Senior Attorney (Office of Investments and Impact Investing)

The Nature Conservancy

3d • $145,000 - $185,000 • Remote

About The Position

What We Can Achieve Together: The Senior Attorney provides legal advice and direction enabling long-term investment portfolio decision-making and impact investments. Both are critical to ensuring TNC is an enduring organization engaging in both short- and long-term conservation work as well as creating innovative solutions to today's conservation challenges. We’re Looking for You: The Senior Attorney will provide legal advice and direction for two main teams at TNC: 1) The Office of Investments and 2) Impact Finance and Markets. Both teams have complex matters for their respective programs yet this role will be the primary point of contact for The Office of Investments. The Senior Attorney will draft and negotiate private investment fund and direct investment documentation largely independently. Additionally, this role will negotiate complex impact investing transactions for the Impact Finance and Markets team. The Senior Attorney will advise on structuring and implementation of impact investing transactions, which may include debt and equity investment transactions. The Senior Attorney ensures that transactions and activities are legally sound and consistent with the Conservancy’s mission, authority, policies, and procedures. They will apply strong analytical and risk management skills to serve organizational needs efficiently and effectively and clearly articulate complex legal concepts without ego, including questions of first impression, and options to client teams. Structurally, the Senior Attorney will work within the Corporate Services Legal Team and may also support other functions, including advising on corporate governance matters for TNC subsidiaries, and other securities law matters throughout the Conservancy. The attorney will be part of a specialized team of attorneys and paralegals and will report to a senior attorney. The Senior Attorney will build relationships across the Conservancy using their ability to clearly communicate complex legal concepts to non-lawyers to facilitate transactions. This is remote role based in the US with ~10% of total time available for work-related travel.

Requirements

• Juris Doctorate or equivalent and license to practice law in at least one U.S. jurisdiction.
• Five (5) years relevant legal experience, including negotiating complex transactions and agreements with a strong background in fund formation and venture capital work. (Please have a deal sheet ready or proactively apply with it. Please do not apply if fund formation and VC work has not been a large and substantive part of your background.)
• Securities law expertise.
• Experience negotiating limited partnership agreements and/or working on general partner funds.
• Solutions-oriented and able to navigate the grey both creatively and decisively.
• Enjoys being a collegial team player.
• Demonstrates gravitas and comfort working with senior-level contacts.
• Strong business sense and commercially minded.
• Sense of humor. (Yes, please!)

Nice To Haves

• In-house experience and/or law firm experience advising clients and senior management.
• Global and multi-cultural experience with awareness to cultural sensitivities and different ways of engaging.
• Corporate governance experience.
• Ability to navigate a complex matrix organization (nice-to-have; able to be learned).
• Familiarity with nonprofit taxes (nice-to-have; able to be learned).

Responsibilities

• Provides guidance to clients in structuring transactional activities to most effectively achieve Conservancy goals for the project.
• Drafts, reviews and negotiates, and advises clients on complex agreements with financial service providers and fund managers, and may also support work with investors, non-profits, governments and corporations.
• Serves clients in legal matters related to finance and investments including advising the Office of Investments (reviewing legal issues with prospective investments in TNC’s endowment), Impact Finance and Markets (developing impact investment deals) and the Related Entities team (advising on corporate governance of subsidiaries).
• Advises other attorneys based on substantive expertise.
• Serves in an advisory role organization-wide on key issues or major projects with a particular focus on private securities.
• Influences decision-makers at all levels of the Conservancy through strong communication skills.
• Manages outside counsel effectively.
• Advises on corporate governance and management issues relating to subsidiaries and affiliated entities.
• May supervise and/or provide guidance to less experienced attorneys and/or paralegals and other support staff.
• Assists in establishing and implementing policies and procedures that support organizational goals and ensure compliance with laws and regulations.
• Performs special projects as requested by department management.
• Serves as the primary legal contact for various clients.
• Travel occasionally; work long or flexible hours as needed.

Benefits

• TNC offers a competitive, comprehensive benefits package including health care benefits, flexible spending accounts, a 401(k) plan with an 8% employer match, parental leave, accrued paid time off, life insurance, disability coverage, employee assistance program, other life and work well-being benefits.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree