Funding Legal Counsel

Prodigy Finance - who are we?

Founded in 2007, Prodigy Finance is an international student lender that has helped over 45,000+ international master's students attend the world’s top universities. To date, Prodigy has disbursed over $2.3 billion in funding to students from more than 150 countries.

Prodigy Finance is fueled by impact investors and other privately qualified entities who invest in tomorrow's leaders while earning a financial and social return. Prodigy’s borderless lending model enables students to apply for a loan based on their future earning potential and not just their current circumstances and credit history.

The Legal Counsel - Capital Markets is responsible for all legal aspects of Prodigy Finance's funding activities. The role involves working at an energetic, rapidly expanding company and helping to build a product that makes a real difference in the world.

• Provide legal advice and support on all equity-raising activities, including new capital and amendments to the current capital structure.
• Provide legal advice and support on structuring, negotiating, and executing complex securitisation transactions with major banks, junior funders, and development finance institutions.
• Provide legal advice on structuring, negotiating, executing, and managing on-balance sheet secured corporate debt facilities.
• Monitor the terms of existing facilities, including amendments, restructures, and waivers, on an ongoing basis.
• Provide legal advice and support on the Irish-listed bond program, which includes ongoing disclosure and reporting issues.
• Oversee, manage, and appoint legal counsel for all finance transactions in the UK, US, SA, and internationally, as well as manage external legal fees.
• Conduct due diligence, negotiate deals, buy assets or shares, and execute M&A transactions when they arise.
• Ensure internal policies and procedures are known, upheld, and adhered to.
• Manage legal, regulatory, and reputational risk, and work with the Head of Compliance to ensure compliance with funding activities and FCA rules in the UK, as well as any other relevant global jurisdictions.
• Draft and review preliminary pre-transaction documentation, such as funding presentations, non-disclosure agreements, risk warnings, and DISCLAIMERS.

• South African or English-qualified lawyer.

• A minimum of five years of post-qualification legal experience at a law firm, a financial institution's finance team, or a corporate finance team, preferably in a lending institution.
• Experience at a senior level in banking and finance law.
• Experience managing large, multi-party finance transactions and keeping them on track by delivering against tight timelines.
• Being able to apply a sound knowledge of the law in a way that is commercial, innovative and solution-oriented.
• Experience in a broad range of capital-raising activities and structures, including blended finance and finance from family offices, individuals, and large financial institutions.

• Strong communication skills.
• Strong team player with the ability to establish a high degree of credibility and earn trust at all levels of the business.
• Ability to apply a sound knowledge of the law in a way that is innovative, commercial, and solution-orientated.
• Ability to work hard under stressful conditions to bring transactions to completion against tight deadlines.
• Proactive, excellent at problem-solving, and shows initiative to overcome obstacles and tackle challenges that constantly arise in a growing, innovative business.
• An interest in global financial markets and an active following of financial trends and innovation is very helpful.

• Confident and independent with the ability to take responsibility for decisions within broader capital markets, as well as finance and legal functions.
• Quick-thinking and commercially aware.
• Flexible, resilient, and energetic.
• Professional and discreet.

• Bringing transactions through to completion and delivering outcomes against tight deadlines