Blackbird is looking to hire a General Counsel to provide a world-class investment experience to our portfolio companies and investors.

About Blackbird

Blackbird is a venture capital firm whose mission is to supercharge Australia’s most ambitious founders. We do this by raising venture capital funds, investing into the best startup companies and helping them succeed. We have half a billion dollars under management and a portfolio of over 60 companies including some of the most successful Australian startups such as Canva, Zoox, SafetyCulture and Culture Amp.

We are inspired by investment firms such as Berkshire Hathaway and Bridgewater Associates. We want to build a business that lasts for decades and produces excellent returns for our investors. We will do that by supporting Australia’s most talented founders to build category-defining technology companies.

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

About the Role

This role oversees all the legal aspects of our funds and the investments we make into startups. Reporting to the Head of Operations, we are looking for someone who wants to use their legal talents to deliver a smooth, delightful experience for founders and investors plus help to ensure that Blackbird is a highly efficient, fully-compliant financial services organisation.

Blackbird is all about helping the best Australian founders build large iconic businesses, but we often invest at the very beginning of their life. So a strong empathy with startup founders and an ability to work through the mess of their early stages is a very important aspect of this role.

Here is a brief overview of some examples of work:

• Investments & transactions – primary responsibility for running the legal side of investments and disposals including assisting with legal review of financing documents such as term sheets, shareholder agreements, share purchase agreements and convertible debt instruments, both in Australia, New Zealand, the US and other countries around the world, usually in conjunction with external legal counsel as well as considering tax consequences;

• Fund formation and beyond – working closely with external legal counsel and local and global institutional investors on fund structuring, negotiating and drafting partnership and trust deeds, side letters, advice in relation to and review of investment subscriptions including AML/CTF compliance, ESVCLP registration and compliance on an ongoing basis and working with tax advisors to ensure tax compliance; and

• Compliance and regulation - advice in relation to AFSL requirements, reviewing and advising on internal policies, assisting with company secretarial requirements for fund entities, assisting with compliance training and keeping abreast of changing regulation relevant to funds management businesses.

Position Requirements

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

• Law degree and 5+ years’ of legal practice in a corporate and/or financial services legal role including experience having primary carriage of matters (in-house or in private practice);

• Familiarity with startups and venture capital financing documents.

• Familiarity with AFSL law;

• Familiarity with tax law;

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

• Being extremely detail-oriented; and

• Calm under pressure and a great multi-tasker.

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.

Working at Blackbird

This is an important role at Blackbird, so we’re offering an excellent salary and participation in the carry of our funds.

We believe that diversity is critical to Blackbird’s success. We will 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.

We are pleased to offer:

• flexible work arrangements

• paid parental leave - 16 weeks for primary carer and 4 weeks for a secondary carer, subject to a 12 month minimum tenure.

• continuation of super payments while on unpaid parental leave

• an additional 5 days’ parental/personal leave per year

• a supportive return-to-work policy

• annual budget for your learning & self-development

Blackbird is a Pledge 1% member — we pledge 1% of our time, equity and profits to help not-for-profit causes in our community, with a focus on greater gender diversity in STEM education.

This role is full time, based in Surry Hills, Sydney, with some flexibility to work from home.