Senior Legal Manager | Leading PPP Company

For one of Europe's leading operators in the delivery of public-private partnership (PPP) projects, I am looking for a Senior Legal Manager with 7 to 10 years of experience. Fluent in Dutch or French, with good command of the other language and very good command of English.

With more than 20 years of success, the company manages all aspects of PPP projects, from the design, construction and financing through to operations, maintenance and handback on transport and social infrastructure projects across Europe and selected international markets. It delivers whole-life solutions to a very high standard and provides first-class services for its clients along the entire lifetime of the concessions.

As a Senior Legal Manager you will be the legal point of contact for all multidisciplinary projects in Belgium (public private partnerships, Design Build Finance Maintain Operate (DBFM(O)) and other project developments). You will supervise and manage all legal aspects of the projects (tenders, existing investments and concessions) and will work together with your colleagues responsible for the other disciplines. You will deal with various stakeholders such as investors, shareholders, consortium partners, commissioning parties, public authorities/users, construction companies, facility management companies, banks and other project financiers.

Your tasks will include:

• Analysing bidding requirements at any stage of a tender or a development
• Contributing to the bidding/development strategy in collaboration with business developers
• Attending and proactively contributing to meetings
• Preparing and/or coordinating legal reports and helping to ensure that the legal workflow is integrated with the commercial, financial and technical aspects of a project
• Selecting, managing and facilitating external legal advisors and managing due diligence input
• Leading and coordinating legal meetings and due diligence with clients, partners, financiers and the internal project team
• Collaborating with the project team to identify and mitigate risks, including reviewing and, if necessary, drafting sub-contracts and other relevant documentation and coordinating and responding to questions and comments from the financiers' legal advisors
• Coordinating finance/securities documentation in line with agreed risk allocation, financial strategy and commercial position agreed with financiers
• In close cooperation with the external legal advisors and the project team, managing, directing and supporting the creation of all documentation required to achieve contract and financial close of an awarded project
• Providing legal advice and support to the projects' implementation team
• Contributing to the implementation of the business unit's plans and ambitions in cooperation with legal colleagues within the European team and in new markets. This may include support for international bids and concessions

You will be part of the team of Legal Managers within the Business Unit Belgium and Netherlands and will report to the Head of Finance & Legal. You will have to spend 1-2 days per month in the Netherlands.

• You hold a Master’s degree in law
• You have 7 to 10 years of relevant legal experience, preferably in project finance transactions, project development or construction projects
• You have experience in advising corporate and/or financial clients and demonstrable expertise in commercial contracts. Experience in PPP/ DBFM(O) projects is a plus
• You are a strategic planner with strong negotiation skills
• You have excellent analytical and writing skills
• You are a relationship builder and networker
• You are a team player, pragmatic, proactive, and results-oriented
• You are fluent in English and Dutch or in English and French (with a good knowledge of Dutch)

• A permanent, full-time and rewarding position in a European working environment, based in Brussels
• A challenging and evolving environment in a forward-thinking organisation
• A company investing in its employees and valuing their well-being
• Career development opportunities
• An attractive salary and benefits package