Legal Advisor at Engen

Purpose of the Job

• To provide expert legal advice to identified stakeholders to ensure conformity with the laws and minimize Engen's exposure to legal risks and pitfalls wherever Engen operates.

Who You Are:

•     Have experience of working with government-regulated entities & maintain the strictest adherence to South African laws.
•     Have strong legal experience in corporate & commercial matters
•     A team player with an outgoing personality & interacts very well with people of all spheres 
•     A meticulous drafter of legal documents & focussed on detail
•     Have excellent problem solving, analytical & business intelligence skills
•     Have excellent written & verbal communication skills.
•     Has the ability to manage multiple projects, adhering to timescales & deadlines
•     A professional with strong organisational skills; delivering on deadlines & to budget.
•     A solution focused individual with strong execution mindset
•     Ability to work both independently & as part of a team

What you’ll have done before:
Baseline:

•     NQF Level 7 (Degree in Law/ LLB)
•     Admitted Attorney
•    8 years post admission experience in Legal Advice

Advantageous

•     Energy law, Commercial law, Property law, IP law post-graduate qualification & experience
•     Petroleum Industry experience

Exciting Challenges you may face in the role:

•     Providing advice to the board on compliance matters as well through collaborating with Line Manager & Team.
•    Work on complex agreements & litigation 

What you’ll be doing:

Providing risk based legal advice in respect of - 

• Various marketing activities, advertising and promotional materials and other marketing and product related issues and , including recalls, IP issues including copyright, trade-marks, licensing, sponsorship and promotional and agency agreements, supporting the Brand Protection Team on counterfeit and lookalike operational and strategic matters and providing legal support from a marketing and consumer law perspective on issues relating to innovation and strategic plans and new product development and products packaging and labeling and food safety law requirements;
• Contractual, operational and regulatory issues relating to existing and new franchising arrangements, various operating leases (including head leases), section 12B (PPA) process, 
• Engen’s existing arrangements with strategic trade partners within the convenience business including, products sourcing activities and related supply arrangements and ensuring that suppliers are fully compliant with all Engen legal operating standards.   
• Legal and commercial issues relating to property sales and transfers, registration and cancellation of instruments such as bonds, servitudes, restraints, and leases, and other similar instruments or guarantees
• Source expert legal advice on diverse and complex legal issues, research legal principles and applies it to the facts, and formulates and communicates legal opinions

CONTRACT DRAFTING & VETTING:

• Drafting, vetting and negotiation of various contracts relating to the above specified areas of the law; and Preparation of various contract templates and updates as required from time to time. Must demonstrate a strong understanding and extensive experience in dealing with commercial contracts and transactions.
• Drafting and negotiating various types of operating leases for Engen Retail Sites (including Head Leases) and commercial tenants, marketing agency agreements, commercial petroleum product supply agreements,  IP license agreements, bulk petroleum products transport agreements; vetting of customer terms and conditions for the supply of petroleum products during tender process; sponsorship and promotional agreements; promotional competitions terms and conditions; specialist trade agreements with Engen strategic partners (i.e. Woolworths) and property sale and transfer agreements.  

LITIGATION & DISPUTE RESOLUTION:

• End to end management of commercial litigation matters (including international matters); formulation of litigation strategies, understanding of alternative dispute resolution and management thereof, negotiating settlement and preparation of settlement agreements, Management of external counsel, commercial litigation management process and alternative dispute resolution process, drafting and settlement of various litigation documents including pleadings, ensures that the Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, High Court, Magistrates Court, Land Claims Court, Criminal Court and Small claims court procedures and processes are adhered to, application of litigation processes and procedures.       

RISK MANAGEMENT:

• Assess business exposure to legal risk; determines and communicates risk mitigation.
• Monitor implementation of risk management.
• Manage outsourced and third-party activities.
• Perform risk analyses and ensure compliance with the law as it pertains to Engen.

CONVENYANCE

• Ensuring that property transactions (including sale of property, transfers, registrations and cancellation of leases, bonds, servitudes and restraint of alienations and the preparation of documents) are executed in accordance with the Deeds Registry Act and all related legislation.