Counsel

Job Family Group:

Legal Group

Job Description:

bp’s Caspian, Central Asia and Türkiye (CCAT) region encompasses our oil and gas businesses in Azerbaijan, Türkiye and Uzbekistan and lies at the very heart of our resilient hydrocarbons strategy.  We first entered Azerbaijan in 1992 and since then, in partnership with the Government of Azerbaijan and our co-venturers, we have invested over $87bn to develop world class projects.  These include Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) and Shah Deniz, where we are the operator.  In addition, we invested in the development of the Southern Gas Corridor, a network of three pipelines covering over 3,500km and supplying hydrocarbons to Azerbaijan, Georgia, Türkiye and southern Europe. Exploration continues and the region has an excellent hopper of oil and gas growth opportunities. 

As Counsel – CCAT, the successful candidate will be part of the CCAT legal team, working to support and enable bp’s CCAT business.  The Counsel will be responsible for providing day to day legal advice and counsel to business colleagues on various legal issues and risks.  As such, the Counsel will be an important individual contributor, reporting to Managing Counsel for the CCAT business.

Note that the role is open for Azerbaijani nationals only. 

Key Accountabilities:

• Provide expert legal advice and support to the CCAT business on a wide range of corporate, commercial, and operational matters relevant to bp's activities

• Draft, review, and negotiate various legal documents, including contracts, agreements, and policies, ensuring compliance with relevant laws and internal guidelines

• Identify, assess, and mitigate legal risks across business operations, developing proactive strategies to ensure legal compliance and protect company interests

• Collaborate effectively with internal departments, including business development, finance, and operations, to integrate legal considerations into business strategies and decisions

• Engage with and manage relationships with external stakeholders, including government bodies, regulatory agencies, and external counsel

• Develop and deliver legal training and awareness programs to internal teams, promoting a culture of legal compliance and risk management

• Participate in and lead conflict resolution processes, employing effective negotiation and mediation skills

• Contribute to resource and budget planning for the legal department, ensuring efficient allocation and utilization

• Mentor and coach junior legal professionals, fostering their development and growth within the organization

• Drive continuous improvement through creative and innovative legal solutions and process enhancements.

Essential Education:

• Education and professional legal qualification to practice in the UK, US or Azerbaijan or equivalent jurisdiction

Essential Experience and Job Requirements:

• Significant legal experience in a law firm or reputed in-house environment

• A passion for working collaboratively with a business and understanding the strategy, drivers and key issues to exercise good judgement and tailor pragmatic advice

• Strong technical legal skills including fluent spoken and written English, with excellent drafting skills

• The ability to work independently and cope with a wide and varied workload, effectively prioritize with a focus on materiality, proactively address and progress matters and react to changing business priorities and contexts

• Understanding of the importance of safety and the need to prioritize and promote safety and ability to be proactive in mitigating risks

• The highest professional and ethical standards and good judgment in pragmatically and effectively applying bp practices, processes and controls to maintaining an effective culture of compliance

• Inherent drive to improve, simplify and innovate in the delivery of legal support to the business, manage legal risk and grow and develop both self and others

• Well-developed emotional intelligence, with sensitivity to cultural and people differences, receptive to and energized by a diverse organization, at all times seeking to maintain wellbeing within our organization

• Effective communication skills (applying a good balance of listening and questioning skills) to understand different perspectives and an ability to receive and act on constructive feedback.

Desirable Criteria:

• Experience supporting the delivery of complex projects such as joint ventures, energy infrastructure or technology projects, including the negotiation of agreements subject to English law.

Why join our team! 

We support our people to learn and grow in a diverse and challenging environment. We believe that our team is strengthened by diversity. We are committed to crafting an inclusive environment in which everyone is respected and treated fairly. 

There are many aspects of our employees’ lives that are meaningful, so we offer benefits to enable your work to fit with your life. These benefits can include flexible working options, collaboration spaces in a modern office environment, and many others benefits! We operate a hybrid model with 60% from the office and 40% from home with flexibility as agreed with line management.

Travel Requirement:

Negligible travel should be expected with this role

Relocation Assistance:

This role is not eligible for relocation

Remote Type:

This position is a hybrid of office/remote working

Skills:

Business Acumen, Coaching, Collaboration, Commercial Acumen, Communication, Conflict Management, Creativity and Innovation, Decision Making, Digital Fluency, Influencing, Managing strategic partnerships, Mentoring, Organizational Knowledge, Resource and budget planning, Stakeholder Engagement, Stakeholder Management, Supplier Relationship Management

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Legal Disclaimer:

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, socioeconomic status, neurodiversity/neurocognitive functioning, veteran status or disability status. Individuals with an accessibility need may request an adjustment/accommodation related to bp’s recruiting process (e.g., accessing the job application, completing required assessments, participating in telephone screenings or interviews, etc.). If you would like to request an adjustment/accommodation related to the recruitment process, please contact us.

If you are selected for a position and depending upon your role, your employment may be contingent upon adherence to local policy. This may include pre-placement drug screening, medical review of physical fitness for the role, and background checks.