Legal Officer (Trainee Program) at The Management Solutions for Africa (MS4A)

Job Description

• MS4A has a ‘Legal Officer Trainee Program ’where we offer job training for talented/award-winning lawyers, who have no experience working as a lawyer for an NGO and would like to gain experience working and learning about legal issues for NGOs. Also, to understand practical applications of laws for international donor-funded projects: e.g., USAID, US CDC & EU.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

• S/he will provide in-house legal advisory services; compliance and risk mitigation support services through the assessment and development of effective corporate/legal structure.
  S/he will serve as a Liaison between MS4A Management and the MS4A Board of Directors.
• S/he will be responsible for all communications and correspondences between MS4A and the Board of Directors as well as carry out such tasks as may be assigned by the MS4A Board of Directors.
• S/he will manage MS4A’s Litigation Portfolio and liaise with external solicitors to defend the interests of MS4A.
• S/he will provide legal advisory services to MS4A Management and develop legal strategies to defend the interests of MS4A.
• S/he will conduct legal risk analyses and evaluations of MS4A activities, documentation, and commitments and suggest risk mitigation strategies.
• S/he will be accountable for taking day-to-day legal responsibilities and providing legal advice that includes all the aspects of the analysis, investigation, and drafting process.
• S/he will be engaged in helping to analyze and collect evidence and schedule staff hearings.
• S/he will conduct legal analysis and research on any legal matters of the company.
• S/he will provide advice on different legal issues and assist in drafting legal opinions, memoranda, and other related documents.
• S/he will be actively involved in preparing and drafting different acts and legal submissions and drafting authoritative legal opinions as well.
• S/he will conduct legal research by utilizing various resources and selecting the relevant material to analyze the legal information.
• S/he will assist in reviewing the legal material and any other relevant documents and to identify the most important issues that need to be sorted out on a priority basis
• S/he will be responsible for providing high-quality advice to the company or the client on major legal issues and problems.
• S/he will provide much-needed legal assistance while dealing with some particular legal tasks, litigations, contracts, and dispute resolution and guide the company in taking an appropriate decision.
• S/he will advise whether all the proceedings of the company are in compliance with the requirements of the legislation.
• S/he will supervise, analyzes, and researches the implication of laws, legislation, etc., that may affect the organization.
• S/he will advise the organization so that there is minimum legal exposure and liability.
• S/he must maintain confidentiality.
• S/he will perform all other duties as assigned by the supervisor.

Qualifications

• Graduate with a Bachelor's Degree in Law (L.LB and B.L)
• Must possess a second-class upper (2.1) /Upper credit or above
• Additional professional certifications or postgraduate qualification is an added advantage

Requirements:

• A Second Class Upper (2.1) and above or Upper credit in a law degree?
• Are you currently working in a local or international law firm?
• Are you a lawyer that has received awards for best staff or student?
• Do you have an interest in transferring from working in a private sector law firm to the NGO Sector, where you will gain experience working with United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/US Center for Disease Control-funded projects?

Experience:

• 1-2 years’ working experience in a private law firm or in the field of law.
• Very strong report-writing skills.
• Strong computer skills.
• Ability to work long hours when needed.
• Strong analytical and research skills.
• Effective interpersonal and communication skills.
• Technology suave i.e. ability to use social media handles, internet send email etc.

Remuneration
The benefits of the trainee position are:

• N100, 000 monthly
• After successful performance evaluation, trainees are eligible to apply for full-time positions in MS4A subject to vacancies and availability of funds.
• Opportunity for in-house on job certificated training on procurement for NGOs, Statutory compliance for NGOs, and Legal matters for NGOs.
• A certificate of completion.