Senior Legal Advisor: Commercial - Midrand at Dis-Chem Pharmacies

Job Description

• Dis-Chem Pharmacies in Midrand has an opportunity available for a Senior Legal Advisor: Commercial to join the Legal team. The Senior Legal Advisor: Commercial provides expert commercial contracting, negotiation, preliminary dispute management and high-level regulatory issue-spotting across assigned focus areas, including general commercial, innovation, brand, technology, digital, data, pharmacy, pharma, medical, clinic and healthcare commercial arrangements.
• Senior Legal Advisors operate as pooled resources, with overflow capacity shared across the group.

Minimum Requirements

Essential:

• LLB degree or equivalent legal qualification and admission as an Attorney of the High Court of South Africa
• Minimum 6-12 years’ post-qualification experience, with substantial experience in commercial contracting, contract negotiation and providing practical legal advice on complex commercial matters and transactions
• Demonstrated ability to structure, negotiate and manage complex commercial arrangements and provide commercially focused legal advice in a fast-paced and time-sensitive environment
• Working knowledge of regulatory frameworks relevant to retail, healthcare, pharmaceutical, medical or consumer-facing businesses, with the ability identify regulatory considerations and appropriately engage specialist Legal support where required

Advantageous:

• Substantial experience in one or more of the following areas: commercial contracting, real estate, retail procurement, M&A, wholesale/distribution or other complex commercial arrangements, preferably within a listed, retail or highly regulated environment
• Experience managing external counsel, including fee estimates, budgets, timelines, quality and invoice review

Roles & Responsibilities

Commercial Legal Advisory and Risk Management:

• Provide commercially focused legal advice on proposed business initiatives, arrangements and operational changes within assigned areas.
• Identify, assess and advise on contractual, commercial, legal and reputational risks and recommend proportionate mitigation strategies.
• Advise business stakeholders on legal implications, obligations and risks associated with proposed commercial decisions.
• Provide early legal input into new products, services, business models and strategic initiatives to support appropriate structuring and risk management.

 Commercial Contracting & Negotiation:

• Draft, review, negotiate and finalise commercial contracts within assigned focus areas.
• Structure and document supplier, customer, partnership, franchise, technology, data, digital, brand, advertising/marketing/promotion, media, real estate, financing, pharmacy, medical, clinic, healthcare and any other commercial arrangements across the Group’s business, obtaining substantial input from the Senior Legal Advisor: Regulatory where specialist regulatory advice is required.
• Develop and improve standard-form contracts, playbooks, negotiation guidelines and other knowledge resources.

 Commercial Transactions & Strategic Projects:

• Provide legal input into strategic projects, commercial initiatives, partnerships, acquisitions, restructures and other material transactions within the assigned portfolio.
• Advise on transaction structures, contractual arrangements, risk allocation, obligations, conditions precedent and appropriate protections.
• Coordinate legal input across relevant Legal, business and specialist functions to support timely execution of strategic initiatives.
• Identify matters requiring specialist regulatory, competition, privacy, litigation or other legal expertise and coordinate appropriate referral.

 Contract Lifecycle & Governance:

• Oversee the legal aspects of the contract lifecycle from initial instruction and risk assessment through negotiation, execution, renewal, amendment and termination.
• Develop and maintain standard-form agreements, clauses, templates, playbooks and negotiation guidelines to promote consistency and efficiency.
• Identify recurring contractual risks and recommend improvements to contracting processes, controls and standard documentation.
• Support appropriate governance around contractual obligations, approvals, deviations and material commitments.

Commercial Dispute Prevention & Resolution:

• Provide early-stage dispute management and risk assessment and escalate material disputes appropriately.
• Maintain a high-level understanding of focus-area regulation and route specialist issues to the relevant Senior Legal Advisor.
• Manage external counsel mandates, quality, timelines, budgets and invoices.
• Identify potential disputes and contractual issues at an early stage and advise on appropriate prevention, mitigation and resolution strategies.
• Assess contractual rights, obligations, remedies and potential exposures in disputed matters.
• Support commercial negotiations and settlement discussions, escalating material matters to the appropriate Legal specialist.
• Coordinate with the Senior Legal Advisor: Litigation where matters progress to formal litigation or require specialist dispute expertise.

 Business Partnership & Stakeholder Advisory:

• Act as primary legal partner to designated executives and business units.
• Accept overflow work within the pooled model.
• Maintain an accurate matter register and report material risks, regulatory engagements, contract exposures and dependencies, exposures, timelines and costs.
• Manage external counsel where appointed on specific matters, including requesting, assessing and approving fee estimates and caps, coordinating internally to provide required information and documents, and reviewing invoices, for approval by the General Counsel.
• Provide training to the legal team, executives and business units (as applicable) from time to time on selected legal topics.

Competencies

• Cognitive skills
• Business acumen
• Communication skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Quality orientation
• Self-management skills
• Leadership & management skills
• Technical skills - Applies specialist commercial legal expertise in contract drafting, negotiations, risk assessment, transaction structuring, dispute management and legal documentation

Special conditions of employment

• South African citizen
• MIE, clear criminal and credit
• Driver’s license and/or own reliable transport
• Occasional traveling
• May be required to work outside normal office hours where material business, regulatory, transaction or litigation deadlines require it
• Employment is subject to Dis-Chem policies, applicable vetting requirements and ongoing compliance with confidentiality, conflicts and professional obligations

Remuneration and benefits

• Market-related salary
• Medical aid
• Provident fund
• Staff account

Closing Date 30 October 2026