Legal Counsel – Us Securities Law

Founded in 2001 by the trio of Sam Darwish, William Saad and Mohamad Darwish, along with a strong team of telecoms sector engineers, IHS Towers is one of the largest independent owners, operators and developers of shared communications infrastructure in the world by tower count and is the largest independent multinational towerco solely focused on the emerging markets, with nearly 40,000 towers across its 11 markets. IHS continues to grow and develop its existing positions and offerings in Brazil, Cameroon, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Kuwait, Nigeria, Peru, Rwanda, South Africa and Zambia while continuing to explore new opportunities in Emerging Markets.

Responsibilities

• Senior legal adviser, with a US securities and regulatory law focus, within the Group Legal & Compliance function, supporting the Group’s capital markets and public company functions;
• Integral member of the team assisting and advising on public capital markets regulations, transactions (including listed securities offerings (both equity and debt), SEC-registered and/or Reg S/144A) and ongoing obligations, through deployment of deep technical and industry experience, including public company advisory (with particular emphasis on regulatory, disclosure as well as litigation risk);
• Providing technical US Securities Law and disclosure related expertise with a specific focus on reporting, regulatory and public company compliance expertise and experience (i.e. ongoing application of US securities and regulatory laws and compliance with ongoing listing obligations and reporting requirements)
• On an ongoing basis, monitoring and contributing to US securities and regulatory law application and compliance (including updates), including in respect of disclosure obligations, notification, filing and compliance requirements, corporate governance requirements and processes, related policies and procedures formulation and implementation, and other ongoing and regular reporting; and managing relevant internal updates/ knowledge base relating to the same
• Assisting with ongoing corporate governance matters including with regard to board and board committee matters

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES/ SKILLS

• US Securities Law and regulatory environment as it relates to (1) offers of equity and debt securities listed on the international capital markets, and (2) public/listed company ongoing compliance and regulatory reporting and governance, as well as litigation risk (including activist shareholders and class action litigation)
• US Securities Act 1933, Exchange Act 1934, SEC rules/ no action letters/ C&DIs/ staff positions; NYSE rules; other related rules and guidance (including but not limited to JOBS Act/ FAST Act etc)
• Experience advising FPIs on securities, disclosure and corporate governance-related matters
• Good working knowledge of other US regulatory regimes (e.g. sanctions/ OFAC/ AML/ ABC, FCPA/ PFIC/ Investment Company Act) and corporate law matters (e.g. Delaware corporations) is an advantage
• Highly desired is a person with significant experience working for or advising listed securities issuers/ public companies on disclosure obligations, management of issuance programmes/ transactions (including non-US platforms is helpful) and, in particular, application of the regulatory environment to ongoing corporate governance and disclosure/ reporting requirements;
• The role is focused on US securities regulatory expertise as relates to listed company obligations, however additional experience in finance transactions (including high yield transactions), capital raisings and/or public company corporate advisory in general is an advantage;
• Motivated by tackling new technical areas of law;
• Demonstrated ability to lead on matters and work as part of multi-disciplinary teams across various locations;
• Demonstrated ability to adapt to new challenges in fast moving environments, develop relationships and rapidly establish credibility with stakeholders;
• Strong commercial focus with an aptitude for problem solving.

ESSENTIAL COMPETENCIES & EXPERIENCE

• Senior level (with at least 6+ years’ post-qualification experience) US qualified lawyer (preferably admitted in New York), with significant knowledge and experience of US Securities Laws, public market regulation and corporate governance and the related regulatory/ enforcement environment
• Transactional as well as strong regulatory advisory experience (e.g. National Office/ Public Company Advisory Practice) gained through in-house (corporate, financial institution and/or regulatory body, SEC) and/or law firm roles

IHS is committed to improving the quality and availability of telecommunications infrastructure, the lifeline for an increasingly connected world. We are dedicated to helping create a sustainable future for the communities in which we operate, and our sustainable strategy is structured around four pillars: ethics and governance, environment and climate change, education and economic growth, and our people and communities.

If this sounds like you, we encourage you to apply!