Legal Counsel

Main Purpose: Involving varied legal work, the role is focused on the provision of general legal and contractual support for the Company's Businesses in the Africa region, taking a commercial and pragmatic approach and ensuring effective management of legal risk. Knowledge Skills and Abilities, Key Responsibilities: KEY RESPONSIBILITIES Drafting, reviewing, negotiating and advising on a variety of commercial contracts which may include: Joint Ventures, documentation associated with M&A's, disposals, documentation associated with various renewable projects and on occasion general agreements such as master service agreements, statements of work, consultancy contracts, IT agreements, loan agreements, discount receivable agreements, inter-group financing arrangements, and supply agreements; Supporting the General Counsel and the Head of Africa Legal on Regional projects as needed; Managing contentious matters including Litigation, Arbitration and Mediations identifying other opportunities for innovation and process improvement to increase overall efficiency of the legal function; Keeping abreast of relevant legal and regulatory developments and facilitating sharing of knowledge and best-practice within wider legal team and more widely as relevant; Providing day-to-day legal advice. REQUIREMENTS Experience: Qualified lawyer having passed a reputable board or bar examination. Minimum of 5-8 years' post qualification experience gained at a high-quality law firm and/or multinational company. Strong preference for solid law firm experience. Previous in-house experience in an international company of advantage. Experience Petrochemical, energy, commodities, retail (specifically in downstream) and / or mining industry as well as renewable energy experience. Experience working in an international environment and matrix organisations. French/Portuguese language skills would be an advantage. Skills: Strong business mindset and problem-solving attitude, with strong aptitudes to identify and foster pragmatic approaches  Ability to handle complex situations and transactions with little or no supervision Ability to influence and persuade key stakeholders, shareholder representatives and senior counterparties Key Relationships and Department Overview: KEY RELATIONSHIPS Internal -Finance, Compliance, Company Secretarial, Tax, HR, HSSE, General Managers and various business areas External -law firms, regulatory authorities