Legal Counsel at BIC Nigeria

The Role:

• Legal Counsel with expertise in both band enforcement and anti-counterfeit action.
• This role involves a dynamic blend of legal proficiency and strategic enforcement, ensuring adherence to Nigerian laws and effective combat against counterfeit operations.
•  It will have end-to-end responsibility for all legal and compliance matters for Commercial and Group Supply Chain operations in Nigeria.
• The successful candidate will report to the Senior Legal Counsel in WACA.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide legal guidance on matters related to band enforcement and anti-counterfeit strategies.
• Draft, review, and oversee the execution of legal documents and settlement agreements.
• Assist in legal proceedings related to band enforcement and anti-counterfeit actions.
• Engage with law enforcement authorities and external partners.
• Develop and implement strategies to combat counterfeit activities effectively with the Group Head of the Anti-Counterfeit Department.

Legal Advisory

• With the guidance of Regional Senior Legal Counsel and/or external counsel (as applicable), give accurate and timely legal counsel to the business operations in Nigeria.

Contracting Excellence

• Draft, review and advise on a variety of legal documentation and contracts.
• Send out prompters for Agreement renewals and arrange for the proper and timely execution of Agreements.
• Negotiate with outside parties on specified contractual issues and legal disputes.
• Update the contract management tool in a timely manner and follow up with the relevant stakeholders in its life cycle.

Corporate Entity Management

• Responsible for keeping up to date Board Meetings, annual and periodic corporate filings,
• Prepare appropriate delegations of authority to business leaders and for business activities like bank account operations etc

Regulatory Compliance

• Working with the Regional Senior Legal Counsel and external counsel, ensure that current laws, regulations, rules, and legal materials/information likely to impact Business Partners operations are pre-emptively identified and develop materials to advise the business accordingly.
• Maintain a compliance calendar to track important deadlines, filings, and reporting requirements.
• Prepare regular reports and updates on the Company’s compliance status at the local level.
• Maintain accurate records of all legal and compliance-related documents, contracts, permits, and licenses specific to the local jurisdiction. Ensure that the organization is up-to-date with all necessary filings

Litigation Management

• Assist with reviewing new claims and collaborating with business teams to devise efficient defense, working with the Regional Senior Legal Counsel.
• Collate information and documents to aid the Litigation process and arrangements for Company witnesses and pre-trial briefings.
• Proactively liaise and collaborate with external counsel, including follow-up and obtaining feedback on cases.

Legal Risk Management

• Proactively research and evaluate different risk factors regarding business teams’ decisions and operations and advise accordingly.
• Perform initial due diligence in legal matters, where required.

Training and Awareness

• Prepare periodic articles, training materials, and updates on relevant legal issues for the business’ information.

Legal Operations

• Ensure timely payment of External counsel and other Legal Vendors.
• Prepare legal reports and slides as assigned by the Regional Senior Legal Counsel.
• Update and maintain online and physical legal files and documentation.
• Ensure monthly updates of templates and other legal departments on the Legal Sharepoint
• Ensure proper filing of the Legal Team’s documents.

Projects/Programmes

• Support Legal Projects and/or other such programs within the Company.

Carry out other legal-related tasks received from the Regional Senior Counsel.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in law and admitted to the Bar.
• 5 years of relevant experience, preferably in consumer goods business with exposure to the manufacturing environment
• Proficiency expected in spoken and written English
• Self-driven, result-oriented with Business partnering skills
• Excellent business communication skills with the ability to explain complex issues in layman’s terms without “lawyering” and driving business leaders to the informed decision-making process
• Creativity to propose alternative legal solutions that make business sense
• A combination of “project ownership” mentality, intellectual curiosity, roll up your sleeves “can do” attitude
• Courage and diplomacy to discard legally unviable options
• Computing proficiency to work with Group legal tools and MS Office
• Excellent organizing, planning, and prioritizing skills with the willingness to learn and grow professionally.