Legal Advisor

SolarAfrica Energy Pty Ltd; Irene; On-site; ZAR 600,000 - 1,000,000; Full time

Job summary

SolarAfrica Energy Pty Ltd is seeking an experienced Legal Advisor to provide in-house drafting, review, and advisory support to ensure compliant, commercially sound decisions across the company’s operations.

The role reports to the Head of Legal and collaborates with procurement, commercial, and compliance teams to manage contract risk and governance, including post-signature support and dispute handling.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5+ years in a legal or commercial advisory role.
• Strong experience drafting and negotiating commercial contracts.
• Knowledge of contract law, procurement processes, and dispute resolution.
• Experience coordinating with external legal advisors.
• LLB or equivalent law degree.

Responsibilities

• Draft, review, and support negotiation of commercial and project agreements, including NDAs, MoUs, supplier and service agreements, leases, and EPC/O&M/PPA-adjacent docs.
• Advise internal stakeholders on contractual terms, legal implications, and risk exposure from tenders and project documentation.
• Support contract renewals, amendments, and variations from a legal perspective.
• Participate in procurement processes (RFIs, RFQs, RFPs) from a legal/governance angle.
• Manage day-to-day post-signature contract management, disputes, and coordination with external counsel.

Skills

5+ years experience

Drafting & negotiating contracts

Contract law knowledge

Procurement processes

External counsel coordination

Strong commercial awareness

Education

LLB or equivalent law degree

Job description

To provide in-house legal drafting, review, and advisory support that enables compliant, commercially sound decision-making, while ensuring disciplined legal risk identification and consistent contract quality across SolarAfrica’s operations.

Position of the job in the organisation:

The Legal Advisor will report directly to the Head of Legal. Should a Senior Legal Advisor position be established, the role will then report to the Senior Legal Advisor.

Principal responsibilities:

Legal Drafting and Review

• Draft, review, and support negotiation of commercial and project agreements, including NDAs, MoUs, supplier and service agreements, leases, and first-pass reviews of EPC, O and M, and PPA-adjacent documentation.
• Prepare and issue contractual correspondence, including letters of demand, notices, and responses.
• Support contract renewals, amendments, and variations from a legal review perspective.

Legal Advisory and Risk Support

• Advise internal stakeholders on key contractual terms, legal implications, and risk exposure arising from tenders, supplier contracts, customer agreements, and project documentation.
• Analyse contracts pre-award, identify legal and commercial risks, and provide clear, practical recommendations.
• Support contract strategy discussions by assessing legal risk associated with available options and proposed approaches.

Procurement and Commercial Support

• Participate in and support procurement processes, including RFIs, RFQs, and RFPs, from a legal and governance perspective.
• Provide legal input into bid documentation, deviation schedules, and contracting strategies.
• Support preparation for contract negotiations and work alongside commercial leads as require

Post-Signature Contract Support, Disputes, and External Counsel

• Support and advise on day-to-day post-signature contract management matters, working in coordination with Contracts Managers responsible for project execution and administration.
• Provide legal advice on contractual interpretation, rights and remedies, review of notices and correspondence, variations, claims, and dispute escalation.
• Support the management of contractual disputes, claims, and compensation events, including matters referred to arbitration or court.
• Prepare legal positions, correspondence, and supporting documentation for dispute resolution proceedings.
• Coordinate with and manage external legal consultants and counsel, including briefing, document preparation, progress tracking, and cost monitoring.

Governance, Compliance, and Document Control

• Maintain legal templates, clause standards, and precedent documents.
• Support consistent naming, filing, and document-control standards for legal agreements and dispute-related documentation.
• Ensure compliance with applicable statutory and internal governance requirements in the contractual context.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of legal policies, procedures, and compliance guidance.
• Provide regular updates on assigned legal matters, risks, disputes, and turnaround times.
• Any other job duties associated with this role.

Experience & Skills

• Minimum 5+ years’ experience in a legal or commercial legal advisory role
• Strong experience drafting and negotiating commercial contracts
• Knowledge of contract law, procurement processes, and dispute resolution
• Experience coordinating with external legal advisors
• LLB or equivalent law degree.

Specific attributes:

• Clear and effective written and verbal communication skills.
• High levels of integrity, professionalism, and sound judgement.
• Strong commercial awareness and ability to balance legal risk with business objectives.
• Excellent attention to detail with a structured and organised approach to work.
• Ability to work under pressure, manage competing priorities, and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.

Desirable attributes:

• Experience within the renewable energy, infrastructure, or project-based sectors.
• Proven ability to provide practical, commercially balanced legal advice to non-legal stakeholders.
• Awareness of legal, regulatory, and market developments relevant to the business environment.

What Does Success Look Like?

By month 3:

• I will have a thorough understanding of SolarAfrica’s legal environment, systems, contract landscape, and internal governance structures.
• I will be fully familiar with all core contract types used across the business, including PPAs, EPC agreements, lease agreements, installer and supplier contracts.
• I will have identified key legal, contractual, and compliance risk themes across active contracting workflows.
• I will have identified key legal, contractual, and compliance risks and prioritised them based on business impact.
• I will have gained a clear understanding of existing legal and contract support processes and highlighted priority improvement are
• I will have established strong working relationships with key stakeholders across compliance, commercial, procurement, sales, and operations.

By month 6:

• I will be providing consistent and timely legal drafting and review support across sales, procurement, and commercial activities.
• I will be actively supporting sales, procurement, and commercial teams with contract negotiations, amendments, and renewals.
• I will be providing clear, commercially balanced legal advice on proposed contract changes and new agreements.
• I will be coordinating effectively with external legal advisors where required, ensuring cost control and efficient turnaround times.
• I will have introduced consistent contract templates, clause standards, and a centralised contract filing and naming system.
• I will be advising management on legal and contractual risks before agreements are signed, reducing exposure and rework.

By month 12:

• I will be operating as a trusted legal advisor to cross-functional teams, providing day-to-day legal support with sound judgment and appropriate escalation.
• I will be a trusted legal and commercial advisor to senior management and cross-functional teams.
• I will have contributed to embedded and consistent legal review and governance practices that support scalable business growth.
• I will be adding measurable value through reduced legal risk, improved contract turnaround times, and better commercial outcomes.
• I will be contributing to policy development, compliance initiatives, and continuous improvement of legal processes.
• I will be supporting dispute resolution and post-signature legal matters.
• I will be supporting SolarAfrica’s growth strategy by enabling faster, more secure deal execution aligned with scalable legal practices

Core Values:

We hire, reward, and recognise our team against these values. It is imperative that you believe in these values and demonstrate them consistently.

• We are passionate and proud of what we do.
• We communicate candidly, especially when it is difficult
• We take the initiative, share our mistakes, and grow together
• We are dependable and take accountability
• No one person is bigger than the solution - no egos.

We are currently only considering candidates based in South Africa with valid working rights. Unfortunately, we are unable to consider applications from outside the country at this time.