Assistant General Counsel at The South African Reserve Bank

Job description

Brief description

The main purpose of this position is to provide comprehensive and effective legal advice to the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) and its subsidiaries (collectively known as the SARB Group) in the fields of monetary, payment systems, investment banking, financial and commercial law.

The incumbent will lead a team of specialist legal counsel in the provision of legal advice and contribute proactively to the mitigation of legal risk within the SARB Group.

The incumbent will head the Monetary and Financial Law Division and will report directly to the Head of the Legal Services Department (LSD).

Detailed description

The successful candidate will be responsible for the following key performance areas:

• Manage and lead the Monetary and Financial Law Division in LSD.
• Coordinate internal legal resources on strategic projects.
• Manage legal resources efficiently.
• Mentor legal counsel to ensure skills development and talent management.
• Contribute to a positive team culture.
• Manage and provide ongoing legal opinions and advice to clients.
• Draft and negotiate agreements in the relevant specialised fields.
• Contribute to the development and/or drafting of SARB Group policies.
• Proactively identify and address the potential legal risks and liabilities of the SARB Group.
• Manage external legal counsel.
• Oversee all litigation affecting the clients and broader stakeholders of the Monetary and Financial Law Division, which includes providing expert advice to senior management and the Governors’ Executive Committee on the merits of all disputes and preparing update reports, as may be required.
• Execute ad hoc administrative tasks.

Job requirements

To be considered for this position, candidates must:

• be in possession of an appropriate legal qualification (at least an LLM degree,
• or an equivalent qualification);
• be an admitted attorney or advocate;
• have at least 10-13 years’ experience as a practising attorney or advocate, or as an in-house counsel;
• have at least 5 years’ experience in general management;
• have knowledge of banking and finance legislation;
• have a basic understanding of central banking operations, functions and culture;
• have working knowledge of economics, banking and finance regulations, South African financial systems, and monetary policy;
• have a high degree of self-motivation and drive;
• have excellent interpersonal and communication skills; and
• be able to demonstrate the ability to manage and lead a diverse and experienced legal team.

Additional requirements are as follows:

• skill in analysing and solving problems;
• presentation skills;
• people management and leadership;
• ability to work under pressure;
• conflict handling and negotiation;
• regulatory and reporting frameworks;
• research skills;
• computer literacy;
• attention to detail;
• strong management and leadership ability;
• self-starter;
• assertiveness;
• excellent verbal and written communication;
• judgment and decision making;
• stakeholder / relationship management; and
• driving execution.

Added advantage

The following would be an added advantage:

• specialist experience in one or more of the following:
• investment banking agreements and products, i.e. GMRA, ISDA, GMSLA /ISLA, IMAs;
• custody agreements;
• securities lending and collateral arrangements;
• payment systems;
• monetary and financial law;
• global financial markets; and
• a solid record in coordinating and leading legal teams on complex projects.

Additional details

Career path: Management (M)

Level: M2