Senior Counsel

Job Description

The Senior Counsel position provides a unique opportunity to work in the Legal Department of the renewable energy business of a diversified energy company. Avangrid, Inc. operates regulated electric and natural gas utilities and renewable energy generation in 24 states through two lines of business, with combined assets of approximately $48 billion. Avangrid Power, the renewable energy business, owns and operates 10.5 gigawatts of electricity capacity, primarily through wind and solar power, with a presence in 22 states across the United States and corporate offices in Portland, Oregon and Boston, Massachusetts.

The successful candidate will be an integral member of a team providing legal counsel and support to Avangrid Power utilizing global best practices. This position will provide legal support for a variety of development, construction, PPA origination, operations, and asset management activities for renewable energy projects. The mix of responsibilities will be determined based on the candidates' prior experience and skill sets, as well as business needs.

This position reports into the Deputy General Counsel of Avangrid Power and is an individual contributor role with no direct reports.

Key Responsibilities May include

• Provides legal counsel and advice supporting development, construction, origination, and asset management activities relating to renewable energy projects, including real estate, permitting, and regulatory matters.
• Reviews and drafts contracts and other legal documents to which Avangrid Power and its affiliates are a party, including NDAs, Power Purchase Agreements, Interconnection Agreements, corporate guaranties, and routine construction and procurement contracts.
• Represents the company in major transactions and negotiations relating to renewable energy projects, including asset transfers, joint ventures, and other matters.
• Provides legal counsel and advice concerning matters involving the rules and orders of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and Regional Transmission Organizations, (RTOs) specifically as they relate to renewable energy projects and compliance.
• Effectively manages outside counsel.

Required Qualifications

• J.D. degree from an ABA-accredited law school, state Bar Admission, and a minimum of 8 years of relevant legal experience.
• Ability to work independently and meet deadlines.
• Strong ethical values, consistent with AVANGRID's core values.
• Self-motivated, resourceful, experienced, and agile to handle a broad range of legal matters, including ability to multitask.
• Excellent interpersonal skills as a proven team player, including ability to provide cross-functional support.
• Well-organized and able to identify business-oriented solutions to complex legal problems.
• Excellent oral and written communication, problem solving, analytical, organizational, and negotiating skills with demonstrated ability to achieve results.
• Demonstrated attention to detail and presents high-quality work.

Preferred Qualifications

Preferred candidates will have some combination of the following:

• Prior experience with legal issues relating to renewable energy project development, real estate, construction operations, joint ventures, and other matters.
• Prior experience with Power Purchase Agreements, Interconnection Agreements, and other agreements relating to renewable energy projects.
• Familiarity with federal and state permitting, environmental and regulatory matters impacting renewable energy development, including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and other wildlife management and protection statutes.
• Familiarity with the rules and orders of the FERC and RTOs.

Please note that any applicant who is not a citizen of the country of the vacancy will be subject to compliance with the applicable immigration requirements to legally work in that country.

At Avangrid we provide fair and equal employment and advancement opportunities for all employees and candidates regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, protected veteran status or any other status protected by federal, state, or local law.
If you are an individual with a disability or a disabled veteran who is unable to use our online tool to search for or to apply for jobs, you may request a reasonable accommodation by contacting our People and Organization department at [email protected].

Avangrid employees may be assigned a system emergency role and in the event of a system emergency, may be required to work outside of their regular schedule/job duties. This is applicable to employees that will work in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and New York within Avangrid Network and Corporate functions. This does not include those that will work for Avangrid Power.

Avangrid employees may also be assigned a NERC Reliability Standards compliance role supporting Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) and/or Operations and Planning (O&P) responsibilities. This is applicable to employees that will work in electric transmission, operations, and cyber security business areas in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and New York within Avangrid Network and Corporate business areas. NERC Reliability Standards compliance roles and responsibilities may include additional access protections, training, audit engagement, and required evidence retention, and will be communicated by the employee's management.