Legal Counsel Heat Transition

• You are a law graduate and preferably have additional training;

• You feel connected to the heat activities and their social significance. Furthermore, you are agile and open to continuing your work within that organization if the future positioning of the heat company requires it;
• You work efficiently, are digitally skilled, and are open to new tools and working methods;
• Affinity with Legal Tech is a plus, as is the willingness to think along about the further development of legal services.

The whole of the Netherlands is switching over. To smarter, cleaner, and more sustainable. And everyone has their own reason for doing so. Some like to contribute to a better climate. Others switch because their neighbors are doing it too, or because they enjoy saving money. At Eneco, we want to help everyone take the next sustainable step. And we are looking for the best people to make that possible. People who are enthusiastic about our mission 'sustainable energy for everyone' and who want to further develop their talents at Eneco.

Eneco is a market leader in the field of sustainable heat and plays an important role in the heat transition, including in Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht. Collective heat is essential to move homes and buildings away from gas and to accelerate the heat transition. With the new Collective Heat Act, the government has chosen for more public direction, and heat companies must, in the long term, come into public hands in the majority. Against this background, Eneco, together with the national government and other public parties, is investigating various scenarios for the future of the heat company, including a possible sale of the heat company as a whole to a public party. No decision has yet been made regarding the outcome. Meanwhile, our work and our investments in reliable, affordable, and sustainable heat continue unabated. Precisely in this dynamic phase, there is a lot of legal work to be done and your contribution is urgently needed.

As Legal Counsel Heat Transition, you are the legal business partner for Eneco's sustainable heat and cooling projects. You are close to the business and advise on the legal structuring of complex projects, collaborations, and contracts, and you advise and negotiate on disputes/issues with various stakeholders.

In addition to the daily legal support of heat projects, you will work during a period in which the sector is fundamentally changing. The new Collective Heat Act brings a new market regulation, more public steering, and other rules for ownership, designation, tariffs, and investments. At the same time, Eneco is investigating the future ownership options of the heat company, with scenarios ranging from maintaining ownership to a full sale. This makes the role broader than just project advice. You will think along about the legal consequences of this development for the organization, its contracts, partnerships, and ongoing projects.

You provide legal support for projects such as connecting entire neighborhoods to district heating or making office buildings more sustainable with heat/cold storage. Together with account managers, developers, project and contract managers, and technical and financial specialists, you give legal shape to challenging projects. Important areas of law involved are contract law, real estate law, and construction law. Naturally, the new Collective Heat Act also plays an important role in your work.

You will perform a wide range of legal activities, with a focus on drafting contracts and conducting negotiations regarding them. This specifically concerns agreements for long-term heat supply with investors, housing associations, and/or real estate owners, where Eneco is responsible for the heat & cold infrastructure.

You are prepared to tackle everything that comes your way. For example, in addition to the matters of the deal team, you will also deal with asset management (maintaining, managing, optimizing operations) and (heat) customer matters. You have the drive to sometimes devise clever solutions in contracts under pressure with customers, partners, and colleagues.

• Co-designing and structuring new customer propositions, drafting and reviewing commercial contracts and legal documents;
• Negotiating complex contracts as a member of the negotiation team;
• Advising on the legal structuring of new projects;
• Contributing to the improvement and digitalization of legal work processes, including through the smart use of Legal Tech.

You will work in a beautiful, modern, and bright building, at a location that is excellently accessible: a 2-minute walk from the Rotterdam-Alexander metro and train station. We all work from home at least two days a week, but are also all in the office two days a week.

We are looking for two candidates for this vacancy. Therefore, we are seeking candidates with varying levels of experience: from a few years of relevant experience to extensive experience as a Legal Counsel or lawyer, preferably with project development and/or real estate in the energy sector;

• You can quickly master your new environments and situations, are strongly commercially oriented, and feel at home in a dynamic project environment;
• You have focus, courage, and execution power, and know how to advance legal issues in a practical way;
• You are resourceful and independent in identifying and taking up opportunities and improvements;
• You have a clear, concise communication style, are solution-oriented and inventive, and look beyond just the legal spectrum;

• A dynamic environment with a lot of freedom and responsibility

• Legal work on complex and socially relevant heat projects

• Working as a lawyer on the shop floor with the business at the center of the energy transition