Legal Counsel Company Secretary Jobs.

Reporting directly to the Regional Counsel, with a dotted line to the Finance Director, the purpose of the job is to coordinate advice and ensure timely delivery of legal and Company Secretarial services to all of the group’s companies in East and Southern Africa including monitoring and ensuring compliance to all laws and policies where necessary.
* Overall responsibility for the Legal function in the Companies in East and Southern Africa region covering eight (8) operating companies in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Acting as the key contact for regional functional interaction.
* Intellectual property management for the company’s global brands in the region including registration, renewal and cancellations; brand building legal support in claims generation, promotional campaigns, new product launches; management of Intellectual Property disputes including trade mark infringement and counterfeits.
* Commercial contract negotiation and management; supporting all functions in the business including Supply Contracts, Human Resource contracts, Finance contracts, Information Technology support on software licensing and Customer Development contracts
* Implementing merger/acquisition transactions and managing risk arising there from, including engagement with Monopolies/competition authorities, conduct of internal due diligence, data collection, management of transferring contracts, employees.
* Managing competition matters including competitor challenges, consumer complaints and compliance to advertising standards.
* Advising on employment/employee related matters and management of internal disputes between employees and the company to avert litigation; supporting the business during Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations and managing issues that may arise therefrom during their term to ensure the best interest of the company are achieved.
* Providing leadership in Corporate Governance and the Company Code of Business Principles compliance, ensuring that the company and its employees are complying with internal policies, procedure and controls.
* Management of all litigation for and against the company, including all accident, labour and insurance related matters including those emanating from the tea plantations in Kenya and Tanzania.
* Management of the external legal counsel on the various panels who handle the litigation and other consultations on behalf of the companies.
* Providing legal counsel to support the management of the Retirement Benefits Schemes in the countries.
* Ensuring statutory and regulatory compliance in relation to the organization and operating entities in general. Company Secretarial Services (20%) * Providing or co-ordinating the secretarial services to the various Boards of Directors, including preparations for Board Meetings and issue of Agenda, Minutes, Reports, Resolutions, drawing and filing Statutory Returns and implementing Board directives for the companies in the Region and the two Corporate Trustees managing the Retirement Benefits Schemes in Kenya.
* Conduct of annual board and general meetings for all the companies in the region and ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.
* Conduct of quarterly Board Meetings and Annual General Meetings for the Pension Fund Trustees and the public companies.
* Monitoring and ensuring compliance to policies and Capital Markets Authority Regulations and the Nairobi Stock Exchange regulations for the company’s subsidiaries, including compliance to Corporate Governance regulatory and statutory requirements.
* Monitoring the management of the Share Registers for the company’s subsidiaries to ensure compliance and managing the contractual services of the third party registrar.
* Management of Corporate Secretaries Global Database on the above companies. * Liaise with the Business Team Leaders and Members in the countries to identify legal issues and risks and provide appropriate advice on the same.
* Participate in various business teams to provide legal and business support where required.
* Co-ordinate the operation of the legal functions in the region and provide regular feedback to the Regional Counsel ACE, to enhance the operation and effectiveness of the function.
* Attend appropriate industry stakeholder forums to articulate The Company’s policies and views. QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS REQUIRED* Bachelors Degree in Law (LLB) and Certified Public Secretaries (CPS-K)
* Advocate of the High Court of Kenya holding a valid practicing certificate.
* At least 4 to 5 years post admission experience in a large organization with a strong commercial focus and a good appreciation of legal systems in East Africa as well as Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi.
* A good working knowledge of Company Law and specifically the operations of the Nairobi Stock Exchange and the Capital Markets Authority in Kenya.
* A good grasp of employment laws, as well as the labor environment in all countries in the region with specific focus on Kenya and Tanzania.
* An understanding of the Retirement Benefits Industry in the region in view of the support given to the Trustees of the Retirement Benefits Schemes run in the company.
* Excellent interpersonal skills are required. Send your application including a cover letter indicating your desire to work with our client; a detailed CV highlighting relevant experience, details of current and expected salary, a daytime phone contact, email address, and the names of three professional referees by Close of Business Monday July 11th 2011

Adept Systems
MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS
P O Box 6416, Nairobi, GPO 00100
Email: recruit@adeptsystems.co.ke

Only short listed candidates will be contacted. Please note that we do not charge fees for receiving or processing job applications. Visit our website for more vacancies.