Senior Legal Advisor: Transacting (SA) at Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA)

In brief

**Overview** The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) is a development finance institution wholly owned by the South African Government. Its core purpose is to accelerate sustainable socio-economic development to improve the quality of life of people in South Africa, SADC, and the Rest of Africa by providing financial and non-financial investments. The Senior Legal Advisor is responsible for providing legal advice and support to clients on DBSA's financing activities, ensuring that all actions, initiatives, and investments are legally sound and protect the investment portfolio. This role also involves mitigating legal risks, preventing adverse reputational or other negative consequences for DBSA, and providing guidance and leadership to junior professionals in the legal team to foster their development and ensure consistency in legal counsel. **What you will do** * **Legal Transaction Structuring, Execution & Advisory:** * Provide strategic legal leadership across the full transaction lifecycle, including high-value and complex transactions. * Lead, from a legal perspective, the structuring and execution of transactions across project finance, blended and structured finance, equity investments, and public-private partnerships (PPPs), ensuring alignment with institutional mandates, legal frameworks, and risk appetite. * Act as a strategic legal partner to Investment Division and multidisciplinary teams, driving the development of innovative, commercially sound financing structures and solutions, while providing expert legal oversight throughout the transaction lifecycle. * Conduct comprehensive legal due diligence and risk assessments, identifying legal, regulatory, and structuring risks and implementing appropriate mitigation strategies. * Draft, review, and negotiate complex legal documentation, including term sheets, mandates, facility agreements, shareholder agreements, security packages, and intercreditor/co-funding arrangements. * Lead, in support of the Investment Division, Business Support and Recovery and/or Credit Risk and Portfolio management, as the case may be, negotiations with sponsors, borrowers, lenders, co-funders, and counterparties to achieve optimal commercial and legal outcomes. * Provide expert legal input into appraisal reports, credit papers, and committee submissions, and actively contribute to credit committee deliberations. * Provide expert legal support and input in transaction execution through approval to financial close, ensuring legal integrity, enforceability, and compliance. * Manage external legal counsel, including appointment, briefing, performance oversight, and cost control, to ensure efficient delivery of specialised legal services. * Provide ongoing legal advisory support across corporate, operational, and investment functions. * **Compliance and Regulatory Support:** * Promote adherence to applicable legislation, regulatory requirements, and internal governance frameworks across all legal and transactional activities. * Monitor and interpret legal and regulatory developments, providing proactive, strategic guidance to the organisation. * Support and strengthen institutional compliance and governance frameworks in collaboration with Compliance and Risk functions. * Review legal documentation, decisions, and processes to ensure alignment with regulatory and policy requirements. * **Dispute Resolution and Litigation:** * Manage litigation and dispute resolution processes, safeguarding the organisation’s legal, financial, and reputational interests. * Lead the appointment and oversight of external counsel in disputes, ensuring high-quality representation and cost-effectiveness. * Advise management on litigation risk exposure and recommend appropriate dispute resolution strategies, including alternative dispute mechanisms. * Facilitate timely and commercially sound resolution of disputes. * **Stakeholder Management & Capacity Building:** * Collaborate with internal stakeholders to provide practical and commercially sound legal solutions. * Build effective working relationships with business units to support informed decision-making. * Provide legal training and awareness on legal and regulatory developments to internal stakeholders. * Build and maintain strong relationships with internal stakeholders, providing practical, solution-oriented legal advice. * Engage effectively with external stakeholders, including clients, co-funders, regulators, and legal advisors. * Provide legal training and guidance to enhance organisational awareness of legal, regulatory, and transactional risks. **Requirements (from the original advert)** * **Minimum Qualification:** * A Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB) or Legal postgraduate qualification. * Admitted Attorney/Advocate of the High Court of South Africa. * **Minimum Experience:** * A minimum of 8-10 years’ post-qualification experience in a commercial/finance/banking or corporate law environment, providing legal support on investment transactions such as project finance, structured and corporate finance. * Proven experience in complex contract drafting, legal risk management, and regulatory compliance. * Strong track record in drafting and negotiating transaction documentation, including term sheets, facility agreements, shareholder agreements, security documents, and intercreditor agreements. * Demonstrated experience in leading legal due diligence processes and advising on transaction risks, mitigants, and structuring solutions. * In-depth understanding of banking and finance law, corporate law, security structures, and regulatory frameworks, particularly within a development finance or infrastructure investment environment. * Experience working on multi-stakeholder transactions, including engagements with sponsors, lenders, DFIs, regulators, and external counsel. **Who should apply** This role is suitable for an experienced legal professional who can provide strategic legal leadership and support to the Development Bank of Southern Africa's financing activities. The ideal candidate will be adept at navigating complex and high-value transactions across project finance, blended and structured finance, equity investments, and public-private partnerships. They should be proficient in legal transaction structuring, execution, and advisory, including comprehensive legal due diligence, risk assessment, and drafting/negotiation of intricate legal documentation. Furthermore, the candidate must demonstrate strong capabilities in ensuring compliance, managing dispute resolution, overseeing external legal counsel, and building effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders while providing guidance to junior legal professionals. **Deadline** 16th October, 2026 **Reference** Original posting: https://www.myjobmag.co.za/job/senior-legal-advisor-transacting-sa-development-bank-of-southern-africa-dbsa Source: myjobmag

Summary drafted with AI assistance from the original advert. The advert itself is the authority — how we use AI.

Job description

Before you apply

• Confirm the requirements and closing date on the original listing (myjobmag). SPANi lists vacancies from other sites and may not reflect last-minute changes.
• Legitimate employers do not charge application, registration or training fees.
• Don't send your ID or bank details before you have confirmed the employer is real.

How to spot a job scam

Applying for permanent roles

• Mirror the job title and top three requirements in your CV summary and most recent experience.
• Quantify results where possible: sales targets, cases handled, tickets closed, or team size.
• Proofread contact details and filenames before submitting — small errors cost interviews.
• Verify the company and role on the source page before sharing ID copies or banking details.