Senior Counsel, Commercial & Construction

FLSA Classification: Exempt

Salary Range: $200,000 - $225,000 plus bonus and incentive stock options

Reports to: General Counsel

Location: Brooklyn, NY (Hybrid)

About The Company:

NineDot's name derives from the classic mathematical puzzle for sparking out-of-the-box solutions. As a leading community-scale, clean energy developer with a growing portfolio of projects across a range of technologies, NineDot Energy is creating innovative energy solutions that support a more resilient electric grid, deliver economic savings, address environmental justice and reduce carbon emissions. We plan to develop, build and operate more than 400 MW of clean energy systems by 2026 that will strengthen the local power grid infrastructure and provide clean, reliable and resilient power to tens of thousands of New York households and businesses. This is all in support of New York State’s mission to achieve 100% clean energy by 2040.

With the backing of Manulife Investment Management and The Carlyle Group - two of the world’s leading infrastructure investors - NineDot is continuing to expand its core battery energy storage pipeline, deliver enhanced products and services, explore new regions and consider potential acquisitions all to advance the decarbonization of New York’s grid. This is an exciting opportunity to build a platform from the ground-up with a world-class team of developers and innovators. NineDot is committed to building a company that exemplifies diversity, equity and inclusion values in its team culture, as well as business practices and community engagement.

Job Summary

Our Legal team is looking to hire a highly skilled and experienced Senior Counsel, Commercial & Construction to join our dynamic team. The successful candidate will play a key role in negotiating, drafting, and managing a broad range of commercial and construction contracts and vendor agreements. This role will primarily focus on agreements with construction general contractors, subcontractors, equipment suppliers, professional service providers, and other vendors, and will require expertise in commercial contracting, mitigating risks and ensuring compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Depending on business needs, providing support in other areas such as clean energy certificate subscriber agreements, entity formation, M&A, and real estate agreements may be expected. This is a unique opportunity to contribute to the growth and success of a company dedicated to sustainable energy solutions.

Responsibilities:

• Draft, review, and negotiate commercial contracts, construction agreements, procurement agreements, vendor agreements, and other legal documents related to construction and energy projects.
• Collaborate with Product teams developing new offerings and revenue strategies (e.g. electric vehicle charging programs) to structure contracts and incentives.
• Advise internal stakeholders on legal risks, contract interpretation, ongoing relationship and contracts management, and dispute resolution strategies.
• Collaborate with project teams to align contractual terms with business objectives and operational needs.
• Ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws, including environmental and labor regulations.
• Assist in the development and implementation of policies and procedures to streamline contract management processes.
• Manage relationships with external counsel as needed for specialized legal matters.
• Stay updated on industry trends and emerging legal issues impacting the renewable energy sector.
• Other duties as assigned.

Core Competencies:

• Problem Solving - Uses rigorous logic and methods to solve difficult problems with effective solutions; conducts excellent and honest analysis; looks beyond the obvious and doesn’t stop at the first answer.
• Interpersonal Savvy - Able to relate well to all individuals within and beyond the organization; builds appropriate rapport along with constructive and effective relationships; uses diplomacy and tact.
• Perseverance -  Pursues everything with energy, drive, and a need to finish; seldom gives up before finishing, especially in the face of resistance or setbacks.
• Dealing With Ambiguity - Can effectively cope with change and shift gears comfortably; can decide and act without having the total picture.
• Creativity - Capable of coming up with new and unique ideas; easily makes connections among previously unrelated notions.
• Technical Learning - Picks up on technical things quickly, capable of learning new skills and knowledge, good at learning new industry, company, product, or technical knowledge.
• Intellectual Horsepower - Demonstrated ability to deal with concepts and complexity comfortably; described as intellectually sharp, capable, and agile.
• Developing Direct Reports and Others - Provides challenging and stretching tasks and assignments; holds frequent development discussions; cooperates with the developmental system in the organization; is a people builder.
• Building Effective Teams - Creates strong morale and spirit in his/her/their team; shares wins and successes; fosters open dialogue; lets people finish and be responsible for their work; creates a feeling of belonging in the team.
• Innovation Management - Is good at bringing the creative ideas of others to market; has good judgment about which creative ideas and suggestions will work; has a sense about managing the creative process of others; can project how potential ideas may play out in the real world.
• Planning - Accurately scopes out length and difficulty of tasks and projects; sets objectives and goals; breaks down work into the process steps; anticipates and adjusts for problems and roadblocks; measures performance against goals; evaluates results.
• Drive for Results - Can be counted on to exceed goals successfully; is constantly and consistently one of the top performers; very bottom-line oriented; steadfastly pushes self and others for results.
• Strategic Agility - Sees ahead clearly; can anticipate future consequences and trends accurately; has broad knowledge and perspective; is future oriented; can articulately and paint credible pictures and visions of possibilities and likelihoods; can create competitive and breakthrough strategies and plans.
• Managing Through Systems - Can design practices, processes, and procedures which allow managing from a distance; is comfortable letting things manage themselves without intervening; can make things work through others without being there; can impact people and results remotely.
• Managing Vision and Purpose - Communicates a compelling and inspired vision or sense of core purpose; talks beyond today; talks about possibilities; is optimistic; creates mileposts and symbols to rally support behind the vision; makes the vision sharable by everyone; can inspire and motivate entire units or organizations.

Qualifications:

• Law degree from an accredited law school; Bar admission with good standing to practice law in New York.
• 7+ years of substantial relevant experience within a law firm, growing startup and/or in-house legal department including the support of commercial operations, construction relationships, supply chain agreements, project development, project operations, and commercial operations teams.  
• Experience working specifically on renewable energy, community-scale energy and/or energy storage projects preferred but not required.
• Strong track record of negotiating, reviewing, revising, drafting and negotiating contracts, including NDAs, EPC/design-bid-build commercial contracts, consulting agreements, development agreements, supply agreements, and power purchase or energy services agreements.
• Collaborative, curious, and a strong communicator of legal advice.
• Hardworking, responsive and adaptable to what the situation dictates, including possessing the diligence to advance matters independently, combined with the strong interpersonal skills to work effectively in a diverse team.
• Experience managing and documenting complex transactions.
• The ability to identify and implement practical solutions to complex business and legal problems.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.  

At NineDot Energy, we believe diverse perspectives drive innovation and are the foundation of our success. As such, we do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, gender expression, gender identity, age, or any other status of an individual or that individual’s associates or relatives that is protected under applicable federal, state, or local law.

 If you're passionate about this role but don’t meet every qualification listed, we still encourage you to apply. You may be the right candidate for this or other opportunities with us. We’re committed to building a team that reflects a broad range of experiences, backgrounds, and skills.

NineDot Energy Employee benefits include but are not limited to:

• Medical, dental and vision coverage
• 5% employer match on your 401k retirement account
• 20 paid vacation days off, plus 7 sick days, 9 federal holidays and 3 personal floating holidays
• 12 weeks of 100% paid parental leave for both the primary and secondary care giver within the first year of birth or adoption
• Wellness initiatives including a $1,000 stipend
• 16 volunteer hours plus two planned company-wide volunteer outings per year