Executive Head: Legal Affairs at Vodafone Global Enterprise

Role purpose:

• Provide legal advice and managing legal matters for Vodacom Group and Vodacom South Africa, with a focus on -
• Mergers & acquisitions (including disposals), joint ventures and intra group reorganisations (covering all aspects, including drafting and/or commenting on, negotiating and settling of transaction agreements, supervising due diligences, overseeing merger filings and fulfilment of conditions precedent etc.);
• Debt and capital markets funding;
• Shareholder issues, corporate activity and general corporate and commercial matters;
• Overseeing competition law aspects; and
• Corporate litigation.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Manage and oversee, and provide legal advice and input on, ‘high impact’ corporate transactions (mergers and acquisitions, disposals, joint ventures, intra group reorganisations etc.) and on any international litigation impacting Vodacom Group or Vodafone Group    
• Involvement at the outset to define legal needs and inputs to any major transactional activity.
• Prepare/ comment on mandates/engagement letters and appoint and brief outsourced due diligence teams.
• Play a key role in deal negotiation and structuring in line with project goals and budget.
• Draft and review, negotiate and settle agreements and documents.
• Manage and control any project-specific outsourced legal work.
• Liaise with business line leaders, legal heads of international operating companies, Vodafone legal team, other stakeholders, etc., as dictated by deal requirements.
• Ensure that all required legal agreements are in place and approved under the delegation of authority process.
• All legal matters are to be reported and managed in accordance with company governance requirements and processes, delegation of authority, and Group Code of Conduct
• Keep business stakeholders updated and briefed on key projects and risk management.

Provide legal advice and counsel on other corporate activity including BEE transactions, shareholder issues and finance and treasury related transactions and general corporate and commercial work    

• Prepare or comment on mandates, N.D.A.’s, engagement letters, etc.
• Play a lead role in negotiating and structuring deals/transactions.
• Drafting and reviewing, negotiating and settling agreements and legal documents.

Litigation 

• Where litigation becomes unavoidable or preferable:
• Act on behalf of the company in litigation proceedings and instruct and manage external attorneys (where necessary).
• Liaise with business line leaders and other stakeholders and report on litigation status.

Competition Law matters    

• Oversee provision of specialist legal advice on competition law matters as they arise.
• Oversee competition law compliance activities.

The ideal candidate for this role will have:

• B.A./B.Com. & LL.B and admitted as an Attorney / Advocate or equivalent
• 8-10 years’ commercial legal experience preferably within a Legal Firm (In-house).  
• (can include articles) 
• Experience in handling mergers and acquisitions, treasury, financial and stakeholder related transactions essential 
• Competition law highly desirable 

Technical / Professional Expertise

• M&A and commercial drafting experience
• Litigation experience
• Experience in dealing with mergers and acquisitions and financial (including investment/treasury related) transactions
• Experience in applying competition law
• Experience in working on international transactions
• Experience in working in shareholder related (including BEE) transactions.

Competency / Performance Drivers

• Drafting skills
• Negotiating and interpersonal skills
• Analytical thinking skills and attention to detail
• Interpersonal and influencing skills
• Project management skills