Assistant General Counsel, Impact Investments

The Opportunity
Social Finance has a growing Legal Team, led by its General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer and its Vice President, Deputy General Counsel & Policy Advisor.  The Assistant General Counsel, Impact Investments will be an integral part of the Legal Team.  This position will support Social Finance’s Impact Investing teams, with a wide array of responsibilities for Social Finance, Inc. and its subsidiaries, with a specific focus on developing and contracting for impact investment transactions and fund development and management. This opportunity is ideal for those who have transactional law, project finance or fund management experience, are excited to delve into novel legal work streams, are entrepreneurial and seek to make an impact through their legal expertise. This role will support a growing organization while simultaneously shaping an evolving market. 

Impact Investment Transaction Work
Social Finance’s legal team plays a key role in structuring, negotiating and reviewing contracts among public, private, philanthropic and non-profit sector clients.  This position will be an integral part of deal teams during the contracting phase of fund management and project development, collaborating with clients and other external stakeholders to draft and negotiate fund or deal documents.   In May 2023, Social Finance’s subsidiary SF Advisors, LLC became a Registered Investment Adviser. 

With the rest of the legal team, the Assistant General Counsel will help retain, manage, and evaluate outside counsel where necessary. Responsibilities may include, but are not limited to:

• Advise deal teams from initial structuring to drafting and negotiation of final financing and outcome-contingent agreements; oversee external counsel in discussion and negotiation with project stakeholders (within private, nonprofit and public sectors)
  • Serve as thought leader to deal teams throughout entire deal lifecycle, including on key contract terms and best practices for achieving impact via contracting
  • Collaborate with internal and external counsel to develop private placement memoranda, credit facility agreements, and ancillary financial agreements
  • Draft and execute entity formation agreements for impact investment special purpose vehicles which may include trusts, partnerships, limited liability companies or other corporate forms
  • Conduct legal due diligence on project stakeholders
• Advise on investment fund development, structuring and legal implementation; oversee drafting and negotiation of fund documentation with key stakeholders
  • Support capital raise and finance structuring; lead investor agreement drafting and negotiation
  • Develop and draft investment agreements
• Advising on deal active performance management, reviewing and revising project contracts, as needed, and assisting in knowledge sharing and knowledge management across deal teams

Other Corporate and Organizational Matters
In addition to impact investing transactional work, the Assistant General Counsel will work with the legal team to help oversee any other legal matters which may arise, with a special emphasis on Registered Investment Adviser compliance, as well as risk management and compliance more generally for governing Social Finance, its affiliates and subsidiaries.  The Assistant General Counsel will also be an active participant in the growth and development of a quickly evolving organization and will have opportunities to participate in and lead broad, non-legal organizational priorities and community activities. 

Qualifications
We are looking for an entrepreneurial lawyer who has the flexibility and aptitude to take on additional duties as management deems appropriate. Candidate must have:

• J.D.; license to practice law
• Prefer minimum 3-8 years’ experience working at a major law firm or equivalent in-house experience; title and salary will be commensurate with experience
• Experience in corporate transactional work including capital markets, investment funds, project finance, securities, structured finance, private equity, or public finance law or experience in financial services regulation, including state and U.S. federal enforcement and examination of fintech and other consumer products
• Excellent communication skills; ability to translate new, complex, or unclear concepts to unfamiliar and diverse audiences
• Strong interpersonal skills and client-facing experience; ability to identify, build and maintain relationships across sectors that are integral to the firm and its mission
• Commitment to excellence and accuracy, with an ability to manage multiple competing priorities simultaneously, constructively express contrary points of view and seek consensus among strong, independent thinkers
• Demonstrated interest and knowledge of key issues in effective nonprofit management, social interventions, and/or impact investing (e.g. academic coursework, consulting projects, volunteer work, etc.)
• Capacity to work in an independent and solutions-oriented way while contributing to team projects as appropriate
• Sense of humor and flexibility to regularly incorporate the feedback of others into work processes
• Commitment to enhancing a team culture of inclusion, belonging and equity 

Benefits
At Social Finance, we strive to deliver a benefits program that will enhance our overall value proposition to employees. Our current benefit offerings include:

• Comprehensive health care coverage: medical, dental and vision insurance; flexible spending accounts; Employee Healthy Actions programs and more
• Retirement savings plan with employer contribution
• Short-term, long-term and life insurance policies
• Commuter benefits and cell phone reimbursements
• Hybrid work model (minimum of two days per week in office and on an ad-hoc basis as needed)
• Dedicated budgets for team building and employee recognition
• Annual budget for external professional development opportunities
• Mentorship and onboarding programs
• Collaborative and energizing workspaces in downtown Boston, San Francisco, Austin and Washington, D.C.; New York, NY
• Paid vacation and paid holidays (with 12/24-1/1 off every year)
• Paid parental leave
• A truly stellar team of high performing, values-driven and fun (!) professionals

Salary
Social Finance uses a lockstep compensation model for purposes of equity and transparency - we strive for everyone coming in at a given level to be paid equitably. For this position, the starting base salary is $116,000 to 140,000 depending on experience; during the interview process, we will take into account a candidate's full work experience and may adjust the job title, and commensurate starting salary, as appropriate. At this level, employees receive an automatic $2,500 to 5,000 adjustment annually and a bonus of 5-10%.