Senior Legal Attorney I at Oando

JOB SUMMARY

• The Senior Legal Attorney I works within the Legal Services department reporting to the Legal Advisor to provide day-to-day legal services support and advice to Oando and its local & international subsidiaries on various strategic legal transactions and corporate projects/assignments.
• The Senior Legal Attorney I shall also provide day-to-day support on the finance aspects of various transactions, on M&A transactions involving Oando. The incumbent is responsible for providing comprehensive, real time and practical legal support to the various units within Oando in a bid to achieving effective and efficient management of the legal needs of each transaction/assignment handled. This will include without limitation, the preparation and drafting and or review of contracts, legal opinions, dispute resolution management etc.
• The Senior Legal Attorney I will also undertake legal transactions to comply with the overall philosophy, strategy and policies of the Oando Group, and local and international laws and regulations and partner agreements.

SPECIFIC DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Execute work /implement best practices for legal services on assigned transactions.
• Provide high quality and comprehensive legal advice, prepare and review legal opinions and agreements as may be requested by users from time to time.
• Participate in commercial negotiations on transactions involving Oando and its subsidiaries and draft, review and summarize key provisions in respect of oil and gas /commercial agreements and obtain necessary internal approvals
• Attend and participate in asset related meetings including without limitation management and operating committee meetings and provide detailed reports of discussions to management.
• Provide comprehensive legal advice to employees on the legal implications of proposed policies, decisions and actions (in areas including, but not limited to oil and gas, mergers and acquisitions, employment law, contracts, litigation, leases, regulatory compliance and intellectual property matters).
• Provide updates on and interpretation/application of new laws/regulations to the various Oando internal teams/departments and make recommendations to management with respect to necessary action required.
• Liaise with the finance, corporate finance, treasury departments, external solicitors and external financial advisors on ongoing Finance or M&A transactions.
• Liaise with the governance department on counter party background checks, resolutions, corporate documents and execution of agreements.
• Liaise with the tax department on tax compliance requirements and tax implications of transactions.
• Provide dispute resolution management and advisory services to Oando and its subsidiaries and work with Legal Advisor in handling Oando’s litigation and other dispute resolution matters, as may be required from time-to-time
• Liaise with external solicitors and obtains regular updates on ongoing litigation and dispute resolution matters.
• Draft and review complex letters, supervise the Legal Attorney in maintaining files and archives of legal documents and case folders.
• Supervise the maintenance of electronic and paper databases kept by the legal department.
• Selection for hiring, training and supervising interns.

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

• Process turnaround and general performance in accordance with terms of Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
• Level of adherence to mandatory reporting requirements (quality of reporting & completion deadlines)
• Availability of up–to-date and comprehensive information on each legal document affecting the companies
• Ease of access to company business, transaction and legal records
• Success rate in dispute resolution processes handled for the Company
• Quality and effectiveness of day-to-day administrative support provided
• Promptness/timeliness of service delivery
• Customer satisfaction levels
• Quality and comprehensiveness of legal information/data
• Error rates in transactions processed, opinions drafted and other legal documents

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

• A good first degree in Law (minimum of second-class lower division)
• Minimum of 6 years legal work experience either from the oil and gas and general law practice of a reputable law firm or within the Legal Department of a reputable and structured oil and gas company or both.
• Significant experience in energy and natural resources, mergers and acquisitions, commercial law and finance is required
• Some experience in capital markets transactions and litigation would be an added advantage
• Strong customer service orientation and interface skills
• Ability to perform basic/general legal analysis
• Strong & effective business communication (verbal and writing skills)
• Ability to plan and execute complex assignments under pressure
• Demonstrated business acumen and superior judgment

CORE COMPETENCIES

• Oil & Gas Industry dynamics
• Knowledge of the local, national and international laws and regulations pertaining to the various industries in which the Group’s businesses operate
• Negotiation and contract management
• Dispute resolution strategy and management
• Legal documentation management
• Basic Accounting
• Business acumen and entrepreneurial skills
• Change management
• Performance management
• Customer relationship Management
• Project management
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Networking
• Detailed knowledge of Oando’s business
• Analytical and problem-solving skills
• Ability to determine the appropriate matters to escalate
• Organizing, planning and prioritizing
• Networking
• Budget preparation, monitoring and implementation
• Conversant with enterprise reporting platform systems (such as Oracle)