Job Description

The Internet Explorer 11 browser is no longer supported. We recommend the new browser from Microsoft.

Senior Legal Advisor - Corporate

Details

Closing Date 2024/03/04
Reference Number DBS240223-1
Job Title Senior Legal Advisor - Corporate
Job Grade 18
Job Type Classification Permanent
Location - Town / City Midrand
Location - Province Gauteng
Location - Country South Africa
Job Profile (Downloadable)


The role of the Senior Legal Advisor is to provide leadership in the delivery of reliable, accurate, timely and well-informed advice to the DBSA on corporate legal issues including labour matters and the potential legal implications of various corporate strategies and business initiatives and projects. To provide guidance and leadership to junior legal advisors.

Key Responsibilities

Legal Advisory Functions

Provide legal advice and support to DBSAs corporate units including Finance, Treasury, Procurement, Strategy, Human Capital, Information Communications Technology (ICT) , Communications and Marketing unit.

Research and communicate the risks and legal issues involved in a broad range of commercial transactions and operational issues specific to DBSAs corporate unit.

Draft/vet and review a variety of corporate legal contracts including services, consultancy, software/hardware support, lease, finance and grant agreement.

Ensure compliance with various legislation, policies and regulations.

Provide general legal advice on procurement, supply chain and tender process.

Direct negotiation with the service providers and consultants.

Manage corporate litigation.

Participate in procurement and investment committees of the DBSA.

Monitor developments in the legal field and provide updates to management.

Identify matters requiring specialist legal input and instruct and liaise with appropriate external counsel.

Liaise with external attorneys and prepare comprehensive brief to attorneys where necessary.

Manage the legal budget for appointment of external legal service provider and ensure work is done cost effectively.

Key Measurements of Outputs

Time taken to prepare and or review contracts, agreements and legal opinions.

Quality and accuracy of agreements, opinions and solutions provided.

Effective management of legal claims and litigation risks.

Management of total case / agreement / opinion / other legal costs.

No litigation due to contractual errors and or omissions.

Effective monitoring of the contracts and agreements.

Clean audit.
Expertise & Technical Competencies

Minimum Requirements:

A Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB) or Legal post graduate qualification.

Admitted Attorney/Advocate of the High Court of South Africa.

A minimum of 5 years experience in High Court litigation and/or corporate insolvency.

A minimum of 5 years post qualification experience in a commercial/finance/banking or corporate law environment gained at a commercial banking, specialist law firm/ corporate or similar institution.

Desirable Requirements:

Private public partnership experience.

Experience in legal investment.

Technical Competencies

Written communication:

Understands that different writing styles are required for different documents or audiences.

Write effective correspondence, prepares questions and reports, statements of circumstance and briefing notes.

Reviews others documents for clarity and impact.

Has a solid mastery of writing principles such as grammar, sentence construction etc.

Presentation skills:

Can reinforce key presentation points with examples.

Is able to translate technical terminology into language understandable to the audience.

Has insight into the audiences behavior and motivation and responds appropriately and professionally, adapting communication style as appropriate.

Reporting:

Designs / customizes reports to meet user needs.

Prepares complex or tailored reports, gathers information from a variety of sources, analyses and includes in a report.

Keeps standard reports under review and proposes improvements to meet user needs.

Legal Knowledge:

Extensive knowledge and understanding of the principles of DBSA.

Wide-ranging knowledge of industry best practice, and keeps abreast of, interprets and informs on developments in the area of new laws and regulations relevant to DBSA.

Legal Policy Knowledge:

Ability to represent DBSA in the court of law when required.

Ability to draft non-standard legal documents per procedures.

Ability to draft more sensitive policy and legal procedures to be followed by stakeholders of DBSA, and review and refine in response to inputs from relevant stakeholders, for approval.

Ability to understand legal rights and responsibilities and the possession of authority to make legal decisions.

Protects the organisations legal rights, utilizing a broad knowledge base of all major legal disciplines.

Presentation Skills:

Knows how to deliver arguments persuasively by employing a range of advanced presentation techniques (e.g., the appropriate use of body language, how to close a presentation so that the audience continues to think about the subject matter etc.).

Has knowledge of various feedback mechanisms to check levels of audience understanding. .

Business Acumen:

Takes actions to fit business strategy.

Assesses and links short-term tasks in the context of long-term business strategies or perspectives.

Reviews own actions against the organisation's strategic plan; includes the big picture when considering possible opportunities or projects or thinks about long-term applications of current activities.

Anticipates possible responses to different initiatives.

Understands the projected direction of the industry and how changes might impact the organisation.

Negotiations:

Has an appreciation of cultural sensitivities and differences.

Effectively employs a variety of advanced behavioural/interpersonal competencies to control the negotiation situation.

Is able to take the lead in a variety of sensitive negotiation situations requiring high levels of tact and diplomacy.

Is able to place a discrete negotiation situation within the context of a broader long-term relationship and is not threatened by conceding ground to protect the longer-term interests of DBSA.

Required Personal Attributes

Behavioural Competencies

Customer Service Orientation:

Tries to understand the underlying needs of customers and matches these needs to available or customized products and services.

Adapts processes and procedures to meet on-going customer needs.

Utilises the feedback received by customers, in order to develop new and/or improve existing services/ products that relate to their on-going needs.

Thinks of new ways to align DBSAs offerings with future customer needs.

Self-awareness and Self Control:

Withholds effects of strong emotions in difficult situations.

Keeps functioning or responds constructively despite stress.

May apply special techniques or plan ahead of time to manage emotions or stress.

Strategic and Innovative Thinking:

Experiments with new approaches, tests scenarios, questions assumptions and challenges conventional thinking.

Creates new concepts that are not obvious to others, leveraging internal and external sources of information, to build incremental revenue and growth opportunities.

Driving delivery of results:

Sets challenging goals that will have a significant impact on the business or support the organisational strategy.

Commits significant resources and/or time to ensure that challenging goals are achieved, while also taking action to mitigate risk.

Teamwork & Cooperation:

Acts to promote a friendly climate and good morale and resolves conflicts.

Creates opportunities for cross-functional working.

Encourages others to network outside of their own team/department and learn from their experience.

Policy

The Development Bank of Southern Africa will endeavor to make appointments in line with its Employment Equity Policy and Plan. Applications from suitably qualified designated groups, especially people with disabilities, are encouraged.

The DBSA corporate culture fit requires clear, logical and analytical thinking grounded in good interpersonal skills, a sense of urgency and results orientated execution of duties. The ability to work collaboratively and finding practical yet innovative solutions is critical to success in a work environment that demands emotional resilience, accountability and responsible risk taking and management.

The DBSA reserves the right to amend or remove vacancies in line with organisational requirements.

All vacancies can be viewed on the DBSA website (www.dbsa.org) under Careers.

xc2xa9 2019 DBSA. All rights reserved.

Processing

Delete Account?

Remove Personal Information?

Cancel Request to Remove Personal Information?

Terms & Conditions

Incomplete Profile

You need a complete profile before you can make applications. Would you like to complete your profile now?

Incomplete Applications

You have incomplete applications, view the application to complete

Apply

Nothing yet!

Profile Import Options

Log In Only: Just log in and do not change my profile.

Import and Keep: Import my profile and update matched sections. KEEP sections that do not match. Be sure to clean up any duplicates.

Import and Delete: Import my profile and update matched sections. DELETE sections that do not match.

Development Bank of Southern Africa