment to complete multiple tasks and meet deadlines;
• High-level skills in communication, team building, inter-personal relationships, writing, and analytical skills;
• Competence in Microsoft Office; knowledge of cloud-based project management software;
• Ability to communicate and write effectively in English and/or French with good working knowledge of the other language;
• Must be a citizen of a member country of the African Development Bank;
• Must demonstrate a high level of integrity, moral values, discretion and confidentiality;
• Willingness to undertake extensive travel (up to 30% of time).