Commercial Legal Manager at Guinness Nigeria Plc

Ref No: JR1024742
Location: Ikeja, Lagos
Job Type: Full time
Worker Type: Regular

Job Description

• The Commercial Legal Manager will have the primary responsibility of managing external legal counsel, proactively manage claims and litigation and intellectual property and antitrust issues.
• In addition, the Commercial Legal Manager will provide legal advisory services to the whole spectrum of the business including procurement, supply, distribution, agency, production, marketing, logistics, finance and commercial and employment matters.
• S/he will manage the legal aspects of compliance, innovation, product liability, counterfeit products and compliance with the Diageo Marketing Code review of advertising and promotions.

Purpose of Role

• Enable Guinness Nigeria achieve its business objectives in a legally compliant way.
• Preserve value (financial and reputational) by minimising the risk of value leakage and contract management while maintaining compliance with laws and Diageo’s Code of Business Conduct.
• Ensure adequate focus to maximise business objectives and performance through contract management.

Top Accountabilities

• As a commercial lawyer in line with world class in house legal function, will give increased focus on the commercial business and legal support to ensure that the business has good and solid relationships with all external stakeholders including but not limited to customers, suppliers, distributors and agents. This will include negotiation and finalisation of all agreements, providing advice on consumer, competition, labour and all other commercial law. In addition, there will be a requirement to ensure that strategic implementation is executed with excellence.
• Ensure appropriate contracts are in place for all business relationships in line with the contracts management guidelines and the Statement of Authority and manage the end to end contract management system.
• Act as business partner to the specific functions assigned and provide primary legal counselling for all processes and operations; and an ability to support the company secretarial responsibilities of a large multinational quoted company with attendant regulatory, compliance and stakeholder management obligations.
• Drive and institute legal, practical and workable solutions to disputes while upholding the company’s legal position and reputation consistent with values and ethical compass.
• Ensure awareness and support compliance across the business to all company policies on Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Bribery & Corruption, Data Privacy, Anti-Competition.

Qualifications and Experience Required

• Not less than eight (8) years post-qualification experience as a practising lawyer in a reputable commercial law firm or in the in-house legal department of a corporate entity (or equivalent).
• Strong commercial law background especially in the negotiation and documentation of commercial contracts relevant to the company’s business and giving advice in relation to marketing, sales and promotion activities.
• Confident, relaxed and robust personality with excellent inter-personal, written and verbal communication skills.
• Sound commercial lawyer with exceptional analytical, drafting and negotiating skills.
• Well organised and detail oriented, working well to deadlines and comfortable working on his/her own matters or as part of a larger team on a project.
• Company Secretarial knowledge with strong organisational and stakeholder management skills.