Junior Legal Advisor at IQbusiness

RESPONSIBILITIES

Legal Advice and Corporate Compliance:

• Draft, vet and negotiate legal agreements and documents in line as required within the group of companies;
• Work collaboratively with other teams within the business to ensure effective and fully aligned end-to-end legal support to the group of companies;
• Provide strategic legal advice on a variety of matters;
• Identify legal risks in a variety of circumstances and offer alternative strategies and mitigation steps, balancing the business desired outcomes and protecting the business against legal risks;
• Support with any legal action in conjunction with external counsel appointed to provide specialist advice, manage claims or conduct litigation, to ensure that the interests of IQbusiness and those of its staff are protected if required;
• Provide advice in respect of legal aspects of IQbusiness policies and procedures to mitigate risk;
• Be conversant with relevant statutory requirements and keep abreast of new legislative developments;
• Ensure that IQbusiness is compliant with all legislative requirements, including through legislative compliance auditing and reporting;
• Provide guidance to the business on the impact of changes to legislative and other governance requirements relevant to IQbusiness, including but not limited to POPIA and BBBEE;
• Provide input into, prepare and conduct POPIA related training material and sessions together with Learning & Development;
• Ongoing support of and driving initiatives related to Operational Data Protection Compliance;
• Support the actioning of Data Subject Requests [DSR] through formal response and management of queries related to personal information requests;
• Provide legal opinions and advise on queries raised by internal stakeholders from various business units and departments;
• Support the implementation and effective incorporation of legal requirements into commercial and business activities. Drive consistent application of legal compliance and processes, fostering a culture of ethics and compliance;
• Manage the legal documents repository in collaboration with internal stakeholders;
• Advise the business on legal and regulatory issues related to market research;
• Provide weekly reports to General Counsel; and
• Use of technology and associated tools to enable operational efficiency in the legal team.

Company Secretarial Assistance:

• Support with company secretarial responsibilities within the subsidiary companies or board sub-committees from time to time;
• Ensure completion and timely lodgment of statutory forms/returns and reporting under the Companies Act and other relevant legislation/regulation including the Annual Information Statement and any changes in Directors or Secretaries and their addresses;
• Liaise with auditors, lawyers and other professional advisors in relation to various corporate matters and other matters as required by Directors from time to time;

Strategic Procurement & Contract Management:

• Support the business activities of IQbusiness through the provision of legal advice in regard to the development, negotiation and execution of contracts, leases, service agreements, employment agreements, Non-disclosure Agreements, Resource Agreements, Technology and Software Agreements, Teaming Agreements, Partner Agreements, pricing arrangements and other commercial arrangements including the sale/purchase of assets and service agreements for outsourced services, ensuring the organisation’s interests are protected;
• Assist in the development of tenders and other funding submissions and provide legal advice in regard to the application of government procurement and contract management requirements to ensure compliance and limit exposure and risk to IQbusiness;
• Assist with the development and update of legal documentation related to operational execution in some business areas i.e., Privacy Policies, Terms & Conditions, Competition Rules etc.;
• Maintain the contracts register.

REQUIREMENTS

• LLB and admission as an attorney.
• General knowledge of commercial and corporate law, IT law, intellectual property law, employment law, contract management and regulatory compliance and reporting.
• Minimum of 1-2 years post articles experience as a corporate legal advisor.
• Reasonable experience in corporate commercial matters.
• Strong legal research and statutory interpretation skills.
• Demonstrated ability to provide practical legal advice and exercise sound legal judgement.
• Demonstrated experience in dealing with or advising on organisational legal compliance issues, including commercial, IP, contract and employment related matters.
• Up to date knowledge and experience of corporate governance including policy development and implementing systems and frameworks.
• Proven ability to engage and influence a diverse group of stakeholders.
• Well-developed conceptual, analytical and problem-solving skills with strong commercial judgement and decision-making ability.
• Excellent negotiation and dispute resolution skills.
• Listens, summarises and further develops and progresses ideas received from others.
• Shows confidence, maturity, integrity and a high level of energy and enthusiasm.