Head of Legal at Cellulant

JOB DESCRIPTION: 

The Head of Legal is a senior management and leadership role at Cellulant that will play a pivotal part in our senior management team. This position is instrumental in bolstering a culture of strict compliance, by continuously updating our Risk Compliance Officer (GCRCO), executive board, and other management tiers on all relevant existing and emerging legislation and regulations, ensuring their relevance and applicability to Cellulant.

A significant facet of this role encompasses supervising legal operations within Cellulant. This will involve delegating duties to a proficient team of legal experts and other personnel to assure adherence to laws and regulations in daily operations. As the Head of Legal, you will serve as the key advisor to our board of directors, CEO, and Cellulant's executive team on all legal concerns. Your expert advice will shape a comprehensive and efficient legal framework, thereby enabling Cellulant to conduct business seamlessly and lawfully in all markets in which we operate.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES:

The role holder would be required to: 

• Provide expert advice on various laws, regulations, and standards applicable in different jurisdictions, including international directives impacting the business.
• Assist in interpreting laws and regulations to facilitate the design of compliant business strategies.
• Implement crucial legal and compliance processes, including the drafting, negotiation, and review of commercial and other agreements.
• Prepare and safeguard the business interests in commercial contracts, courts of law, and other dispute resolution platforms when necessary.
• Educate Cellulant's staff and leadership on legal implications, regulatory requirements, and the potential risks of non-compliance.
• Help the business comprehend risks and opportunities presented by new and forthcoming laws and regulations.
• Supervise the delivery of legal services and resources to achieve corporate objectives, strategies, and priorities.
• Maintain effective corporate relations with relevant local, state, federal, regional, and international bodies, ensuring Cellulant remains current with the ever-changing regulatory landscape.
• Oversee Group Board Governance operations, including board meetings and Annual General Meetings (AGMs).
• Provide secretarial services for Executive Committee meetings as scheduled.
• Provide ad-hoc legal advice to the business on diverse matters, such as employment issues.
• Supervise the management of relations with external legal counsel and monitor all ongoing cases and disputes before courts and tribunals.
• Manage budgetary considerations for the Legal team.
• Oversee the Legal function ensuring a smooth operation.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE:

Must have experience:

• A substantial amount of legal and leadership experience with a minimum of ten years of experience practising law with five of those years spent in a management or leadership role
•  Ability to identify and analyse complex issues/problems in management areas, recommend and implement solutions
• Ability to manage office functions economically and efficiently
• Good interpersonal relations and communications.
• Excellent Communication Skills
• Business experience is an added advantage
• Displays excellent supervisory and leadership skills
• Can evaluate and weigh all legal aspects and/or situations, and provide sound solutions to protect the business's legal rights
•  Administration of the corporate secretariat
•   Corporate governance, risk and control
•  Managing stakeholder relations
•  Crisis management
• Ethics and compliance

Experience that will count in your favour:

• Experience working in a FinTech, insurance or financial institution
• Strong business acumen
• Cross border Africa experience and having worked in both the Francophile and Anglophile cultures and markets will be a bonus

Qualification

• Possess a bachelor’s degree with at least 10-12 years of relevant work experience. 
• Must be a practising lawyer.

Skills:

• Broad legal knowledge and expertise
• Leadership and management skills
• Business/Commercial acumen
• The ability to evaluate options and provide sound practical solutions
• Awareness of market forces, politics and economics and their relation to changing laws and regulations
• The ability to provide practical commercial legal advice to stakeholders and non-legal personnel
• Strong communication skills with the ability to liaise with those at all levels
• Ability to delegate legal tasks to team members and the confidence to provide senior management with legal recommendations
• Public speaking skills and the ability to present and defend legal argument
• The ability to manage risk effectively
• Negotiation skills
• An integral and discretionary approach

Personal Attributes:

• Integrity
• Good Judgement
• Fluency in English (written and spoken) and French at business level, will be an added advantage 
• The ability to listen, learn and be open-minded
• Passionate about well-done teamwork 
• Able to influence
• Honest and responsible
• Advanced sense of leadership and team spirit
• Positive interpersonal relationships