Africa Legal Counsel at ONE Global Campaign

About The Opportunity

The Legal Counsel is responsible for legal work across all the teams and ONE locations in Africa providing support for the full organisation and giving cross-functional, technical, and practical legal advice.

We're looking for a generalist who has strong knowledge of legal pluralism in Africa as well as specific experience with Nigerian, Senegalese and/or South African law, legal practices and normalities. The successful candidate will be resourceful and know how to find information and legal partners when needed.

This is a newly created position reporting directly to ONE's General Counsel. This position can be based in Abuja, Dakar or Johannesburg.

IN THIS ROLE, YOU WILL

General

• Provide general legal support for the African region, including matters regarding tax-exempt status, contracts, lobbying, intellectual property and operations and administration
• Liaise with ONE's legal counsels and external legal support, to coordinate external legal counsel requests and responses to legal queries
• Conduct legal research and draft memoranda on various topics affecting the organization
• Assist in improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the Legal Department
• Support budget oversight for the African region legal budget
• Track progress against goals for internal projects
• Develop and deliver legal trainings to colleagues and stakeholder groups

Compliance

• Partner with the Legal team in the US and external local counsel on the development of compliance arrangements, policies and procedures 
• Lead on the oversight and implementation of compliance arrangements, including statutory filing, across Africa
• Monitor statutory compliance and legal developments across Africa and advise all stakeholders on changes and needed updates to ONE's policies and practices 
• Work with the legal team in the US, local operations managers, Africa accounting lead and regional HR Lead to ensure statutory compliance with labour laws and regulations in countries ONE operates from, providing all stakeholders with up-to-date information, advice and recommendations
• Counsel local staff on legal and compliance issues 

Contracts

• Draft, review and negotiate all transactional documents based in the African region, including consultancy, vendor, commercial contracts, partnership agreements, and memoranda of understanding
• Organize and maintain contracts, legal documentation and electronic files for the region

Risk Management

• Assess projects and programmes for liability and risk
• Provide oversight for regional organizational insurance policies 

Governance

• In liaison with ONE's General Counsel, manage board governance arrangements for ONE's African entities, in South Africa and Nigeria.
• Act as the lead contact for regional regulatory agencies and external legal advisors
• Support the preparation and submission of annual reports and annual returns

What You Bring To One

Technical Skills & Experience

• Minimum 6 years of experience practicing law in a law firm and/or as in-house counsel
• Minimum 2 years of international legal experience, preferably in a global organization with multiple offices
• Bachelors of Law, or equivalent, from an accredited university
• Broad generalist legal experience of the African continent, including the nuances of legal pluralism
• Strong knowledge of Nigerian, Senegalese and/or South African law including, but not limited to, commercial, corporate, employment and privacy law.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills. Comfortable communicating with colleagues and stakeholders on different levels and with different professional and cultural backgrounds
• Detail-oriented, organized and proven success working independently. Demonstrated experience handling a high volume of assignments in an efficient manner that aligns with strategic goals and acknowledges the business implications of decisions
• Excellent problem solving skills that reflect adaptability and interpersonal skills when faced with unique and changing situations
• Eligibility to work in one of ONE's offices in Africa (Nigeria, Senegal or South Africa).

Competencies

• Analytical thinker who demonstrates accuracy and thoroughness in their work to ensure top quality performance.
• Excellent judgment with a willingness to make decisions and an ability to support and explain those decisions.
• High standard of professionalism and ethics where you inspire trust in others and work with integrity upholding organizational values.
• Self-motivated and takes initiative. You set and achieve challenging goals, persist in the face of obstacles and readily volunteer and seek increased responsibilities.
• Innovative and creative in your work. You display original thinking and meet challenges with resourcefulness and mindset to constantly improve work.
• Team player that balances team and individual responsibilities well and puts success of team above own interests.
• Leadership acumen that inspires and motivates others to perform well.
• Eligibility to work in one of ONE's offices in Africa (Nigeria, Senegal or South Africa).

Language Skills

Fluency in English required. Fluency in French is highly desired.

TRAVEL

Travel up to 10% international and/or domestic

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS/WORK ENVIRONMENT:

Remote work environment at the time of hire. Flexible working options available in the future. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job.