PRIMARY PURPOSE
The Legal Manager is responsible for providing expert legal support and guidance across the Bank, ensuring legal compliance, managing risk, and supporting business objectives. The role includes oversight of legal documentation, litigation, corporate governance, and effective management of the Legal department's resources and outputs.
Key Performance Area (KPA)
Financial Management
- Ensure that losses do not occur as a result of customers and the Bank being exposed to legal risks
- Pursue potential cost saving / revenue enhancement initiatives for the Bank where applicable.
Stakeholder Management to drive Service Excellence
- Identify problem areas and ensure corrective action is taken.
- Analyse and assess business/customer requirements to provide timeous solutions.
- Responsiveness: Speed of responses, reaction time, going the extra mile, turnaround time.
- Building relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
Operational Management
- Draft, review, edit, and revise contracts, agreements, and other legal and corporate documents to ensure accuracy and legal compliance.
- Provide sound legal advice and formal opinions to internal stakeholders across the Bank.
- Draft non-standard legal clauses in line with Bank policy and best practices.
- Conduct legal due diligence and assessments on funding applications, transactions, and other business activities.
- Monitor the legal and regulatory environment to identify potential risks and propose mitigation strategies.
- Manage the Bank's intellectual property portfolio in collaboration with Bidvest Group and external legal advisors.
- Support the drafting of facility and security documentation based on approved credit sanctions.
- Review all documents requiring legal sign-off and ensure appropriate approvals are obtained.
- Keep abreast of relevant legislative developments and ensure communication of changes to impacted business units.
- Represent Legal in internal and external stakeholder meetings, providing strategic legal input as required.
- Facilitate legal training and awareness sessions when needed.
- Manage litigation on behalf of the Bank, ensuring protection of the Bank's interests.
- Support the Company Secretary in governance, statutory compliance, and secretariat functions.
- Ensure effective record-keeping and document management within the Legal department.
- Promote clear and collaborative communication between Legal and business units.
People Management
- Lead and manage a team, providing guidance, mentorship, and professional development opportunities.
- Foster a culture of excellence, teamwork, and continuous improvement.
- Recruit and retain talented professionals to support the bank's financial operations.
Personal and Intellectual Capital Development
- Take ownership for driving own career development
- Achievement of objectives/milestones set out in the development plan.
- Development of knowledge base and Intellectual Property.
- Broaden skills to ensure greater marketability and value within the bank.
Training
- Keeping abreast of own Development and ensure exposure is gained based on development areas
Qualifications
- Matric or equivalent essential
- Legal qualification essential
- Must be an admitted legal practitioner.
Experience
- 5-7 years post-admission corporate and commercial legal experience gained from financial services sector or legal practice.
- Experience in relation to legislation pertaining to the banking industry
- Previous managerial/supervisory experience
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Required
- Ability to identify weaknesses in the control environment and implement change
- External Regulatory Knowledge
- Risk Knowledge
- Exchange Control Regulations
- Compliance and Reporting
- Understand the operations of the various systems within the Bank and how these feed into the reporting system
- Expert Knowledge and experience in Trade Services
- Attention to detail
- Conceptual Thinking
- Excellent Financial and business acumen
- Leaderships and management skills
- Able to manage a diverse workforce
- Research and analytical skills
- Excellent Communication skills
WORKING CONDITIONS: Office bound
This position is advertised in line with our commitment to Employment Equity.