LEGAL COUNSEL - GAS & POWER

LEGAL COUNSEL - GAS & POWER

About US (GEMS)

GEMS provides energy supply solutions and risk management services to support its clients through their decarbonization journey, while optimizing ENGIE’s assets and contributing to value creation. ENGIE is a global reference in low-carbon energy and services with a leading energy management business, piloted by its entity "Global Energy Management & Sales" who built its savoir-faire managing the Group’s large and diverse asset portfolio over 20+ years. Globally, GEMS covers the full energy mix: renewable and thermal power, natural gas & LNG, biomass, environmental products.

Context

As part of the GEMS Legal & Regulatory department, the Gas & Power Legal Team manages all legal matters relevant to the gas and power supply business covering the existing gas and capacity portfolio in Europe and the Mediterranean region, the emerging low carbon gas products, as well as both green and thermal power matters in France and Belgium. 

Under the direction of the Team Manager and in conjunction with all levels of business originators, operational team and management, the Legal Counsel will provide general legal support on business development structuration, specific jurisdictional regulatory advice, transactional support, some dispute management and a general legal advice function for the power supply business.

What You’ll Do

• Draft, review and negotiate bespoke and industry based power sales and purchase agreements (PPA, cPPA), hedging services contracts, power storage and transportation contracts, tolling agreements, intra-group contracts, energy management and flexibility contracts, term-sheets and pre-transactional documentation in relation to power business
• Identify and mitigate transactional risks, in particular legal and regulatory risks and ensure that contracts reflect best practice, GEMS policies and procedural framework
• Advice on operational and other events arising during the execution of a contract, including force majeure, failure to deliver or take, power scheduling and logistics issues, credit support, business conduct and trade compliance issues, and predisputes
• Manage the above timely and in a cost-effective manner with support from external counsel when necessary
• Develop practice notes to improve skills and know-how and assist with policy and guidelines formulation;
• Advise on and execute the implementation of the reforms of commercial or energy market regulation in relation to the team scope
• Work closely with other GEMS stakeholders on transactional, regulatory and compliance related matters/issues, and liaise with subject matter experts for tailored advice when necessary, to ensure common understanding of the commercial and legal requirements of the business
• Opportunity to develop the role and take part in the ongoing initiatives and projects launched within GEMS Legal & Regulation or more generally within GEMS

Education/Experience  

• Qualified as a lawyer under Belgian law. Being French law qualified and/or having an LLM from a common law university is a plus
• At least 7 years relevant Post Qualified Legal Experience and first class educational qualifications
• Proven experience in contract negotiation, preferably in the power sector
• Solid understanding of core civil law principles on contracts, and a good grasp of legal, social and political trends that may be relevant to the power business
• Demonstrating commercial understanding, good judgment on legal risk decisions and on when to escalate
• Articulating firm’s governance and risk policies
• Working effectively and collaborating as part of a team and with every stakeholder of the organisation
• Strong organizational skills and capability of prioritizing
• Confident, able and quick to learn
• Able to clearly explain risks and producing results in the face of adversity
• Excellent interpersonal and communications skills

Languages

Strong drafting and oral skills in English and Dutch. French would be a plus or a third European working language

Location

Brussels or Paris

If you meet these requirements, then you are the talent we are looking for. Do not waste time !  Apply by attaching your updated CV, regardless your gender.

ENGIE Global Energy Management & Sales is committed to create a gender-neutral environment that unlocks the potential of everyone and provides equal employment opportunities for all individuals. 

All our positions are open to people with disabilities, please let your recruiter know if you need reasonable accommodations to be able to participate in the recruitment process, they will be happy to assist you. 

About ENGIE:

Our group is a global reference in low-carbon energy and services. Our purpose (“raison d’être”) is to act to accelerate the transition towards a carbon-neutral world, through reduced energy consumption and more environmentally-friendly solutions, reconciling economic performance with a positive impact on people and the planet. We rely on our key businesses (gas, power, renewable energy, services) to offer competitive solutions to our customers. With our 96,000 employees, our customers, partners and stakeholders, we are a community of Imaginative Builders, committed every day to more harmonious progress.