Senior Associate Counsel - SSA at Visa Incorporated

The Visa CEMEA Legal team manages Visa's legal affairs in the CEMEA region. Our team provides advice and services to ensure business goals are successfully met and that Visa's brand and reputation are protected while minimizing legal liability and regulatory risks. Our vision entails each legal professional living the guiding principles to be a proactive partner who never loses sight of his/her responsibility to protect the company.

What a Sr. Associate Counsel in Legal does at Visa:

The position is for a seasoned business/commercial attorney to join Visa's growing legal team in CEMEA region to primarily support Visa's businesses in our Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) sub-region, including support operations of the local switching entity in Nigeria as company secretary and routine Legal business and contracts inquires for Visa transactions in West Africa and West Central Africa.

The position will report to Visa attorney who is leading Legal function in the SSA region. The position will provide legal advice within Visa’s CEMEA region with particular focus on supporting other members of legal team in SSA region, to enable the organisation to operate within applicable legal and regulatory parameters. The applicant should ideally have experience in, regulatory engagement, company secretarial, commercial business law, banking and finance law and corporate law and be able to draft contracts robustly and to a high standard. The applicant must have solid technical legal skills with good commercial/legal risk judgment, and be able to juggle multiple priorities in a fast paced and challenging, but rewarding, environment.

PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBILITIES/KEY RESULTS AREA

• Draft, negotiate, and review a broad range of commercial contracts and other legally binding documents. This also includes development of templates/standard documents or adapting Visa U.S. and CEMEA Hub documents to local requirements;
• Provide counseling and advice to Business teams regarding deal structures, contracts interpretations and common approaches;
• Advise on arrangements with partners for product/solution development initiatives and other arrangements including drafting and negotiating relevant agreements;
• Advise teams in Visa CEMEA, primarily in SSA region about applicable legal and regulatory requirements;
• Working with the corporate team and company secretarial team to ensure compliance with code of corporate governance and all other applicable regulations
• Where required, coordinate and supervise outside counsels for timeliness, cost-effectiveness, and excellence of service and work product;
• Support Visa subsidiaries within the region with respect to corporate and regulatory filings; and advising on requirements for new entities or changes to existing entities;
• Monitor regulatory developments and advise on impact thereof on the business;
• Providing legal advice to local HR teams on policy issues and employee relations;
• Some travel may be required;
• Role to be located in Visa’s office in Lagos, Nigeria.

Qualifications

• Law degree and qualification which allows for in house practice in the applicable jurisdiction
• Minimum 6 years PQE with reputable law firm or a multinational organization
• Ability to work cross-functionally within the organization to implement projects
• Strong communication skills
• Excellent written and verbal English; French would be advantageous (but not essential).
• Transactional background with significant experience drafting and negotiating a wide array of commercial agreements
• Corporate law and regulatory experience
• Excellent organisation skills
• Experience working in a US/multinational/ highly matrix organisation is preferred
• Have a global mindset and the ability to work well in a dynamic and deadline-oriented environment
• Must be able to work independently and interface with different level stakeholders with little or no supervision, but also be a good team player
• Excellent legal analytical skills with the ability to integrate legal advice and business knowledge, while providing balanced advice regarding risks and benefits