Principal Legal Advisor SHE at Sasol

Purpose of Job

• To provide specialist Safety, Health and Environmental (“SHE”) legal advisory services across the Sasol Group with a primary focus on the South African operating model entities (“OMEs”), ensuring the effective management of SHE related legal risks in collaboration with multi-stakeholder teams internally. The role delivers authoritative legal advice on complex and evolving regulatory matters, litigation (primarily administrative and criminal), legal compliance and associated business impact risks, engagements with regulators, NGOs and industry associations and on strategic mergers and acquisition, capital and financing projects.
• The specialist legal advisory services are to be rendered within a comprehensive SHE legal framework, which is ever evolving and spans across the regulation of water, waste, air quality, contaminated land management, biodiversity management, greenhouse gas management, product stewardship and occupational health and safety management.

Key Accountabilities
Specialist SHE Legal Advisory Services (Ad-hoc and as part of a project team)

• Render legal advisory services on environmental, health and safety matters to Sasol’s South African OMEs in support of:
• mitigating Sasol’s Group Material Risks related to SHE and associated Regulatory compliance (material risks 4, 5, 8.1, 8.2, 16 and 17)
• retention of Sasol’s license to operate and its ability to deliver on its strategy which is, amongst others, premised on Sasol’s commitment to meet its GHG emission reduction commitment;
• enabling delivery of Sasol’s safety and sustainability objectives and targets (Including on health and safety).
• Conduct legal research, gather relevant facts and documents and apply legal principles to prepare high-quality legal opinions towards enabling the above and to legal compliance with due consideration to available technical options, business realities within operations and in collaboration with various internal stakeholders/multi-stakeholder teams.
• Support sustainability and ESG reporting and disclosures (internally and externally) and associated PAIA requests, media responses, shareholder and stakeholder enquiry responses.
• Provide SHE legal expert inputs in Sasol’s stakeholder and regulatory engagements, advocacy and public consultation participation in SHE law reform initiatives (proposed changes to legislation) and in engaging with industry associations to enable the effective .positioning and protection of Sasol’s rights and interests.
• Provide support on Merger and Acquisition and financing projects, including participation and support in associated due diligence processes (including site visits), engagements with counterparts/legal representatives during the process and in developing/reviewing the related commercial agreements;
• Provide inputs into commercial agreements, policies, procedures, position papers and associated internal Sasol governance documents.
• Manage and/or advise/support on SHE legal strategy development and execution on identified/assigned matters related to litigation/administrative regarding to water use and associated rights, air quality management, waste management, climate change management and contaminated land management.
• This entails the execution of a legal strategy that involves the implementation of legal mechanisms provided for in law, such as amendment applications, postponements, exemptions, appeals, opposition of administrative and criminal enforcement actions, requests for regulatory action, or the institution or opposition of review, declaratory or injunctive relief applications to the High Court.
• Obtain relevant approvals for litigation and dispute resolution matters as required in a timely manner.
• Conduct preparation for and manage litigation, investigations and other administrative/enforcement legal proceedings.
• Prepare litigation reports for submission to relevant forums addressing relevant matters, including status, outcomes and costs.
• Manage and partner with external Legal Counsel and manage their service delivery in drafting contracts, provision of legal opinions and resolving litigation and legal disputes, and other specialist advisory requirements in a time and cost effective manner.
• Provide inputs into Group Risk and OME risk management processes as relevant and to enable effective risk management.
• Keep abreast of national an international SHE legal developments and emerging trends and regulations, assess and advise on potential impacts for Sasol in collaboration with legal advisors in other Sasol jurisdictional areas.

Formal Education

• University Bachelor of Laws (LLB) or equivalent.
• Post-graduate studies in applicable fields of law (Administrative, Constitutional, Environmental, Health and Safety) is an advantage.

Certification & Professional Membership

• Admission as an Attorney or Advocate of the High Court of South Africa.

Working Experience
9+ years relevant post-qualification experience with substantial exposure to at least two of the following fields of law:

• environmental law
• occupational health and safety law
• administrative law
• constitutional law
• chemical regulatory laws
• commercial law