Legal Counsel

We have an exciting opportunity for you to join our team as a Legal Counsel. Reporting to the Head of Legal/Senior Legal Counsel Netherlands, this full-time and interim position is based in the Netherlands, allowing you to make a significant impact to our Legal team in this region.

At Vistra our purpose is progress. We believe that our clients have the power to change the world and to do great things for global progress, and we exist to remove the friction that comes from the complexity of global business – to help our clients achieve progress without friction.

Scope and purpose of the role

The legal counsel (the Legal Counsel) will serve as a key member of the in-house legal department of Vistra Netherlands (the Legal Department), providing strategic and day-to-day legal support across the full breadth of the organization's activities. Reporting to the Head of Legal (of Vistra Netherlands), the Legal Counsel will act as a trusted advisor to the business on a wide range of corporate, commercial, and transactional matters. The Legal Counsel will work closely with the Head of Legal and the Legal and Privacy Officer as part of a dedicated, and close-knit Legal Department. The role requires close collaboration with senior management, business teams, compliance, finance, human resources, IT and operational teams as well as with global teams across the organization of Vistra as a whole.

The Legal Counsel will operate with a high degree of autonomy while maintaining alignment with the broader legal strategy and risk appetite of the organization. The role offers significant exposure to complex legal issues arising from the provision of corporate services in a highly regulated environment and lots of opportunities to add value to the organization.

Key responsibilities:

Corporate structure: support, with the Legal and Privacy Officer, corporate housekeeping activities for the Vistra Netherlands entities, including the draft of resolutions, power of attorneys, and share premium contribution agreements, the advice on annual accounts obligations (under Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code), the maintenance of (physical) corporate records, the promotion of timely compliance with statutory filing obligations, the rationalization/restructuring of the corporate structure of Vistra Netherlands (via e.g. liquidations, mergers or demergers), and the support of complex board changes (subject to works council advice and regulatory approvals). Improve the corporate governance the Vistra Netherlands entities, and support the preparation of requests to the works council (ondernemingsraad).

Risk committee: contribute to and attend the risk committee of Vistra Netherlands, perform legal risk assessments on a broad array of legal matters, advise on legal risks and provide concrete and practical recommendations to mitigate legal risks.

Transaction support: draft, review, and negotiate services agreements, master services agreements, global framework agreements, statements of work, intra-group agreements, and (procurement) agreements with third-party vendors. Be the go-to legal partner for (client related) timely legal advice and assistance with respect to bespoke transactions. Be an escalation point for business with respect to complex negotiations and/or termination of (services) agreements.

Standardization: develop and review templates for (frequently used) agreements, checklists, and standard operating procedures, aiming to promote efficiencies and reducing legal risks.

Knowledge sharing: keep up with relevant legal developments in legislation, case law and literature, especially in relation to company law and contract law, and share actively your knowledge via briefings and trainings, with business teams as well as the Legal Department.

Support of local and global initiatives: provide legal advice on local and global strategic initiatives, including advice on the legal implications of the implementation of new software solutions and technology platforms or tools (including artificial intelligence), and support mergers and acquisitions activity where required.

Team: take responsibility for guiding and coaching colleague(s) to help the Legal Department continue to grow and mature.

Technical skills

The ideal candidate will possess the following technical competencies:

Experience:

• a completed bachelor’s and/or master’s degree in law, preferably in company law and/or contract law.
• Candidates must have at least three (3) years of relevant work experience, gained at a reputable Dutch law firm and/or in an in-house legal role at a corporate services provider, financial institution or similar company.
• Work experience in a highly regulated environment supervised by DNB and/or the AFM is preferred.

Knowledge:

• expert knowledge of Dutch company and contract law, with particular emphasis on Book 2 and 6 of the Dutch Civil Code.
• Knowledge of Dutch financial/regulatory laws (including Wwft, Wtt 2018, and DORA) and/or the Dutch Works Councils Act is considered a plus.
• Drafting: strong legal drafting skills, with the ability to prepare clear, precise, and commercially sound legal documentation.
• Language: excellent verbal command of English. Intermediate verbal command of Dutch is a considered a plus.

Attributes:

We are looking for a candidate who demonstrates the following personal and professional qualities:

• A strong analytical mindset, with the ability to distill complex legal issues into clear, practical legal advice.
• The candidate is comfortable working independently and taking ownership of matters from inception through to resolution, also if the road to resolution is not clear at the outset.
• A pragmatic and business-oriented approach to legal advice, balancing legal risk with commercial objectives and operational realities.
• The ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment and cope with competing priorities and stressful situations.
• Strong stakeholder management skills aiming to build and maintain trusted relationships across the organization.
• Deploys his or her interest in standardization, automation, and/or digitization to help the Legal Department move into a new way of working with (and sometimes without) the artificial intelligence tools of Vistra and the Legal Department.

Company Benefits

A challenging position in an ambitious organization where no day is the same. A company with a view to the future which you can grow together with and, above all, put your own stamp on. In addition, we offer:

• Market conforms remuneration and benefits (e.g. allowance to travel to work);
• 8% holiday allowance & 26 days off per year + 1 flexible public holiday. You have the option to buy (max. 5) vacation days;
• Collective pension scheme, non-contributory, option to voluntary save extra with a maximum of 5.4%;
• Vistra Bonus Plan, based on Vistra Group performance and individual performance;
• Training and courses via our digital learning environment ‘Vistra Skills Platform’;
• Work laptop and phone;
• The possibility to work partially from home and a fee to set up your home office.

Besides, we care about you as one of our employees, so our additional package includes:

• Our Well-being program (Open Up);
• Employee discounts via Benefits at Work;
• Bike riding via the bike scheme;
• Free coffee, tea and fruits in our office.