Job title: Legal Counsel, Nigeria
Company: BIC
Job description: For over 75 years, BIC has been creating ingeniously simple and joyful products that are a part of every heart and home.
As a member of our team, you’ll be a part of reigniting a beloved brand as we continue to reimagine everyday essentials in new, sustainable and responsible ways.
Our “roll up your sleeves and get the job done” approach to work creates an environment where self-starters, problem solvers and innovative thinkers thrive. BIC team members are empowered to take ownership of their careers and bring their unique perspectives to the table to make a meaningful impact on our mission.
It’s a colorful world – make your mark by joining the BIC team today.
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.
#LI-MB1
BIC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We strongly commit to hiring people with different backgrounds and experiences to help us build better products, make better decisions, and better serve our customers. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, veteran status, disability status, or similar characteristics. All employment is decided based on qualifications, merit, and business need.
BIC is not seeking assistance or accepting unsolicited resumes from search firms for this employment opportunity. Regardless of past practice, all resumes submitted by search firms to any team member at BIC via email, or directly to a BIC team member in any form without a valid written search agreement in place for that position will be deemed the sole property of BIC, and no fee will be paid in the event the candidate is hired by BIC as a result of the referral or through other means
Expected salary:
Location: Lagos, Lagos State
Job date: Wed, 29 Nov 2023 04:48:09 GMT