Operations & Litigation Counsel at British American Tobacco

Job Number: 31694
Location: Lagos, Nigeria (frequent weekly/monthly trips to Ibadan required)
Reports to: Head of Legal, West & Central Africa
Reporting Level: Senior Level
Geographic Scope: Nigeria
Function: Legal

Role Positioning And Objectives

• This role is part of Legal & External Affairs function.
• The role is responsible for providing legal and advisory support to all the core functions at the Factory; Manufacturing, Engineering, Finance, HR, IDT, EHS, Quality, R&R, Procurement, and Supply Chain & Logistics.
• In addition, we are looking for someone who leads and superintends over the Litigation portfolio of the Company, collaborates closely with and handles all external counsel providing legal representation and collaborates with all partners on driving the objectives of litigation avoidance and litigation mitigation measures.

What You Will Be Accountable For

• Ensure the provision of OTIF (On Time in Full) legal support to drive a ‘zero litigation against the Company’ strategy
• Manage external Litigation counsel
• Update and manage the Litigation tracker
• Review Litigation Processes
• Manage and engage BAT witnesses and partners in preparation for trial
• Work towards improvement in the control environment (ABAC, SoBC, Federal and State Legislations and Company Policies) in order to mitigate litigation risks.
• Draft, negotiate and review contractual documentation for all functions within Operations and develop where applicable standard formats, to ensure that the Company’s interests are protected through legal, valid, binding and enforceable contractual Agreements.
• Provide legal advice on all matters
• Ensure contracts are renewed as and when necessary and terminated as applicable.
• Provide active support to the Operations Human Resources Dept on all pre, during and post-employment matters including industrial relations
• Review all demand notices from the Federal, State and Local Governments and agencies and provide appropriate advice and mentorship to the Company.
• Effective management of BAT’s relationships with Third Party Vendors and Government Authorities and Agencies
• Ensure Business Operating Procedures are rigorously adhered to and cost management drivers are implemented.
• Ability to identify and engage internal and external partners to build awareness of ‘a zero-litigation strategy’

Essential Experience, Skills And Knowledge
A lawyer with:

• Professional legal qualifications and practical commercial, business and legal experience of not less than 10 (ten) years.
• Ability to formulate, advise on and implement legal strategy within a multinational business context
• Working knowledge of commercial law, company law and company secretarial management, finance, tax, employment law
• Dispute resolution skills
• Ability to work well as a member of a multi-disciplinary team.
• Ability to manage and direct external litigation counsel and BAT’s witnesses.
• Experience in collaborating with government and regulatory authorities
• Ability to apply knowledge of legal drafting to produce standard business critical agreements and adapt creatively where necessary, and proactively communicate legal concepts to business colleagues in clear, simple terms.
• Experience in dealing with a wide range