Legal Officer at Kenya Tea Development Agency (MS) Ltd

Reporting to the Head of Legal & Regulatory Services, the successful candidate will be responsible for managing litigation, contract preparation and providing legal advisory on compliance in all organization’s operations and advice on appropriate course of action.

Responsibilities

• Reviewing progress of outstanding litigation and liaising with and managing external lawyers;
• Formulating compliance check-lists to be used for the purpose of ensuring that all information required is provided accordingly;
• Maintaining records of contracts, leases, loan agreements and the covenants therein;
• Providing timely information on renewals or termination of agreements;
• Drawing up contracts, lease documents, loan agreements and other legal documents;
• Liaising with relevant departments to ensure that where legal risks have been identified, appropriate courses of action have been taken;
• Providing legal protection and risk management and advising management on contract processes;
• Providing and interpreting legal information, conducting training and disseminating appropriate legal requirements to staff;
• Preparing, reviewing and modifying contractual instruments to assist and support various business activities;
• Negotiating, reviewing and drafting documentation for business transactions and advising on the necessary checklist to be adopted to ensure information is submitted on time;
• Ensuring the undertaking of due diligence searches on behalf of KTDA Group and, Factories, also liaising with an external legal counsel as required;
• Ensuring the follow up of all court cases facing the Group Holdings and attend court hearings where necessary, follow up of Judgements and costs on behalf of the KTDA Group.

Qualifications

The ideal candidate must possess the following qualifications and competencies: –

• A Bachelor of Laws degree from a recognized institution;
• A Certified Public Secretary;
• Member of ICPSK in good standing
• An advocate of the High Court
• Member of Law Society of Kenya with a current practicing certificate
• A Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Studies from the Kenya School of Law;
• A minimum of five (5) years relevant experience;
• Should have thorough knowledge of the relevant industry/sector as well as knowledge of regulatory requirements affecting the relevant sector;
• Must have ability to plan, organize, implement and evaluate assigned goals;
• Must demonstrate ability to handle multiple and conflicting priorities, and work under strict deadlines;
• Should have strong analytical and be result oriented;
• Must have high standards of integrity and ethical practice;
• Must be capable of functioning effectively both as a team player and a team leader;
• Must have management skills;
• Must have ability to accurately plan work assignments, prioritize tasks and deliver deadlines;
• Should have problem solving and decision making abilities;
• Should be an effective communicator with the ability to handle both internal and external communication;
• Should have effective people management and conflict resolution skills;
• Must have knowledge in use of MS office packages.