Associate Director, Corporate Commercial at IHS Towers

Job Purpose

Provide top-notch advisory on drafting, legality, structuring, fiscal efficiency and compliance of contractual arrangements, ensuring that all practices, policies, and business activities fall within the bounds of the company’s legal posture.

Key Roles & Responsibilities

• Advise management and team members on practices in the areas of commercial and business law; research applicable laws; and provide recommendations on the legal consequences of business initiatives.
• Provide technical leadership/ advice in the formulation and development of Legal and Regulatory frameworks and ensure compliance of operations with IHS policies and procedures.
• Partner with the IHS Nigeria leadership team to drive awareness on expected behaviours and impact of non-compliance on bottom-line results and company image/ reputation.
• Network and build solid relations with internal units and relevant third parties (i.e. technical and finance partners, business consultants, etc.) while also developing close working relationships with relevant information sources to provide an integrated service.
• Conduct due diligence and structuring of deals relating to commercial transactions, effectively managing transitions/ transformational issues and risks between entities and external parties.
• Provide legal advice and effect best practice in relation to company contracts with Tier 1 customers and big 6 vendors, as well as gather/ evaluate relevant facts on decisions and highlight attendant risks.
• Participate in high level contract negotiations with Tier 1 customers and big 6 vendors, to reduce cost and drive IHS value creation and philosophy
• Carry out complex legal assignments requiring substantive legal knowledge in diverse practice areas with emphasis in corporate and commercial law.
• Regularly monitor and review resources of the department, ensuring they are allocated and utilized in a cost effective and financially disciplined manner and in line with budget provision. 
• Drive knowledge management relating to the business and best practice within the unit.
• Administer controls to ensure compliance with contractual obligations and requirements
• Conduct proactive prevention of disputes that may result in cost/ loss for the company
• Continuously seek professional self-development to sharpen skills and capabilities in a versatile and evolving digital landscape.
• Coach and mentor the members of the Corporate Commercial team to ensure understanding of shared objectives and awareness of all related job requirements and accountabilities, while leveraging existing HR resources to facilitate career growth/ development.
• Extract value by focusing on optimizing processes within the team in line with the value creation philosophy, including individual contributions and recommendations to improve existing business projects/ initiatives.
• Drive innovation by identifying and taking advantage of new business opportunities, e.g. by stimulating and encouraging new business opportunities, process innovation, business model innovation etc.
• Perform other tasks and duties as assigned by the Director, Legal.

Functional:

• Customer Industry Knowledge
• Legal Professional Skills
• Commercial Awareness
• Anti-Bribery/ Corruption/ KYC Regulations
• Regulatory, Compliance & Governance
• Legal Drafting
• Contract Management
• IT Appreciation & Application
• Corporate Performance Management
• Problem Solving
• Business Communication
• Stakeholder Management
• Attention to Detail

Behavioural:

• Collaboration & Teamwork
• Relationship Building

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Law (i.e LLB and BL). Advanced Specialist Master’s and/ or MBA will be an asset.
• +15 years post-call experience, including working in a large multinational corporation and most recent 5 years in a senior management position.
• Demonstrable ability to carry out sophisticated legal analysis and exercise business acumen and superior judgement.
• Proven history of planning and executing numerous complex projects under pressure.
• Background in civil/ commercial litigation will be an added advantage.
• Good knowledge and understanding of telecoms laws and issues in Nigeria.