Vice President Legal Sub-Saharan Africa at DHL

Your Key Tasks:

Strategic Legal Leadership & Advisory

• Lead and supervise strategic planning and decision‑making to develop and implement a legal strategy that aligns with the organization’s business vision across SSA.
• Serve as the senior‑level legal representative accountable to regional and country management teams for all legal matters across DSC, DGF, and Express.
• Advise business units on legal trends and emerging developments relevant to their operations and geographies.

Operational Legal Excellence

• Evaluate activities, policies, and transactions to ensure compliance with all relevant laws and regulations across 56 jurisdictions.
• Establish and implement best‑in‑class legal strategies, procedures, and processes that identify, mitigate, and manage legal risks effectively.
• Provide comprehensive legal services, including contract drafting, negotiation, and risk assessment.

Litigation, Investigations & Compliance

• Represent and defend the organization’s interests in litigation and adversarial proceedings within the region.
• Manage external legal spend and ensure transparency and quality control of all internal and external legal costs.
• Support or lead compliance investigations, antitrust inquiries, tax litigation input, and union negotiations when required.

Commercial, Real Estate & M&A

• Advise business units on customer, vendor, and third‑party contracts, actively participating in negotiations.
• Participate in or lead M&A activities in the relevant countries.
• Support land or facility purchase and lease negotiations.

People Leadership & Stakeholder Management

• Lead and develop a team of legal specialists.
• Build strong, trust‑based relationships with senior leaders across DHL and partner organizations.
• Champion collaboration across business units.

Knowledge, Training & Legal Technology

• Provide training and knowledge‑sharing tools on key legal issues.
• Promote and implement legal technology to enhance service delivery across the SSA region.

Required Education and Experience

Legal Expertise

• University law degree and professional legal qualifications.
• More than 10 years of legal practice within a commercial law firm or in‑house legal department.
• Strong understanding of multinational business operations.

Leadership & Strategic Capability

• Demonstrated leadership skills and sound business/legal judgment.
• Strong analytical skills, budgeting, and cost control capability.
• Proven ability to translate legal expertise into commercially pragmatic solutions.

Language Skills

• Fluent in English.
• Fluency in French or Arabic is advantageous.