Senior Legal Counsel Near & Middle East

Veolia Environnement SA; Dubai; On-site; AED 200,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading environmental services company in Dubai is seeking a Senior Legal Counsel to provide legal support for projects in the Near & Middle East. The role involves contract management, compliance, and working closely with business teams to ensure legal and ethical governance. The ideal candidate will have an LLM or equivalent legal qualification with 8 years of experience, preferably in multinational law firms or in-house legal teams, and must have fluency in English.

Qualifications

• 8 years post-qualification experience in law practice or in-house legal roles.
• Common law education preferred with project finance expertise.
• Fluent in English (written and verbal).

Responsibilities

• Provide legal support on contracts and project management.
• Draft, review, and negotiate contracts for projects.
• Work with external counsel on litigation matters.

Skills

Contract analysis drafting and negotiation

Strategic thinking

Strong analytical abilities

Excellent contract drafting capabilities

Project finance expertise

Education

LLM or equivalent legal qualification

Job description

Overview

The Senior Legal Counsel Near & Middle East provides legal support to projects and corporate matters of Veolia in the Near & Middle East business region including relevant subsidiaries and entities. They also deliver legal support on any other matters of strategic financial and reputational importance to the business. The Senior Legal Counsel is responsible for and relied upon to deliver timely accurate and reliable legal advice in a practical commercially-focused and ethical way to minimise risk resolve issues and maximise the opportunity for the business to achieve its goals. This position reports to the General Counsel Near & Middle East and is based full-time at the regional head office in Dubai UAE.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to legal structuring of environmental utilities and infrastructures projects (in Water Energy and Waste) on various contract types (EPC DBO BOO BOT O&M management contracts). Work closely with functional teams based both regionally and at headquarters. Daily interface with relevant internal teams primarily Business Development Proposals and Finance.
• Contract Management: Provide comprehensive legal support on contracts and project management. This includes drafting reviewing and negotiating contractual/legal analysis of bids and proposals setup of consortium tender review processes shareholder agreements project agreements intercompany agreements.
• Ensure contracts align with the companys objectives while minimizing risk.
• Provide expertise to the Business Units and Management in drafting formatting and negotiating contracts.
• Provide legal advice and support in M&A processes/transactions and organic/financial growth projects to teams involved in financing of new investments or refinancing of existing investments.
• Work closely with external counsel to effectively manage pre-litigation or litigation matters in the region. Work in compliance with Veolia Group policies and in close coordination with the litigation team at Veolia headquarters. Handle litigation and arbitration proceedings in coordination with Contracts Managers and external counsel.
• Deal effectively with deadlines and project timeframes applying the appropriate levels of priority and communicating with stakeholders.
• Ensure and uphold contractual ethical legal and statutory compliance in the fulfilment of ones professional responsibilities.

Qualifications

• LLM or equivalent legal qualification
• 8 years post-qualification experience in either:
  • Multinational law firm
  • In-house legal team of global company (utilities/ energy/ engineering /infrastructure /industrial construction)
• Common law education preferred with project finance expertise
• Legal expertise in:
  • EPC/Design & Build projects
  • Contract analysis drafting and negotiation
  • Construction law
• Fluent level English (written and verbal)
• Strong analytical and decision-making abilities
• Excellent contract drafting capabilities
• Sound business and legal judgment
• Strategic thinking with attention to detail
• Quantitative aptitude

Additional Information

• Personal Attributes
• Self-motivated and independent
• High integrity and ethical standards
• Proactive with excellent prioritization skills
• Strong team player
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Cultural awareness and emotional intelligence
• Professional discretion
• Ability to perform under pressure in fast-paced environments
• Commitment to diversity and inclusion

As an inclusive company Veolia is committed to diversity and gives equal consideration to all applications without discrimination.

The preceding description is not designed to be a complete or exhaustive list of all duties and responsibilities that will be carried out by the selected candidate.

Veolia Middle East does not and shall not discriminate in any forms in its recruitment processes.

Remote Work

No

Employment Type

Full-time