Senior Legal Counsel: Employment Legal at Absa Group Limited (Absa)

Job Summary

• To develop tactical strategy and delivery plans, formulate associated practice/s and to ensure operational implementation and adoption with regards to legal methodology, governance and delivery objectives and provides dedicated employment legal support.

Job Description

Key Accountabilities 

Accountability: Legal Risk

• To provide highly specialised legal advice and support to the dedicated areas of support.
• Identifying and managing legal risk within the AGL Group that the role supports and is responsible for providing pro-active legal advice, support and risk management.

Accountability: Leadership & Management

• Demonstrates strong stakeholder management skills.
• Plan and manage projects and matters through to completion, including resourcing.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of team objectives and strategy and provide high quality support to the business as required by interacting with different legal and business stakeholders.
• Work independently with minimal supervision and demonstrate the ability to supervise where appropriate.
• Contribute to team initiatives and Projects.

Accountability: Commercial

• Demonstrate strong analytical skills and solve complex problems creatively and effectively.
• Drives good cost control behaviour, especially around external spend and consistently deliver against a broad range of competing targets.
• Manage litigation, manage external counsel and represent AGL on relevant industry forums and professional bodies where required.
• Provide training that is beneficial / informative to internal clients.

Accountability: Risk and Control

• Actively raise the profile of the Employment Legal team and the Legal Function and improve on Legal Key Risks.
• Manage and create awareness by embedding legal policies and control requirements in all areas of the business.
• Provide appropriate challenge and equally be robust in the face of challenges.
• Build strong risk partnerships with colleagues in other functions (especially key control areas).
• Fully understand the role of legal in AGL and how it interacts with other functions and the business.

Accountability: Teamwork:

• Proactively collaborates across different teams and geographies within the Legal Function to break down silos.
• Provide objective and constructive feedback and openly shares knowledge and expertise.

Accountability:  Technical

• Acts as a trusted advisor to business and other Functions and infrastructure areas; understands market and legal developments and their impact on business and keeps up to date of legal developments.
• Contribute to industry-wide initiatives and have a good network amongst peer group externally.
• Has knowledge of new regulatory requirements and provide comments to draft bills, regulatory documents and regulations issued by any governmental department and/or regulatory body.
• Drafting, negotiating, reviewing agreements, policies and procedures and writing opinions.
• Advising on transactions and matters involving employment aspects.

Role/Person Specification

Qualifications and Experience

• Appropriate Law degree.
• Admitted attorney in RSA.
• Degree from a leading educational institution with good academic results.
• Admitted Attorney in RSA with extensive experience in Employment Law.
• At least 5 to 8 years post qualification experience.
• Financial services experience (preferred).

Competencies:

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Analytical skills.
• Innovative & practical solutions.
• Influence and persuading.
• Stakeholder Management: able to advise at a senior business level and establish credibility with senior stakeholders.
• Excellent presentation skills.
• Team work & collaboration and ability to work independently with minimum supervision.
• Providing timely commercial advice within the legal parameters.
• This role is based in Sandton, Johannesburg, although Cape Town-based candidates may also be considered.

Education

• Bachelor Honours Degree: Law, Military Science and Security (Required)