Legal Counsel – RENEW

The Role:

At RENEW, we see opportunities in Africa where others too often only notice the problems. We invest rather than provide handouts, by finding promising businesses, connecting them to investors around the world and growing them into world-class companies. We do this because we believe that many growing businesses together create the engine that lifts entire nations out of poverty. Our vision is to become the best middle market investment firm in Africa and investing in 20 countries across the continent.

Since 2012, we have been pioneering an innovative blended-finance model that partners with the development community and focuses on investing in high-potential small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Africa. This blended model allows us to invest in smaller deals that are often overlooked by larger investors, but are too big for microfinance. We then help these companies build disciplined, gender-smart management systems and teams and grow them into market leaders. As a result of our investment work in Ethiopia, we have become one of the most active SME investment firms in East Africa, and the Impact Angel Network or IAN (our network of angel investors) has grown to become the largest North Americanbased angel network dedicated to investing in SMEs in Africa.

We are inviting passionate and qualified candidates to apply to join our team as Legal Counsel – Rwanda, based in Kigali. In candidates, we look for those who align with our values: loyalty, integrity, trustworthiness, commitment and a trailblazing attitude. We welcome challenges and face them head-on each and every day! What we do is not easy, but it is rewarding and forces us to grow. As such, we hire individuals who are committed to their work, take pride in what they do and are relentless in advancing projects forward in a systematic manner. Additionally, the people that flourish at RENEW are mission-driven; they see the big picture and the long-term result of their work and sincerely wish to make a lasting economic impact on the continent of Africa. If this sounds like you, we encourage you to apply.

Responsibilities:

This position will be responsible for the following:

● Serve the legal, administrative and operations needs of RENEW in Rwanda
● Establish and maintain our legal entity with the Rwandan authorities
● Manage legal tasks related to the investment activities of RENEW, including supporting the legal functions of portfolio companies
● Develop a network of trusted advisors and contacts within the business community
● Develop a pipeline of SME investment opportunities by finding and meeting with business owners, associations, business consultants, law firms and accounting firms in Rwanda, that fit our investment criteria
● Perform regulatory and market research and provide investment briefs to the Investment Director
● Map out the investment closing process and regulatory hurdles for foreign investment in Rwanda
● Assist with all aspects of legal reporting and investment closing
● Work under the support and training of the General Counsel and other legal staff to take on primary responsibility for significant projects, matters and/or business units within a short period of time
● Identify and gather information about key stakeholders relevant to the investment and consulting activities of RENEW in Rwanda
● Provide regulatory and administrative support to RENEW’s activities in Rwanda

Qualifications

● Law, LLM or LLB degree and a member of the Rwanda Bar Association in good standing

● 3+ years’ experience practicing law in a law or private equity firm, government and/or in-house legal department setting, with increasing responsibility in areas of investments, international trade, corporate or commercial law and/or mergers and acquisitions

● An ability to deliver creative legal solutions that take into account the cross-cultural realities of a U.S. / western investment firm operating in a frontier market setting

● Highly independent and entrepreneurial: you will be our first staff member based in Rwanda and will play a significant role in establishing our investment practice in country

● Demonstrated excellence and efficiency in written and oral communications in English

● Excellent communicator that can effectively collaborate with staff in multiple countries and continents in a virtual manner

● Demonstrated enduring passion for harnessing the power of business for good and have the utmost level of integrity

Location and Travel Opportunities:

The position is based out of Kigali, Rwanda, with frequent local and regional travel and occasional international travel. Candidates can expect to travel to RENEW’s offices in Ethiopia and Uganda up to 3 times per year.

About RENEW:

RENEW has been facilitating impact investments in East Africa and Asia since 2008. Our team of investment, marketing, business and legal professionals is located in offices in Ethiopia and the United States.

We invite you to learn more about RENEW by visiting our website www.renewstrategies.com and viewing the following videos.

Application Process:

RENEW invites qualified applicants to submit their CV, along with a cover letter describing their qualifications related to the requirements for this position, their salary expectations and the reasons for applying, to renew@renewstrategies.com. Applicants should include their undergraduate and graduate GPAs in their CVs.

A friendly suggestion to candidates: This is a posting for a legal position, so please pay attention to details and follow instructions, providing the information requested. Only complete applications will be considered.

We may request a writing sample, references and other materials from candidates who advance through the application process.