Senior Associate - Projects, Energy and Infrastructure

Purpose

Bowmans' Projects, Energy and Infrastructure team in Nairobi acts for sponsors, lenders and development finance institutions on the development, financing, acquisition and disposal of energy and infrastructure assets across East, Central and Southern Africa. Our practice covers the full spectrum of the sector: power generation, including renewable energy and private and captive generation, electricity transmission, oil and gas, water, and transport infrastructure including roads, ports and airports.

Within those sectors we advise on greenfield project development, project and acquisition finance, public-private partnerships and specialist procurement, and secondary market M&A, and our work runs through the full set of project, construction and finance documents on which these transactions are built.

We draw on the firm's tax, competition and real estate specialists and on colleagues across Bowmans' African offices to deliver a single, integrated client service delivery team.

Both of the team's partners are ranked by Chambers Global and Legal 500 for projects and energy work in Kenya, and Legal 500 describes the team as a 'young and dynamic team with vast experience in energy and infrastructure projects'.

We are looking for a Senior Associate to run transactions day to day under partner supervision and to be the bridge between the partners and the team's junior and mid-level associates. You will manage the deal team on your matters, be the client's day-to-day point of contact, supervise and develop the associates working with you, and work alongside the partners on structuring, the major negotiations and the points that call for their judgement.

This is a complex area of practice and, on significant matters, clients expect to see partner involvement. What we offer is a pathway: the opportunity to learn the practice properly, to build client relationships of your own and, in due course, to earn the autonomy and reputation that come with them. It suits a lawyer who is ready for that responsibility and wants a platform with the deal flow, regional reach and progression to match.

Experience and Qualifications

• Qualifications: an LLB and admission as an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya. Lawyers admitted in another common law jurisdiction with directly relevant experience are encouraged to apply.
• Experience: around 6 to 8 years' post-qualification experience at a leading law firm, a substantial part of it on energy and infrastructure project development and project finance transactions. Relevant experience in-house or at a development finance institution will also be considered.
• A track record on deals: demonstrable experience of having managed transactions of this kind day to day, acting for sponsors or lenders, which you can describe deal by deal, including what you personally did on each.
• Technical strength and judgement: first-rate drafting and negotiation skills, a sound grasp of project finance and project documentation, and the judgement to identify the points that matter and advise a client on them with confidence.
• Supervisory experience: experience supervising and reviewing the work of junior lawyers, and a real interest in developing them.
• Organisation and reliability: the ability to manage several live matters at once, to keep partners and clients informed without being prompted, and to be the person colleagues and clients trust to get things right.
• Advantageous: experience on cross-border and multi-jurisdictional matters, and familiarity with the requirements of development finance institutions and export credit agencies.

What we are working on

Matters currently on the team's desk include

• Project and acquisition financings of energy and infrastructure assets, acting for sponsors and for lenders, including commercial banks and development finance institutions.
• One of the largest refinery projects proposed in the region, including its investment and incentives framework with government.
• Secondary market M&A: acquisitions and disposals of interests in operating and development-stage power and infrastructure assets, including the related due diligence and financing.
• Independent power producer projects within and outside Kenya, including in Zambia and Mozambique, from development through to financial close.
• Infrastructure PPPs in Tanzania and Zanzibar, acting on the structuring, procurement and project documentation.
• Privately financed electricity transmission PPPs in Kenya, among the first of their kind in the market.
• Port and terminal projects, toll road financings and hydropower refinancings across the region.

Key Accountabilities

• Manage transactions day to day from scoping and structuring through drafting, negotiation and closing, including the timetable, the conditions precedent process and the other parties' counsel, with partner involvement on strategy and the major issues.
• Lead the drafting and negotiation of the core project and finance documents, including power purchase agreements, concession and implementation agreements, EPC and O&M contracts, facility and common terms agreements, security and direct agreements, and shareholder and joint venture arrangements.
• Be the day-to-day contact for clients, whether sponsors or commercial and development finance lenders, build relationships of your own with them, and take responsibility for the quality and timeliness of everything that leaves the team on your matters.
• Supervise, review and develop the work of junior and mid-level associates, allocating work, giving clear and timely feedback and building their technical skills and judgement.
• Coordinate specialist input from the firm's tax, competition, real estate and regulatory teams, from other Bowmans offices and from local counsel in other jurisdictions, and bring it together into coherent advice for the client.
• Advise on the Kenyan and regional regulatory framework for energy and infrastructure projects, including energy sector and PPP legislation, licensing and government approvals.
• Contribute to the growth of the practice through proposals and pitches, client relationships, know-how and thought leadership, and by helping the firm consolidate its position as a leading regional adviser on complex energy and infrastructure mandates.

What We Offer:  

• Quality of work: a steady pipeline of the region's most significant energy, transport and PPP transactions, acting for sponsors, lenders and development finance institutions.
• A pan-African platform: the opportunity to work with colleagues across Bowmans' offices and alliance firms on matters that span the continent.
• A pathway: real responsibility and direct client exposure from the outset, close working with partners who will invest in your development, and a clear route to greater autonomy, your own client relationships and progression within the firm.
• A competitive remuneration package commensurate with experience.

All applications will be treated in strict confidence. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Bowmans is an equal opportunity employer