Legal Counsel: Relationship Banking Legal

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Legal Counsel: Relationship Banking Legal

Apply remote type Hybrid locations Sandton time type Full time posted on Posted 2 Days Ago time left to apply End Date: February 26, 2025 (5 days left to apply) job requisition id R-15972114

Empowering Africa’s tomorrow, together…one story at a time.

With over 100 years of rich history and strongly positioned as a local bank with regional and international expertise, a career with our family offers the opportunity to be part of this exciting growth journey, to reset our future and shape our destiny as a proudly African group.

Job Summary

To be a member of the legal team by managing Legal Key Risk for the South African Business and to contribute to the development of the Legal Function. The role will primarily focus on providing legal support and advice to the business generally, including taking responsibility for transaction documentation, assisting with product development, and providing specific advice in response to business queries as well as queries from other businesses. The candidate will also have the opportunity to work on significant firm-wide projects which are often run in the team.

Job Description

Key Accountabilities

Accountability: Management of Legal Risks

1. Ensure the bank’s legal and regulatory position is managed effectively in all situations in which legal disputes or regulatory issues arise, at all times safeguarding Absa’s reputation.
2. Increase awareness of the Legal Key Risk Policies and report any breaches.
3. Escalate risk and control issues appropriately.
4. Take ownership for identifying, analysing and communicating risk.
5. Identify and articulate risks associated with proposed transactions, projects and activities that the business intends to undertake.
6. Mitigate risks wherever possible.
7. Attend necessary training sessions to ensure commerciality and continued legal professional development.
8. Ensure regulatory & statutory compliance.
9. Provide a clear record of relevant business transactions and legal advice given that effectively mitigates legal risk.
10. Develop and sustain effective risk and control frameworks.
11. Build strong risk partnerships with colleagues in other functions (especially key control areas).
12. Fully understand the role of Legal in AGL and how it interacts with other functions and the business.
13. Identify and escalate non-legal and legal risk issues.
14. Contribute to the creation of policies and controls.

Accountability: Negotiate, Draft and Review Agreements

1. Assist in structuring, negotiating & drafting legal agreements and documentation relating to standard agreements, transactions and new products.
2. Help to develop working structures and best practice guides for use within business.
3. Address all probable risks by ensuring they are sufficiently addressed in legal agreements drafted.
4. Consider, comment, negotiate and give advice on documents/ agreements for the business.
5. Give legal advice on transactions or deals to be done, or transactions that have been concluded.
6. Conduct legal due diligences on transactions.
7. Provide advice on legality, the lawfulness and enforceability of agreements and documents.

Accountability: Stakeholder Management

1. Determine needs of stakeholders by regular interaction with the stakeholders in order to discuss legal developments and matters with them.
2. Provide stakeholders with legal advice, support and legal solutions.
3. Provide specialist assistance to country legal teams in Absa Africa region.
4. Manage external counsel where required.
5. Distil and communicate legal concepts in a simple, concise way that is easily understood by business stakeholders.
6. Evaluate, manage and prioritise tasks in accordance with business need.
7. Demonstrate effective communication and interactions with others inside and outside the team.
8. Build strong relationships with other colleagues in Legal.
9. Support the development of the team as a whole and contribute to the delivery of the team and business objectives.

Accountability: Reporting

1. Compile lists of matters and registers of work or instructions received.
2. Provide reports as required to support the assessment of the legal risk control framework.
3. Attend to ad hoc reports as requested by the Head, such as reports required by business stakeholders and Legal Executive Committee.

Role/Person Specification

Professional/technical experience

1. Junior lawyer, ideally 2-5 years’ PQE.
2. Experience of working in a highly regulated, fast-paced environment, where there are often competing demands.
3. Ability to advise at a senior business level and establish credibility with senior stakeholders.
4. Appropriate Law Degree.
5. Experience in drafting and negotiating agreements is preferred.

Academic and professional qualifications

1. Admitted attorney in RSA.
2. Strong Commercial Law experience.

Personal attributes

1. Ability to work as part of a team.
2. Very strong interpersonal skills, especially communication skills.
3. Well organised and efficient.
4. Excellent negotiating and influencing skills.
5. Excellent attention to detail.
6. Integrity and reliability.
7. Business awareness, prioritisation of risk and strong commercial focus.
8. Ability to take a commercial view within legal constraints.
9. Ability to manage a large (and often fluid) workload with effective prioritisation as well as deliver under pressure and at speed.

Education

Bachelor Honours Degree: Law, Military Science and Security (Required)

Absa Bank Limited is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. In compliance with the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, preference will be given to suitable candidates from designated groups whose appointments will contribute towards achievement of equitable demographic representation of our workforce profile and add to the diversity of the Bank.

Absa Bank Limited reserves the right not to make an appointment to the post as advertised.

About Us

Absa Group Limited (“Absa Group”) is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and is one of Africa’s largest diversified financial services groups.

Absa Group offers an integrated set of products and services across personal and business banking, corporate and investment banking, wealth and investment management and insurance.

Absa Group owns majority stakes in banks in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania (Absa Bank Tanzania and National Bank of Commerce), Uganda and Zambia and has insurance operations in Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia. Absa also has representative offices in China, Namibia, Nigeria and the United States, as well as securities entities in the United Kingdom and the United States, along with technology support colleagues in the Czech Republic.