Head of Legal & Compliance – North America

JOB DETAILS

Head of Legal & Compliance – North America

SALARY

A competitive remuneration package is available, based on quality and range of experience.

ABOUT ZENOBE

Our mission is to make clean power accessible. We are passionate about making a positive impact on communities and the environment where we work. 

We’re designing, financing, building and operating the world’s most sophisticated battery systems to enable the take up of more renewable power, electrifying fleets for cleaner air, and providing clean, portable power including repurposed electric vehicle batteries. Our proprietary software and data analysis optimises operational performance for our customers to reduce emissions and costs. 

Since we began in 2017, we’ve raised over £2.7 billion in debt and equity funding and transformed it into >1.2GW of grid-connected batteries live or under contract and c.3,400 electric vehicles supported, including transit buses, school buses and trucks. We have operations in the USA, the UK, Benelux, Australia and New Zealand, with a global headquarters in London. 

With offices in Chicago and New York, our rapidly growing company is looking for highly talented and motivated people to join us. 

THE OPPORTUNITY

This is a senior, legal leadership role supporting Zenob's North American business across EV fleet electrification and battery storage. The North American business operates as a high-growth business within a global organization, requiring a legal leader who is comfortable working in an environment where processes, priorities and business models continue to evolve.

This is fundamentally a hands-on legal role. While the successful candidate will manage outside counsel and help shape legal processes, they will also be expected to personally draft, negotiate and deliver a substantial volume of legal work. The position is best suited to someone who enjoys being close to the work, can move seamlessly between strategy and execution, and takes pride in producing high-quality work product under demanding timelines.

The role reports to the General Counsel in London and works closely with the global legal team, while serving as a senior legal partner to the North American leadership and commercial teams.

THE OPERATING ENVIRONMENT

• This is a high-responsibility role in a lean, growing business with a significant pipeline of transactions, projects and commercial opportunities.

• The successful candidate must be comfortable making decisions and providing advice in a fast-moving environment where information may be incomplete and priorities can change quickly.

• Success requires thoughtful prioritization, effective use of outside counsel, leveraging the internal legal team and clear communication regarding trade-offs, timing and resource constraints.

• Legal, regulatory and compliance issues will not always be clearly identified by the business, requiring proactive issue spotting and intellectual curiosity.

• While the role offers substantial autonomy and influence, it also carries meaningful accountability for helping the business scale responsibly.

A BIT ABOUT THE DAY TO DAY

• Serve as the senior legal lead for the North American business, providing practical, risk-based advice across a broad and changing portfolio of matters.

• Partner closely with business leaders while maintaining independent legal judgment; respectfully challenge proposals, assumptions or risk positions where appropriate and provide clear recommendations and escalation paths.

• Support public-sector opportunities, including federal, state and local public procurement, RFPs and unsolicited proposals, and advise on procurement requirements, contracting constraints and associated compliance obligations.

• Advise on federal, state, local and utility grants, incentives and other public funding programs, including eligibility, award requirements, flow-downs, recordkeeping, audit readiness and ongoing compliance.

• Lead or support M&A, strategic investments, joint ventures and other corporate transactions, coordinating internal stakeholders and external counsel as appropriate.

• Advise on asset finance, project finance and other financing arrangements, including structuring, diligence, negotiation and execution of financing-related documentation.

• Support construction, infrastructure development and project delivery matters, including EPC/design-build, equipment supply, installation, O&M and related commercial arrangements.

• Personally draft, negotiate and execute a wide range of complex commercial agreements, often on demanding timelines and with limited precedent, while maintaining a high standard of legal analysis, drafting quality and commercial practicality.

• Advise on corporate governance, regulatory, compliance, data/privacy and other legal issues affecting the North American business.

• Help create scalable legal and compliance processes for a growing business, recognizing that not every issue will have an existing playbook, template or established internal owner.

• Manage and prioritize outside counsel strategically, using external expertise where it adds value while retaining ownership of the business-facing advice.

• Operate comfortably across multiple workstreams and business functions, shifting between strategic and tactical work as business needs require.

WHY THIS JOB IS HARD

• You are the senior legal leader for a business that is growing rapidly while still developing processes, infrastructure and operating rhythms.

• The role spans commercial contracts, construction, project development, financing, public procurement, grants, compliance and corporate matters, often simultaneously and cross-functionally.

• Legal issues frequently emerge in ambiguous situations where complete information, established precedent or clear internal ownership may not exist.

• You must balance commercial objectives with legal and compliance requirements while being willing to challenge assumptions and push back when necessary.

• Competing priorities are constant, making strong judgment, prioritization and resilience essential.

• This role requires a lawyer who is willing and able to personally produce excellent legal work product in a fast-moving environment. Candidates seeking a position that is primarily focused on supervising outside counsel, reviewing work prepared by others or managing a large internal legal team are unlikely to find this role a fit.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

• You are comfortable operating as the legal leader in a startup-like environment inside a larger global organization and do not require mature processes or perfect information to make progress.

• You combine strong legal judgment with commercial practicality and can distinguish between risks that should stop or materially change a transaction and risks that can be managed.

• You communicate directly and constructively. You can say “no,” “not yet,” or “we need to do this differently” when necessary, including with senior stakeholders, without becoming adversarial.

• You are comfortable doing your own drafting, negotiation and issue analysis, even as the senior legal leader for the business.

• You build credibility by understanding the commercial objective, offering workable alternatives and following through.

• You can distinguish between genuine urgency and organizational urgency. You manage an exceptionally broad workload through deliberate, risk-based prioritization, communicate trade-offs clearly and do not treat every request as equally urgent.

Health and Safety

• Actively contribute to Zenobe's commitment to health and safety, wellbeing and sustainability by; integrating these principles into daily responsibilities, ensuring a safe and supportive work environment, promoting both the physical and mental health of self and colleagues, and adopting sustainable and energy-efficient practices to minimize environmental impact. By doing so, each employee at Zenobe plays a vital role in fostering a culture that prioritises overall safety, holistic wellbeing, environmental sustainability in our business operations.

YOUR EXPERIENCE

Essential Qualifications

• Attorney admitted and in good standing in at least one U.S. jurisdiction, with approximately 10+ years of relevant legal experience.

• Demonstrated experience as a broad commercial or transactional generalist, with the judgment and adaptability to cover unfamiliar issues and engage specialist counsel when needed.

• Significant experience negotiating complex commercial contracts and advising senior business stakeholders.

• Significant experience with public procurement and/or government contracting.

• Experience with federal, state or utility grants, incentives or other public funding and the compliance obligations that accompany that funding.

• Excellent drafting, negotiation and communication skills, with the ability to translate legal and compliance issues into clear business decisions.

• A low-ego, collaborative working style paired with the confidence to exercise independent judgment and respectfully hold a different view.

Advantageous Qualifications

• 5+ years with a sophisticated international law firm paired with meaningful in-house experience.

• M&A, corporate transaction and/or strategic investment experience.

• Asset finance, project finance, or structured finance experience.

• Construction, infrastructure, EPC/design-build or major project contracting experience.

• Energy, infrastructure, clean technology or other regulated-industry experience is helpful but not required if the candidate demonstrates strong learning agility.

• Located in Chicago or New York.

Please note that the base salary range is a guideline, and individual total compensation will vary based on factors such as qualifications, skill level, competencies, and work location.

Base pay is one part of the total package that is provided to compensate and recognise employees for their work and any role at Zenob, regardless of the location, is eligible for additional discretionary bonuses.

Base salary per annum:

Base salary per annum: USD$280,000 - USD$300,000

OUR BENEFITS

We have an open, honest and trusting culture here at Zenobe. Apart from the unparallel opportunity to be at the forefront of the Net Zero revolution we are proud of the culture we have built. Here is what we can offer when you join the Zenobe community;

• At Zenobe we all work hard and go the extra mile so it’s important to rest and regenerate with 20 days holiday which increases after 5 years’ service

• 401k Scheme – Up to 4% matching

• Excellent opportunities for personal growth and responsibility plus a training budget

• Up to 33% performance related bonus

• Health, Dental, Vision & Life Insurance (We offer 3 Robust medical plans including one that’s 100% employer-paid coverage for employees and 75% paid for the dependents/spouse)

• Refer a friend bonus scheme

• Enhanced maternity and paternity benefits

• Flex commuter programme

• Fertility leave

OUR APPROACH TO DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

Zenobe is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment which is as representative as possible of our society. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage/civil partnership pregnancy /maternity, race, nationality, religion or belief, gender, political beliefs and sexual orientation. Our culture values meritocracy, openness, fairness, and transparency.