BNP Paribas is the European Union’s leading bank and a key player in international banking. We operate in 65 countries and employ 190,000 people, including nearly 145,000 in Europe. Our Group holds key positions in its three main fields of activity: Commercial, Personal Banking & Services; Investment & Protection Services; and Corporate & Institutional Banking (CIB) for corporate and institutional clients.

BNP Paribas’ CIB UK Legal department is a dynamic and integral part of the bank's activities, providing expert legal advice and support across a wide range of activities. Our teams work closely with the business on transactional, advisory and governance matters and on disputes. It is led by dedicated professionals who ensure that the bank's interests are protected while adhering to the highest legal, regulatory and ethical standards. The department is involved in various initiatives, including work experience programs, diversity and inclusion efforts, and legal technology advancements, reflecting its commitment to excellence, innovation and efficiency in the legal field.

Company purpose:

Our company purpose is to contribute to a responsible and sustainable economy by financing and advising clients according to the highest ethical standards.

Our employer promise is built around three pillars:

• Being a great place to work

• Committed to sustainability and having a positive impact

• Being dedicated to the development of our people

Business area

Financing LEGAL (also known as the Financing Platform) is an organisation within LEGAL comprising legal professionals providing legal support to business lines throughout the BNP Paribas Group in relation to corporate and institutional lending and trade finance activities (“Financing Activities”). The organisation is headed by the Global Head of Financing LEGAL (the “Global Head”) and led by the Global Manager of Financing LEGAL (the “Global Manager”). The team is part of UK CIB Legal.  

Job Purpose

Purpose: 

The Financing Lawyer, vice president role, provides high quality, effective and timely legal support and advice, transaction assistance and project work for the businesses and functions of Global Banking and the lending activities of Capital Markets in BNPP London Branch, as well as, where relevant, providing advice to other entities of the BNPP Group on matters of English law relating to Financing Activities, daily banking, cash management and corporate finance. The Financing Lawyer vice president will draft and negotiate documentation relating to Financing matters, such as facility agreements, inter-creditor agreements, term sheets, security documents, confidentiality agreements, legal opinions, conditions precedent, in the UK and across EMEA.  

Scope: UK role but may advise on English law aspects of transactions across EMEA

The Financing Lawyer vice president manages projects and transactions in the UK and across EMEA, develops relationships with the Global Banking business and stakeholders and provides high quality legal advice to the Global Banking business.  

Key Responsibilities

• Advanced level professional accountable for providing specialist, high quality, effective and timely legal support and advice to the Global Banking businesses, on financing matters including in relation to general corporate bilateral and syndicated lending as well as structured lending such as real estate finance, fund finance, projects/infrastructure finance, and leverage finance as well as cash management and daily banking. 
• Drafts, negotiates and reviews legal documentation for Finance transactions, such as facility agreements, inter-creditor agreements, term sheets, security documents, confidentiality agreements, legal opinions, conditions precedent. 
• Takes an active role in supporting and managing the development of legal policy within the Financing team. 
• Reviews the quality and efficiency of work within the Financing team and formulates recommendations that align with best practice, ongoing organisational strategies and cost efficiencies. 
• Manages and supports the relationships with key stakeholders across the Global Banking business to ensure that a service of high quality legal advice is provided. May act as a contact person for business stakeholders, with the ability to lead on specialist topics of expertise. 
• Manages a variety of medium sized Global Banking and Financing transactions and projects, including – for example - those within the Value Preservation Group as well as TACs / NACs (Transaction Approval and New Activity Committees), in order to improve the legal service provision to the Global Banking business and / or assists and supports with large-scale projects.
• Assists LEGAL UK and Financing LEGAL initiatives as to training, know-how preparation and expertise sharing, and participates in the effective rollout and use of cross-border IT tools and systems including SharePoint, Matter Management and others.
• Responds to business issues and queries relating to Financing law in order to provide quality and timely advice to the business. 
• Influences and supports members of the team as required by leading in decision making and approach where problems are more complex and require sophisticated analysis or experience. Acts as a point of escalation for more junior staff. 
• Provides or assists more senior Legal professionals within the Financing team in providing training to the Legal team and/or business stakeholders on relevant legal topics.
• Raises legal risks within the scope of Financing LEGAL activity, including the accurate reporting of risks in the SARA system where required; assists as required on matters relating to permanent control topics covered by LEGAL UK or Financing LEGAL.
• Oversees the work of more junior members of the Financing Legal team in the UK.
• Instructs and oversees the work of external counsel on Global Banking transactional and advisory matters.

Requirements

• English law (or equivalent) qualified Banking and Finance lawyer with expert knowledge of Finance law, particularly general corporate bilateral and syndicated lending as well as structured lending such as real estate finance, fund finance, projects/infrastructure finance, and leverage finance as well as cash management and daily banking activities, or an experienced professional with significant expertise in Financing law in the UK/EMEA, and an understanding of how the current legal / regulatory practices relevant to Financing fit with the broader Bank and the Legal function . 
• Good working knowledge of Bank wide policies, procedures, regulations and legislation relevant to Global Banking & Financing.
• Good commercial and communication / stakeholder management skills along with excellent analytical skills and the ability to translate technical and complex concepts into clear guidance and advice to the business. 
• Strong relationship management skills and an ability to provide support and act as a mentor to more junior members of the team.
• Computer literacy and a good understanding of relevant software used by the Financing Legal team at the relevant time.

And of course, we expect all our colleagues to embody and practice the Group values (alignment with the Bank’s strategy, commitment, work ethic, integrity and Code of Conduct).

A bit more about why you should join us

1. We’re a great place to work

We aim for optimal work/life balance (depending on role, this includes hybrid working, flexible working and agile)

We are proud of our award-winning flexible benefits and health & wellbeing strategy. Our flexible benefits include:

• Generous holiday allowance of at least 26 days (plus bank holidays) – with option to buy and sell holidays.

• Valuable financial plans – a 12% non-contributory pension which has been moved to sustainable investments*, life assurance*, income protection and personal accident insurance.

• Extensive wellbeing and mental health offering – one of the most advanced private medical schemes in the UK, dental cover, wellbeing app, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy support, subsidised gym memberships, bespoke health assessments including genetic testing, Private GP (including digital GP services to parents of employees), Employee Assistance Programme, menopause & fertility support (we are an accredited Menopause Friendly Employer), neurodiversity assessment and support.

• Key onsite services and facilities in Scotland – include free monthly massage and yoga, mental health first aiders and seasonal flu vouchers.

• Plus, emergency back-up care for dependants, green car leasing, season ticket loan, and a range of other benefits.

* Subject to relevant caps

2. As the eurozone’s largest bank, we are committed to having a positive impact in the world.  

For example, we are committed to Net Zero in all of our financing and investment portfolios by 2050. By 2030, 80% of our energy production financing will be low carbon.

But impact for us means more than climate. It means empowering our people every day. Everyone gets four volunteering days each year - in 2023, we achieved over 18,000 hours of volunteering across the UK and reaching over 4,500 young people.

3. We believe in our people

We support our people to develop skills to adapt to the ever-evolving world of work and to prepare for the jobs of today and tomorrow. We do this through a comprehensive training offering, talent programmes, mentoring, career days and inhouse career tools.

We are proud of the number of our people who progress and secure new roles internally. In fact, in 2023, nearly half of our positions in UK CIB were filled internally. 

Investing in our people also means we have a collaborative and inclusive culture:

• Direct feedback from our people shows that our internal culture sets us apart from our industry peers.

• Each year, nearly 30,000 employees globally are involved in professional networks that play an active role in promoting Diversity and Inclusion within the Group. These include our:

Pride Network, Ability Network (which supports disabled employees), MixCity (gender equality network), Women in Global Markets, Women in Global Banking, Women in IT, Diversity Equity & Inclusion in Technology, Early Careers Network, Multicultural Network and Parents & Carers Network.

Equal opportunities 

BNP Paribas is committed to providing a work environment that fosters diversity, inclusion, and equal employment opportunity without regard to age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation, or any other legally protected status.

Adjustments

We don’t want anyone to be disadvantaged in our recruitment processes, so if you have a disability or health condition which may mean that you’d benefit from some adjustments or additional support, please let us know as early in the process as possible.

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