Legal Assistant at Diageo

Purpose of Role

The Legal Assistant will be responsible for providing high value executive and administrative support to the total EABL Legal Function in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania to ensure effective and efficient business operations.

Key Accountabilities

Manage the daily operations of the EABL Legal Service Center

• Managing the Legal Service Desk asklegal@eabl.com and the Legal telephone Hotline to the agreed service levels
• Creating tickets and queuing of queries for response in order of priority
• Managing Service Now and email requests
• Manage daily operations of all legal systems e.g., LiveLink, Harmony, BusyLamp etc
• Ensure that legal operations are handled efficiently, and client satisfaction achieved.
• Ensure all legal transactions are concluded accurately with the right support as instructed.

Corporate Board Management

• Handle all administrative, routine, and logistical functions of all the EABL Boards in consultation with the various Company Secretaries and other directors and key partners.
• Liaise with the Company Secretaries and key partners to ensure that the Annual Board
• Schedule is drafted and shared with the Board Members in good time
• Coordinate and implement the Board AGMs meeting end-to-end
• Assist in preparation of Board documents and delivery both in hard and soft copies
• Implement the Board strategy as advised and ensure full legal and statutory compliance.

Manage the daily operations of the Kenya Legal Registry and Records Management for the entire legal function

• Maintain the Legal Registry and all safe repositories holding all Legal and Board documents with due regard to confidentiality. This includes highly sensitive documents like title deeds, licences, bank guarantees and commercial bonds.
• In addition, manage the Legal Library, maintain legal safes & strong room and safe deposit of keys.
• Receive and dispatch company mail to the rightful recipients.
• Champion the embedding of Records Management in the Legal Function by ensuring that all documents generated by Legal are timeously filed and recorded as per the Records Management Policy; and
• Perform all controls and activities to ensure that all legal records are safe and accounted for.
• Maintain all mails and documents for the Legal Function and ensure their safekeeping.

Manage the daily operations of the EABL Plc Company Share Registry

• Maintain the physical EABL Share register and the digital register currently sitting on the Harmony DMS system.
• Liaise with the Company Secretary and Share Registrar on maintaining the Register.
• Ensure that EABL closes share registry transactions accurately.
• Perform any activities that are required to secure the EABL share register as advised by the Company Secretary and/or the line manager.

Litigation Management

• To provide proactive support of all litigation matters for EABL Kenya with the Legal Operations Manager.
• Coordinating all necessary logistics of litigation matters including keeping an accurate and up to date calendar of all hearing dates and deadlines, collaborating closely with witnesses, external counsel and communicating with all relevant partners in a timely manner.
• Ensure that the Litigation Database is updated and up to standard on all matters.
• Ensure that all activities are performed to ensure that all EABL litigation matters are handled professionally to the highest legal standard.

Budget & Financial Management

• Raise and manage all legal POs end-to end within the EABL markets.
• Assisting lawyers process fee notes via BusyLamp or any other platform
• Presenting to the legal function highlights on budgets and ensuring it’s on track regarding their expenditure
• Proposing remedial action where there is over-spend
• Ensuring that the correct Cost Centers are used when charging or raising POs
• Reviewing monthly expenses vis a vis Cost Centers
• Manage all travel & entertainment related to the legal director’s office using SAP and concur. These include making travel requisitions, paying for tickets, ticketing, and expensing. Also managing stationery supplies, taxi usage, gifts and flowers, conference costs etc.
• Manage the travel & entertainment accounting on company P-card and expense timely & accurate monthly spend on concur.

Executive and Administrative Support

• To provide proactive high value Administrative & Secretarial Support to the Legal Function on time in full and in an efficient and effective manner. Main duties broadly include;
• Calendar Management for the Legal Directors and the EABL Legal function
• Licenses Management - Maintain an up-to-date record of all relevant licenses, permits, land rent and rates and all relevant statutory certificates with respect to the Company’s properties and assets.
• General administrative and clerical support including scanning, photocopying sorting, and distribution of correspondence, maintaining office supplies for the department etc.
• Processing all expenses of the department, staff expenses on Concur, organizing legal meetings and recording of minutes in the meetings.
• Embed legal education within the function and the business.
• Coordinate appointments, meetings, and business travel.
• Perform such other related duties as may be allocated by the EABL Legal Director

Leadership Responsibilities

• To embed records management compliance within the EABL Legal Function and manage requests from other functions in a proactive and professional manner.

Relationships

• Ensure proactive management of key internal & external partners to enhance dialogue and improve understanding.
• Internal - Passion, reliability and good social skills with team members and Functions within the business.
• External - Passion, reliability, good communication skills, Diplomatic and tactful.

Innovation

• Develop and drive innovative and preventative legal & administrative measures.

Knowledge, Skills & Experience

• University Degree.
• Good experience working as a paralegal and/or working in a law firm or dynamic legal department
• Enthusiasm, reliability, and good interpersonal skills
• Diplomatic and tactful in dealing with team members and external partners
• Ability to work under tight time limits
• Honest, dependable with high integrity, discretion and ability to handle and protect sensitive information with a sound knowledge of the ‘need to’ principles
• Ability to become actively involved in activities of the department
• Maintain a high level of confidentiality
• Good knowledge of legal practices
• Ability to compose reports and correspondence
• Excellent organizational and time management skills

Other Knowledge Skills and Experience

• At least three (3) years’ experience as an administrative support in a lively legal office or legal function
• High level proficiency in MS Word, MS Excel and MS PowerPoint
• Excellent communication skills- written and verbal
• Attention to detail and high level of accuracy

Key Success Factors

• Legal Operations and services are delivered smoothly on time in full, with no errors.
• Provision Executive support in an effective and efficient manner.
• Maintain litigation calendar and advise legal staff, lawyers, and witnesses appropriately
• Ensure that the Legal repository is properly managed and that the contents are properly indexed.
• Ensure presentation of Legal costs and expenditure tracking is done on a monthly basis to the Legal function.
• Ensure Business Permits, Rates and rents are paid yearly and promptly
• Ensure statutory returns are filed promptly
• Ensure renewal of Trademarks and other Intellectual Property issues are handled promptly and certificates issued
• Collate Board, Audit, and other committee’s papers and forward to recipients in a timely manner
• Team engagement.