Senior Legal Advisor

SUMMARY:
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POSITION INFO:

The role shall be responsible for rendering inhouse legal services relating to:

• project finance (i.e. drafting, review, negotiations and re-negotiations of project finance),
• commercial and corporate finance transactions for the corporation and its subsidiaries;
• providing legal advice relating to designated area of work to mitigate the legal risks that the corporation and its subsidiaries may be exposed to in their daily activities;
• providing legal services relating to drafting, custody and perfection of securities for loans, and
• legal support for collection of outstanding loans; and provision of legal services support to the Company.

KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The Key Performance Areas will encompass:

Strategic Planning and Governance

• Provide input to the organisational strategy and Corporate Plan, as well as, reviewing organisational activities and recommend corrective actions if necessary.
• Contribute to corporate strategy by identifying data that can be used to support, influence and leverage results.
• Enhance and implement treasury systems, processes, procedures, tools, and control systems.
• Implement controls within the organisation which minimize potential risk to stakeholders.
• Oversee that monthly, quarterly, and annual reports are prepared accurately, maintained, and submitted timeously to all stakeholders.
• Participate in management forums within Company, contributing expertise to enable sound decision making.
• Facilitate inter-departmental communication through appropriate structures and systems.
• Develop and manage relationships with all internal and external stakeholders.

Provision of Legal Support and Opinion to Business Units and Subsidiaries

• Provide strategic support to Company business units and subsidiaries on any legal related issues/matters to reach an amicable solution.
• Provide legal advice and draft legal opinions / legal documents to ensure that business units operate within the legal framework.
• Conduct factual problem and dispute analysis through consultations.
• Assess contingency and reliability of available evidence and burden of proof.
• Conduct legal research on legal aspects of disputes or problem areas and provide legal opinion where necessary.
• Prepare memoranda to external attorneys and counsel as and when required.
• Analyse costs of litigation matters and report on the overall expenditure.
• Track progress of implementation of outcomes of legal opinions analyse costs of litigation matters and report on the overall expenditure.

Legal Risk Mitigation

• Provide legal support by establishing, communicating and facilitating the use of appropriate risk management methodologies, tools and techniques to mitigate risk.
• Support business units and subsidiaries in establishing, maintaining and continuously improving risk management capabilities.
• Conduct risk analysis and advise Line Management of direct and indirect risks of the impact involved for decision making.
• Provide legal guidance and proactively identify any associated legal risks that business units may encounter.

Perfection of securities for loans recoveries

• Develop frameworks and techniques to deal with the perfection of securities for loans recoveries as they have direct effect on economic growth and business development.
• Analyse major commercial proposals in development finance and property development.

Provision of legal support to Company.

• Prepare and submit monthly reports to the attention of debt collections unit.
• Develop a business unit plan to provide guidance and direction of the operations of debt collection unit.

Stakeholder Management

• Manage relationships with different stakeholders, such as attorneys, counsel, business units, Company tenants and clients.
• Ad hoc liaison and meetings with Company tenants, prospective tenants, institutional tenants and organised business structures.
• Liaison and hold meetings with various stakeholders, as well as, managing relations with property developers and funders.
• Liaison and hold meetings with institutional clients and organised business structures to articulate Company's strategic objectives.
• Network with key stakeholders, business formations, and other development bodies.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor's Degree in the legal field, e.g. LLB/B. Com Law and admission as a practicing Attorney.
• Minimum of 8 years legal practice or advisory experience in a professional service environment, 5 years of which should be post admission as an attorney or advocate with relevant work experience at middle management or senior consultant level. Knowledge of Corporate Law and/or Legal Recoveries is essential.