The EIB, the European Union’s bank, is seeking to recruit for its Legal Directorate (JU), EU Operations Department (OPS-EU), Western Europe Division (WE) at its headquarters in Luxembourg, a (Senior) Banking and Finance Lawyer specialised in Irish Law*.

This is a full-time position at grade 5/6 for which the EIB offers a permanent contract.

*internal benchmark: (Senior) Officer Legal Services

Panel interviews are anticipated for October 2023.

Purpose

The Western Europe Division (WE) deals with the legal documentation and legal issues for projects in the following countries: France, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Ireland and United Kingdom. The lawyer will assist the Head of Division and Head of Department, together with other legal advisers, in providing legal support to the operational directorates, carrying out work related to all tasks within the remit of the division.

Operating Network

As a (Senior) Banking and Finance Lawyer you will act under the general authority of the Head of Division, in cooperation with the other colleagues of the Division and in accordance with the priorities established by the Head of Division.

The post may involve a certain amount of travel for negotiations and signatures of legal documentation and contracts.

Accountabilities

The (Senior) Banking and Finance Lawyer will carry out work related to all of the Division’s responsibilities and work independently on lending and financing operations. The lawyer will draw up, as necessary, reports on completed transactions and prepare her/his own proposals when consulted on fundamental or unusual issues. S/he will:

• Draft and negotiate legal documentation for lending and financing operations for:
  • projects in the aforementioned countries, with focus on Irish / UK operations, notably bilateral loans with banking counterparts, public entities and major corporates
  • PPP/ project finance operations, with the assistance from external legal counsels
  • structured finance operations, including ABS and covered bond type operations
  • other forms of financing, including risk – sharing structures, on funded and unfunded basis, equity and quasi-equity products (mezzanine and subordinated instruments, warrants)

This includes: advising on structuring, drafting of documents, legal advisory support, conclusion of contracts, completion of all related legal formalities, and legal monitoring (including loan restructuring and other post-signature events)

• Manage contacts and negotiations
• Prepare terms of reference for external counsel and other consultants, liaise and supervise their work, whenever necessary
• Complete the administrative formalities vis-à-vis clients
• Provide legal solutions, documentation and advice on complex legal and policy issues and legally protect the Bank
• Contribute to development of legal policies for own domain
• Coach and support less experienced colleagues on operations and on the Bank’s procedures
• Proactively keep up to date with legal developments in legislation, regulations and jurisprudence pertaining to the relevant region and share relevant knowledge
• Conduct research and conduct legal studies on issues of law arising in connection with EIB’s operations and in the context of developing new financial instruments
• Develop and maintain relationships within EIB and represent EIB externally in particular with Irish and UK law firms.

Qualifications

• University degree in law (minimum an equivalent to a Bachelor) preferably at Master level and qualified in Irish or UK law.
• Qualification or professional experience in Common Law. Qualification in Civil Law will be an advantage.
• Significant experience in the drafting and negotiation of finance documentation in English.
• Solid experience of bank lending and finance, project finance or PPP transactions and/or experience in financing activity of regulated sectors would be an advantage.
• Minimum 5 years of professional experience relevant for the job, in the field of bank lending and/or project finance, acquired with a law firm of international repute or the in-house legal department of a financial institution.
• Very good knowledge of standard computer tools.
• Excellent knowledge of English and/or French (*), with a good command of the other. Dutch would be an advantage.

Competencies

Find out more about EIB core competencies here

(*) Unless stated explicitly as a required qualification, a good command of French is not a pre-requisite for hire. As both English and French are however official working languages of the EIB, proficiency in both languages is a pre-requisite for your future career development. Any language clause in your contract must be fulfilled in order for you to be eligible for a promotion (either via the annual appraisal cycle or via an internal selection process). Proficiency is understood to mean the attainment of level 5 of the Inter Institutional language courses, corresponding to B1.2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL). The Bank offers appropriate training support.

We are an equal opportunities employer, who believes that diversity is good for our people and our business. We encourage all suitably qualified and eligible candidates to apply regardless of their gender identity/expression, age, racial, ethnic and cultural background, religion and beliefs, sexual orientation/identity, disability or neurodiversity.

Applicants with specific needs are encouraged to request reasonable accommodations at any stage during the recruitment process. Please contact the EIB Recruitment team [email protected] who will ensure that your request is handled.

By applying for this position, you acknowledge the importance of maintaining the security and integrity of the Information of the EIB Group. In case of selection for the position you agree to comply with all measures (policies, controls, document classification and management) implemented by the EIB Group to prevent unauthorised disclosure of any information or any damage to the EIB Group reputation.

Deadline for applications: 8^th September 2023

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