Legal Officer at Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)

Reference Legal 01/2017

Reporting to the General Counsel & Corporation Secretary, the Senior Legal Officer will be responsible for the management of AGRA’s risk and compliance and will be based in Nairobi, Kenya.

Duties for the Legal Officer NGO Job

• Provide structuring advice in relation to AGRA’s five-year strategy in light of legal and regulatory requirements prevailing in the countries AGRA operates in within Sub-Sahara Africa.
• Implement and manage AGRA country registrations and provide legal advice in relation to country governance and operational documents.
• Provide legal, compliance and tax advice on AGRA’s tax exempt status in the US federal and Washington State requirements.
• Develop and implement an annual legal and regulatory compliance plan for all AGRA countries.
• Continuously analyze in-country and cross border regulatory issues affecting AGRA and communicate effectively with internal key stakeholders and lead development of strategies and plans to mitigate any arising risks.
• Develop the annual risk work plan that reflects the institution’s highest risks to be monitored as determined by conducting a mandatory annual risk assessment using an enterprise wide approach and ensure an effective monitoring system is in place.
• Develop a clear annual grants compliance plan and monitor AGRA’s compliance obligations with respect to donor requirements – including IP reporting, and liaise with key stakeholders to ensure alignment of such requirements to the greatest extent possible with AGRA’s policies and best practices.
• Support the General Counsel in the negotiation and structuring of partnerships between AGRA and key relations including host governments, sponsoring government ministries and in-country partners.
• Continuously educate key stakeholders at AGRA on key tax regulatory, and compliance requirements for implementation.
• Build relationships with key stakeholders and coordinate the risk and compliance function.

Legal Officer NGO Job Qualifications

• A Bachelor of Laws degree and post graduate diploma in law/legal practice certificate.
• A master’s degree in law or related field.
• A minimum of 7 years’ experience providing legal counsel at cross border law firm or international organization.
• Experience in handling complex legal issues.
• Experience of operating successfully in an international and regulatory challenging environment.
• An understanding of risk and compliance in the context of development organizations operating in Africa.
• Experience of making risk-based decisions in a complex operating environment with multiple competing demands.
• Excellent written and verbal skills, particularly in English. Understanding of French will be an added advantage.
• Ability to work independently while maintain strong collaborative relationships with colleagues and partners.
• Ability to take a broad view of organizational issues and objectives, and to evaluate legal and operational risks in the context of other risks.