General Counsel

The position

Sympower is seeking a General Counsel to lead the legal function across the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, Norway and Greece. The role is based in the Netherlands. You will report to the CEO and lead a team of two, including a Senior Legal Counsel. 

The General Counsel will provide strategic legal and compliance advice, ensuring effective risk management while supporting Sympower's growth and innovation. The role covers corporate governance and transactions, commercial contracting, compliance and broader legal matters, working closely with the Executive Leadership Team, Supervisory Board and shareholders.

What you will do

Legal Function Leadership

• Lead, manage and develop the legal team (currently one Senior Legal Counsel), including work allocation, objective setting, performance review and professional development.

• Set legal priorities and establish effective ways of working across the Group.

• Define the resourcing model and own the legal budget, balancing in-house capacity, flexible resources and external counsel against workload and budget.

• Select and manage legal service providers, legal technology (including Contract Lifecycle Management) and the network of local counsel across our five jurisdictions, including scoping instructions and managing fees, quality and delivery.

Corporate Governance & Company Secretarial

• Convene and attend Management Board, Supervisory Board and shareholder meetings across the Group, including preparation of agendas, convocations, minutes and resolutions, and act as Corporate Secretary

• Advise management on reserved matters and approval thresholds under the Articles of Association, Shareholders' Agreement and financing documents, ensuring all required approvals are properly obtained and documented.

• Own and maintain the Delegation of Authority and Authorised Signatories framework.

• Oversee corporate records and statutory and corporate obligations across all Group entities, working closely with local counsel.

Corporate Finance & Transactions

• Lead the legal workstream for fundraising and M&A transactions, including process governance, term sheets, transaction documentation, legal due diligence and data rooms.

• Manage shareholder documentation, approvals and consent processes.

Commercial Contracting

• Set and maintain the Group's contracting standards, including template agreements, fallback positions, negotiation playbooks and legal risk appetite.

• Draft, review and negotiate commercial agreements, including flexibility services agreements and BESS optimisation agreements, NDAs and procurement contracts.

Compliance

• Own and maintain the compliance framework, including privacy, whistleblowing and NIS2.

• Monitor changes in applicable laws and regulations and assess their impact on the business.

• Draft, maintain and continuously improve compliance policies and processes.

Intellectual Property

• Oversee the Group's IP register, ensure appropriate protection of its intellectual property and manage the instruction and relationship with trademark and patent attorneys.

• Ensure the IP ownership chain is properly secured through employee and contractor assignments and appropriate IP provisions in contracts.

Risk, Disputes & Insurance

• Oversee contractual claims and disputes, including claims register, instruction of local counsel, budgets and settlement decisions.

• Own the Group's business insurance programme, broker relationship, annual renewal, alignment of insured limits with contractual liability caps and indemnities, and insurance notifications and claims

What you will need

• Qualified in Dutch law, or qualified in another jurisdiction with demonstrable hands-on experience of Dutch corporate law and the governance of Dutch entities. 

• 10+ years of relevant legal experience, including significant in-house experience within a high-growth, technology-driven or energy-sector business and experience managing and supervising senior lawyers

• Strong experience with corporate governance, company secretarial matters and advising boards and senior management.

• Significant experience supporting fundraising, M&A, corporate transactions and shareholder matters.

• Strong commercial contracting experience, including drafting and negotiating complex commercial agreements and establishing contracting standards. Experience negotiating energy sector commercial contracts, such as flexibility services and BESS optimisation agreements, is an advantage. 

• Experience developing and maintaining legal and compliance frameworks across multiple jurisdictions.

• Experience managing external counsel, legal budgets and legal service providers.

• Excellent communication, negotiation and stakeholder-management skills, with the confidence to work directly with executives, boards and shareholders.

• Ability to operate effectively in an international, fast-paced and evolving business environment.

• Experience in the energy, utilities, cleantech, technology or other regulated sectors.

What is in it for you

We are committed to creating an inclusive and values based culture where everyone feels that they belong, and where everyone has the opportunity to do meaningful work.

We offer a market competitive compensation package, including but not limited to:

• 30 Days Paid Holiday Leave

• 1 Day Paid Wellness Leave

• 1 Day Paid Birthday Leave

• Paid Maternity and Partner Leave

• Pawternity Leave

• Mental Health and Wellbeing Support

• Remote Office Budget

• Internet Allowance

• Development Plan & Budget

• Stock Appreciation Rights

• 2 Days Paid Volunteer Leave

Learn about all of our benefits on our careers page. 

Compensation

At Sympower, we believe in fair and transparent pay.

Base pay within the range is ultimately determined by a candidate's skills, expertise, and competence. For this role, most of our new hires would fall into this range: €120,000 -€150,000.

Who we are

Sympower is accelerating the global transition towards ‘net-zero’ by helping to build smarter, cleaner renewable energy systems. Using our proprietary software platform, we help balance the supply and demand of electricity across international energy networks.

We help businesses, grid operators, asset owners and other energy stakeholders around the world reduce their carbon emissions, integrate more distributed renewable energy resources, and generate new revenue streams by participating in demand-side response services.

Learn more about us in this video!