Job Title: Senior Legal Associate
Location: Ibadan, Oyo
Employment Type: Full-Time
Job Summary
Senior Associate – Legal, Regulatory & ESG:
- The Legal Associate is a member of the Legal Department providing legal, regulatory, compliance and governance support across the Group, working closely with the Legal, Regulatory & ESG function to protect the organisation's interests at both operating subsidiary and Group (holding company) level.
- The role covers contract management and commercial negotiation, policy and legislative monitoring, dispute management, regulatory compliance, corporate governance, and ESG, and acts as a key point of contact between business units, subsidiaries and the Group Legal, Regulatory & ESG Department.
Responsibilities
- Draft, review and negotiate a wide range of commercial contracts, including vendor agreements, supplier and procurement contracts, partnership and joint venture agreements, service agreements, NDAs and consultancy agreements, for both the Group and individual operating subsidiaries.
- Evaluate new business partnerships, vendor relationships and third-party engagements (internal and external) to assess legal, commercial and reputational risk before contract execution.
- Ensure all contracts and commercial arrangements align with the company's business objectives, internal approval frameworks and risk appetite, escalating material terms to senior management or Group Legal where appropriate.
- Maintain a contract repository and tracking system across subsidiaries, monitoring key dates, renewal terms,termination rights and obligations, and supporting standardisation of templates and playbooks across the Group.
- Advise internal stakeholders on contractual rights and obligations, variations, amendments and contract disputes, and support resolution of contractual claims and demands in coordination with Group Legal.
- Manage the company's intellectual property portfolio, including patents, trademarks and copyrights, and advise on IP strategy, protection and enforcement across the Group and its subsidiaries.
- Manage governance-related matters, including organising and supporting board meetings, drafting resolutions, minutes and shareholder communications, at both operating subsidiary and Group (holding company) level.
- Ensure compliance with corporate laws and regulations, including filing annual returns, maintaining statutory registers and records, and coordinating board and shareholder meetings for operating subsidiaries and the Group/parent company.
- Support the maintenance and continuous improvement of operating entity and Group's governance framework, ensuring consistent application of governance standards, delegations of authority and reporting lines across subsidiaries.
- Support the negotiation and documentation of intercompany agreements between the Group and its operating subsidiaries, including shared services, licensing and intra-group funding arrangements.
- Monitor legislative and regulatory developments across the jurisdictions in which the Group and its operating subsidiaries operate, and assess their impact on the business, escalating significant changes to senior management.
- Design, draft and maintain internal legal and compliance policies, position papers and procedural guidance on legal matters, ensuring consistency between Group-level policy and local implementation by operating subsidiaries.
- Support the roll-out, training and embedding of new and updated policies across business units, tracking adoption and flagging gaps in implementation at subsidiary level.
- Maintain a horizon-scanning log of upcoming legislative and regulatory changes (e.g. data privacy, consumer protection, antitrust/competition, employment and sector-specific regulation) relevant to the Group's operations.
- Liaise with external counsel, industry bodies and regulators to clarify the practical application of new or proposed legislation to the Group's business model.
- Monitor and ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including data privacy/data protection, consumer protection, anti-bribery and corruption, anti-money laundering and antitrust/competition laws, across both the Group and its operating subsidiaries.
- Guide management and business units on internal controls, statutory regulatory requirements and other compliance formalities, ensuring a consistent compliance standard is applied across all entities in the Group.
- Design, implement and maintain compliance frameworks, policies and procedures, and conduct periodic compliance risk assessments and gap analyses at both subsidiary and Group level.
- Support internal compliance monitoring, audits and investigations, including preparing reports and recommending remedial action for identified breaches or control weaknesses.
- Protect the company against legal and regulatory risks and violations by developing and implementing strategies to identify, assess and mitigate legal risks and liabilities across the Group.
- Examine legal and regulatory issues arising from new products, services and business initiatives, ensuring compliance considerations are embedded from the design stage.
- Manage and help resolve legal and regulatory disputes, including litigation, arbitration and regulatory inquiries, and review and respond to claims, demands and complaints, engaging internally as needed to resolve issues at subsidiary and Group level.
- Support corporate housekeeping for the Group's operating subsidiaries, including incorporation, restructuring, dissolution, changes in directorship and shareholding, and maintenance of the Group's corporate structure chart.
- Stakeholder management: manage relationships with directors, shareholders, regulators and other stakeholders, addressing legal and governance inquiries from both subsidiary and Group perspectives.
- Support the design, implementation and continuous improvement of the Group's ESG strategy, policies and reporting framework, ensuring alignment between Group-level commitments and operating subsidiary practice.
- Manage investor and stakeholder reporting relating to ESG matters and other periodic disclosures, including coordinating data and narrative input from operating subsidiaries for consolidated Group reporting.
- Support due diligence on ESG-related risks in vendor, partner and investment relationships, including human rights, environmental and governance risk considerations.
- Advise on regulatory developments and their impact on the company's business, products and services, providing practical, risk-based guidance to operating subsidiaries and Group functions.
- Build and maintain effective working relationships with business units, subsidiaries, external counsel, auditors and regulators.
- Respond to, handle and manage other related legal, regulatory, compliance, governance or ESG tasks as assigned by the Line Manager or other leadership members, across the Group and its operating subsidiaries.
- Manage disputes and claims and support engagement with law enforcement and public authorities to resolve claims, demands and disputes.
What You’ll Get
- Competitive pay & benefit.
- Health insurance cover.
- Frequent performance chats & reviews.
- High performing & passionate team members + fun work culture.
Application Closing Date
Not Specified.
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online