Blackbird is looking to hire a Legal Counsel, specialising in private funds, to ensure we provide a world-class experience to Blackbird, our investors and portfolio companies.

About the Role

At Blackbird our mission is to be a generational owner of the most ambitious tech companies founded by Aussies and Kiwis.  To match this ambition, as we grow we are constantly striving to ensure that we are a transparent, efficient, well governed and fully compliant financial services organisation.

Reporting to Justine, our General Counsel and working within our broader Operations team, we are looking for an experienced funds lawyer to support all of the various facets of our fundraisings, fund structuring, fund governance/maintenance and other special projects. The successful candidate in this role will be someone who wants to use their legal talents in an open minded and autonomous environment where no day is ever the same, to deliver a smooth, delightful experience for our investors.

Here is a brief overview of the type of work the role will encompass (noting that we aren’t looking for an expert in every single one of these aspects):

• Fund formation and beyond – working closely with external counsel and local and global institutional investors on fund structuring, fund marketing, fund diligence, drafting and negotiating partnership deeds/trust deeds, side letters and other ancillary documents, ESVCLP registration and ongoing ESVCLP compliance, fund financing facilities and a working knowledge of tax as it relates to our funds;

• Fund governance and maintenance - assisting with all aspects of our ongoing fund governance and fund maintenance requirements including investor transfers of interest and fund document amendments;

• Blackbird’s structure - assisting with various legal and tax aspects of Blackbird’s corporate structure, including its management company and carried interest arrangements;

• General corporate/regulatory - assisting as required with various general corporate/ commercial contracts (eg; employment agreements, lease agreements, 3rd party supplier agreements), trade mark matters and certain regulatory matters relating to our AFSL, AML, FATCA/CRS, FIRB and Privacy Act compliance, including our internal policies on same;

• “Operationalising” our approach - ensuring every new requirement or obligation is built into our existing operational processes so that we can continue to scale;

• Investments & transactions – assisting as required on the legal side of investments and disposals including assisting with legal due diligence and the review of financing documents such as term sheets, shareholder agreements, share purchase agreements and convertible debt instruments, predominantly in Australia, New Zealand and the US, usually in conjunction with external legal counsel as well as considering tax consequences.

Position Requirements

Your background is less important than the key skills, which include:

• Law degree and 4+ years’ of legal practice in a corporate/funds management and/or financial services legal role including experience having primary carriage of matters (in-house or in private practice);

• Familiarity with private equity/venture capital fund documents and potentially the ESVCLP regime;

• Strong verbal and written communication skills, great at communicating both internally and externally and a hospitality mindset in dealing with all stakeholders;

• Business/commercial judgment - spotting the key issues that matter and understanding how to come up with practical solutions;

• Practical, creative and solution oriented, for example when it comes to translating fund documents/side letters into workable operational systems, processes and controls;

• Mentoring and teaching junior team members;

• HANDS ON! Happy to jump in and get into the weeds of a task, no matter how big or small.

Working at Blackbird

We’re looking for someone who is as passionate as us about building an iconic investment business. You must have a high ownership mentality and the ability to take responsibility for goals and outcomes.

This is a full time role to be based in our Sydney or Melbourne office.

We believe that building a diverse and inclusive team is critical to Blackbird’s success. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national origin, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, or marital, veteran, or disability status. We use Applied to ensure every applicant gets an equal chance of success.

Our July 2021 Culture Amp engagement score was 96.

We offer:

• Flexible working: Whether it’s working from home or leaving early to pick up the kids from daycare or school.

• Generous parental leave: We know family comes first and we are proud to offer generous parental leave — 16 weeks for primary carer and 6 weeks for a secondary carer, subject to a 12 month minimum tenure. This includes a continuation of super payments while on unpaid parental leave and a supportive return-to-work policy.

• Learning & Development: Our team is hungry to continuously learn and you’ll receive a budget to spend on whatever you’d like to learn — from coding courses to meditation.

• Unplugged weekends: We work hard without letting work get in the way of life. We’ve implemented no Slack or emails on weekends, so you can switch off.

• Sharing in Blackbird’s success: We think it is important to share successes with the whole team. All Blackbird employees receive carry in our funds and are the equivalent of owners in the management company.

Blackbird is a Pledge 1% member — we pledge 1% of our time, equity and profits to help not-for-profit causes in our community. The Blackbird Foundation has been set up explicitly to partner with organisations that believe in the potential of young people, and the importance of creativity.

About Blackbird

Blackbird is a venture capital fund based in Australia and New Zealand. We invest in every type of technology from software to space, unified by the biggest of ambitions. We invest in wild hearts with the wildest of ideas, right at the beginning. As a result, we have a unique working culture, captured in our Mission & Values and our Operating Principles.

We have more than a billion dollars under management and a portfolio of over 80 companies including some of the most successful Australian and Kiwi startups such as Canva, Zoox, SafetyCulture, Ask Nicely, Halter and Partly.

We’ve written a lot about what we love at Blackbird, so check out our blog if you want some more information about us. In particular, you should read about our mission and values, our operating principles, our master plan, and what we look for in founders.