Head of Legal US – Energy

Job Description

Head of Legal US – Energy | Confidential Employer

The Tone:
This is a full-time leadership role at Ferrovial Energy, located in Austin, Texas. Ferrovial is a global leader in infrastructure, building and operating highways, airports, construction projects, and driving the transition to a sustainable and clean economy through its Energy business unit. This role is crucial for providing strategic legal guidance and leadership to support the growth and operations of the renewable energy division in the United States, solving complex legal and commercial challenges.

The TL;DR
• Role: Leadership Role
• Type: Full-time
• Location: In-person, Austin, TX

• Team: Leads a team of three legal professionals within Ferrovial Energy’s US operations.
• Mission: Lead the legal function for Ferrovial Energy’s renewable energy division in the United States, providing strategic legal guidance across the project lifecycle and M&A.

What You’ll Actually Do
• Legal Leadership: Lead and oversee the legal function for Ferrovial Energy’s United States operations, serving as a trusted advisor on strategic legal, commercial, regulatory, and risk management matters.
• Business Growth Support: Support the growth of the business through M&A transactions, project acquisitions and divestments, joint ventures, public-private partnerships, and other strategic initiatives.
• Risk Assessment: Assess legal and commercial risks associated with investments, transactions, and projects, providing practical and business-oriented solutions.
• Project Lifecycle Management: Provide legal leadership throughout the lifecycle of renewable energy and energy infrastructure projects, including development, financing, construction, operations, and asset management.
• Agreement Oversight: Oversee the negotiation and management of key project agreements, including EPC contracts, power purchase agreements, financing agreements, joint ventures, and tax equity transactions, collaborating with lenders, investors, and financial advisors.

The Must-Haves
• Background: Juris Doctor (J.D.) required, with active membership in good standing with a US State Bar. Core domain knowledge in the renewable energy, energy infrastructure, construction, or broader infrastructure sectors is essential.
• Experience: Minimum 10 years of legal experience, including strong experience advising on project development, M&A transactions, joint ventures, project finance, tax incentive structures, and EPC contracting, gained in a leading law firm or in-house legal department.
• Skills: Strong business and commercial acumen, excellent analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills for complex matters, outstanding drafting, negotiation, and stakeholder management capabilities, and excellent written and verbal communication.
• Bonus: Experience with permitting, interconnection, energy regulation, real estate matters, and renewable energy tax incentive structures is a strong asset. Spanish language skills and availability to travel as required are also considered a plus.