Legal Counsel, East Africa

Acumen is looking for a mission-driven corporate lawyer with a minimum of 5 years' experience in transactional law to join our Global Legal Team and be based in our office in Nairobi, Kenya. Fluency in English required. Exposure to early-stage venture capital investing and a commitment to tackling poverty or social causes. The right candidate is skilled, creative, kind, pragmatic, respectful and can excel in a fast-paced environment.  

Acumen
Acumen is a global force of entrepreneurs, investors, philanthropists, and social innovators working together to build a world based on dignity. We were founded by Jacqueline Novogratz on the radical idea that business, when cultivated with moral imagination, can break the cycle of poverty. We invest in transformational companies, build sustainable markets, and prepare leaders with the tools they need to create a more just and inclusive future. Since 2001, we have scaled companies and shaped markets in some of the hardest-to-reach communities on the planet, impacting over half-a-billion lives.

About Acumen East Africa

Acumen’s commitment to East Africa began in 2004. Core to our success is the ability to identify, resource, and build a world class portfolio of investments that demonstrates the power of patient capital to solve the problems of poverty in East Africa and the world more broadly. Equally important is to leverage our experience into insights that compel this ecosystem of funders, operators, and policy makers to catalyze a broader paradigm shift in the battle against poverty.  Over the years, Acumen East Africa has made investments across several sectors: healthcare, energy, water & sanitation, agriculture and education. Our key focus now is Agriculture, Education and Renewable Energy across Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania. Acumen constantly evaluates the potential to expand into other sectors. We support entrepreneurs and businesses which are revolutionizing their sectors and pioneering new development paradigms that deliver impact to the power on a sustainable basis. The office is staffed with a full-time team of professionals from diverse backgrounds.

In addition to its local focus on investing in companies, through Acumen Academy, Acumen East Africa also empowers leaders to create social change through transformative Fellowships, online courses, and a global community of impact-driven entrepreneurs. Acumen East Africa also serves as a hub of global Acumen activity, a location where we often bring together Partners, investees, team members, Fellows and Foundry members for a variety of events.

About the role

The Legal Counsel will provide support to Acumen’s East Africa and Global operations, ranging from investment transactions, compliance matters, contract review, and operational support. 

The Legal Counsel will be joining a currently 6-person Global Legal Team and 21-person AEA team, and will work closely with the AEA and Global programmatic teams to implement their activities. A successful candidate will be expected to provide timely and relevant legal advice, collaborate with teams to effect their programs efficiently while managing overall risk to the organization, coordinate with outside counsel as applicable, and support and maintain cohesion within the Global Legal Team and AEA team.

Principal areas of accountability: 

• Deal Documentation & Coordination: The Legal Counsel will work closely with the AEA investing team (and other teams that invest into East Africa) to drive Acumen’s early stage equity, quasi-debt, and other investments. To the extent capacity is available, the Legal Counsel will also support investments for Acumen’s portfolio teams in other regions. The role will assist the teams from end-to-end of an investment lifecycle: from structuring deal instruments, developing term sheets, conducting due diligence, negotiating and finalizing investment documentation, managing outside counsel, to coordinating stakeholders to closing. The role will also provide legal advice to the teams as needed during the pre- and post-investment stages, including on corporate governance and board matters, and provide learning sessions to the team from time to time. 
• Contract Review and Management: The role will involve grant and commercial contract drafting and review for AEA teams and, to the extent capacity is available, Acumen’s Global teams. The scope may range across charitable and commercial issues, including general contract, intellectual property, data privacy, employment, governance and formation matters. Familiarity with legal issues specific to Kenya is required; familiarity with legal issues specific to 501(c)(3) organizations (a U.S. designation) is a plus. Responsibilities may include providing learning sessions to the relevant teams from time to time.
• Global Legal Operational Support: The role will involve spearheading and/or managing operational initiatives relating to legal matters, cross-functionally and cross-regionally throughout Acumen. Support may range from developing and communicating internal legal guidance, updating processes to reflect best practices under applicable laws, supporting teams with proper recordkeeping, and collaborating with the Director of Legal to create efficiency and scale within the Global Legal Team. 
• Compliance: The Legal Counsel, in collaboration with Acumen’s Risk and Compliance Manager, will ensure that AEA activities are in compliance with local laws and best practices, especially in regards to maintaining the legal status of Acumen’s local entities. Other responsibilities may include: navigating relevant local laws across multiple jurisdictions, keeping abreast of regulatory developments, liaising with outside counsel and memorializing guidance, rolling out compliance recommendations and advising programmatic teams accordingly, and providing learning sessions to the AEA team from time to time on regulatory and compliance matters.
• Project Management: The role requires developing and implementing various projects on behalf of the AEA and Global teams, including working with colleagues across functions, self-discipline and problem solving to progress in the face of uncertainty, and creating milestones toward timely execution. An example may include strategizing on efficient investment processes, including developing templates and resources as needed in collaboration with the programmatic teams. 

Qualifications and skills

• Minimum of 5 years experience practicing transactional law, in particular: (1) strong commercial/corporate law background with experience in transaction advisory work covering equity and quasi equity financing structures and (2) experience working directly with investor clients.
• Fluency in English.
• Familiarity with venture capital investing is a plus, as is experience in the developing world or with an impact-oriented investor.
• Ability to navigate ambiguity, distill complicated ideas in a clear and straightforward way, think strategically, and develop innovative solutions.
• Ability to work proactively and under pressure, as well as deliver projects independently with minimal oversight required.
• Ability to stay organized and keep stakeholders in the loop. Good project management and stakeholder management skills.
• Familiarity with financial concepts and instruments,  investment vehicles,  investments, acquisitions, and  similar transactions.
• Strong organizational and diplomacy skills, including excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Commitment to accuracy, attention to detail and follow-through.
• Amenable to working with different time zones in an efficient manner.
• Commitment to, and enthusiasm for, the organization’s mission and business model.
• Ability to remain cool-headed in unexpected or emotionally charged situations, using pragmatism to stay focused on the greater goal, and withstanding the tests of a rapidly changing environment with resilience, resolve, empathy and humor.
• Experience with non-profit and/or investment regulations and compliance a plus.
• Self reflective and aligned with Acumen values.
• Permanently authorized to work in Kenya, with a license to practice law.

Acumen offers a competitive compensation package commensurate with experience, including full benefits.

Location
Nairobi, Kenya

This a hybrid position with 3 days in-office. 

To Apply

In addition to your resume, please include a summary of recent deals you have worked on indicating: (1) the nature of the transaction, (2) a description of the work that you performed, and (3) the nature of your specific role.