VP Legal and Compliance

Job description

The successful candidate will provide strategic legal guidance, ensure company complies with laws, regulations, policies and manages legal risks and opportunities across the organization. To oversee the legal affairs of all the entities in the Group. Provide direction to the Board and senior management team on legal and compliance matters. Ensure that the Companies within the Group operate in line with all financial, legal and corporate governance standards. Overseeing the legal affairs of the entities within the Group; and developing corporate legal strategy to promote and protect their interests. Responsible for daily transaction processing as it relates to the preparation and review of contracts, letters, and other legal documentation as may be requested by the Companies. Providing necessary direction on legal and governance matters to the Boards of Directors, MD/CEO, and other senior management team. Advising on intra-group matters and structuring transactions. Legal Advisory: Provide legal advice and support to various business units on a range of legal matters, including corporate governance, commercial contracts, intellectual property, employment law, and regulatory compliance. Attend meetings and negotiate contracts with third parties or the company’s team members. Executes/implements best practices for the Group companies on assigned transactions. Drafting and Reviewing Contracts: Draft, review, and negotiate a wide variety of legal documents, including contracts, agreements, NDAs, and other corporate documents to ensure the company's interests are protected. Managing the work of external law firms/solicitors to ensure that pending disputes in court(s)are efficiently progressing at a reasonable cost. Manage the services of external company secretaries and deal with other corporate secretarial matters of the group companies. Planning and directing policies, and practices to ensure that the activities of all the companies in the Group are in compliance with regulatory or other requirements. Liaise with other functional/departmental managers to understand their compliance needs, and to ensure they are fully compliant with necessary regulatory and internal requirements. Create and oversee the implementation of effective compliance management strategies Develop an internal framework for maintaining compliance across all departments Monitor the implementation of new compliance protocols by Heads of Units and make sure they meet all relevant legal requirements. Review compliance reports regularly, identify potential compliance breaches and safety risks, and provide advice to Heads of Units in implementing effective solutions File and archive legal documents and correspondence. Coordinate the maintenance and updating of the database and archives maintained by the legal department. Manage and develop direct reporting staff. Establishing and maintaining good working relationships and collaborative arrangements with stakeholders including community groups and regulatory bodies to help achieve the goals of the companies in the Group. Manage and control your departmental expenditures within agreed budgets. Contribute to the evaluation and development of operational strategy and performance in cooperation with the executive and senior management team. Provide clear leadership, and promote and foster a team culture consistent with the organizational values. Supports Head HR to review staff policies Effectively ensures the organizational culture is promoted and maintained. Team Leadership Build and lead a high-performing legal & Compliance team, fostering a culture of excellence and continuous improvement. Managing and developing Senior Accountant and Accountant, setting SMART objectives that are aligned to the Group Finance Team and individual development plan. Overall ownership and responsibility for the company’s cash management, with a hands-on approach to continuous improvement. Bachelor’s degree in Law (LL.B.) and Call to Bar Certificate from the Nigerian Law school. At least twelve (12) years of post-call legal/Compliance experience with Corporate / Commercial law experience Experience working in an oil and gas sector(downstream) will be considered an advantage for this role Superior knowledge of industry regulations and corporate procedures for maintaining compliance Masters is an added advantage. Experience of: Strong understanding of corporate and commercial law, compliance, and regulatory frameworks. Excellent drafting, negotiation, and communication skills. Ability to work independently and collaboratively within a team environment. Strong problem-solving and analytical skills with attention to detail. Proficiency in using legal research tools Knowledge of: Extensive Knowledge of Nigerian Laws. Knowledge of Nigerian tax law and other related statutory laws. Strong understanding of corporate and commercial law, compliance, and regulatory frameworks. Understanding and knowledge of the requirement for confidentiality Excellent project management and leadership skills Strong organizational skills. Reporting Skills, Attention to Detail, Deadline-Oriented, Reporting Research Results, Rules, Confidentiality, Time Management. Proven abilities to: Communicate sensitively and effectively both verbally and in writing with a wide range of people. Demonstrate respect, openness and genuineness in developing working relationships with others and contribute to positive working relationships in a team and stakeholders. Analytical, interpretative and decision-making skills. Excellent coaching and relationship building skills. • Good communication and presentation skills. Proficiency in using MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc.) Proven ability to facilitate, persuade, influence and build credibility with all levels and all functions. Work without direct supervision Key Performance Indicators/Performance Goals: Performance shall be determined by reference to Employee’s attainment of the targets to be set by the Board/Executive Management, including but not limited to the following key performance indicators: Numbers of contracts reviewed Sound drafting and review of all legal documents Zero missed renewal of contracts Zero non-performance of contractual obligations Reduced turnaround time for legal drafting Complete and proper execution of all transaction contracts. Reduction of Legal Spend Centralized document extraction and management system Streamline contract identification process Actively manage pending litigation Zero litigation arising from contracts Prompt completion of registration of/with counterparties Zero regulatory non-compliance issue(s) Reduced timeline for performance and completion of all company secretarial functions Compliance with annual CAMA requirements Maintaining accurate up to date corporate records Service Level to the Businesses Customer Satisfaction (zero complaints) Leadership and Management Monitoring all units on adequate and prompt processing of statutory compliance documents This list of tasks is not exhaustive and will be reviewed from time to time in discussion with the post holder Competitive remuneration SPECIAL CONDITIONS: Ability to undertake occasional travel. Our Client is a prominent player in the Nigerian Oil and Gas industry, the company’s operations span across major businesses in the Oil and Gas value chain. Our Client is presently in need of an experienced and energetic VP (preferably female) to oversee its legal and compliance group.