Legal Counsel – Digital Business & Subsidiaries at NCBA Group

Job Purpose Statement

The Legal Counsel is responsible for managing contracting, advisory, regulatory and providing general legal support for the digital business and the Group’s subsidiaries in Kenya in line with the legal risk policy and related contractual procedures & processes.

Key Accountabilities (Duties and Responsibilities)

Contract Administration (10%)

• Manage day to day operations of the legal contract administration
• Ensure that all subsidiaries & digital business contracts are
• accurate in compliance with the legal policy
• Manage the legal contracting space, personnel and oversee, facilitate, draft and negotiate contracts in support of the business needs;
• Ensure attendance, engagement and participation in contract negotiations
• Supervise and ensure that all contractual documentation is practical and contains all key clauses that protect the interests of the digital bank
• Provide concise and practical legal solutions to all business and support units of digital bank and other subsidiaries engaging in any form of contracting.
• Propose new and innovative ideas that ensure that contract management and the quality of the contracts entered into;
• Keep up to date on all existing/new regulations, policies and procedures, product information,
• Ensure an up to date Register of all contracts in respect to the digital bank and subsidiaries is maintained.

Contracting to maximize business performance and minimize legal contractual risks (20%)

• Compliance with policy and procedures related to contracting;
• Drafting of contract procedures and continuous review of the same;
• Providing concise, practical and effective legal opinions on contracting, assist with preparation of Executive Summaries
• Review and drafting of contracts (where necessary engage the services of external counsel)
• Successful negotiation of contractual terms between the Group and external parties
• Execution of Contract Approval Request form
• Execution of contracts by the Group and external parties
• Proper storage of contracts (physical and soft copies) with the external parties, business users and legal team;
• Effective review of executed contracts
• Closure on audit issues raised
• Providing in house training on contracts for stakeholders.
• The specific contracting role has been limited to digital banking matters, however, you shall respond to any other contracts for review/research.

Customer Documentation to maximise business performance and minimize customer documentation risks (10%)

• Compliance with policy and procedures related to customer documentation.
• Providing concise, practical and effective legal opinions on customer documentation templates
• Review and drafting of customer documentation templates
• Successful negotiation of customer documentation terms between the Group, regulators and external parties
• Effective review of executed customer documentation
• Closure on audit issues raised with respect to customer documentation
• Providing in house training on customer documentation for stakeholder

General Legal

Advisory & Management of intellectual property (20%)

• Provide advisory services and respond to legal queries for the digital business and subsidiaries;
• Provide concise and practical legal opinions to all Group subsidiaries
• Nil penalties due to non-adherence or non-compliance to regulation;
• Monitor and ensure that all legal requirements for both the Digital Bank and Subsidiaries are adhered to;
• Participate in the Group’s processes representing Legal Services.
• Ensure that all aspects of legal risk are identified, covered and controlled in the implementation of new projects, systems, procedures and products within the digital business and subsidiaries.
• Keep up with changes in the legal and business landscape and advice accordingly to avert any possible adverse legal risk.
• Maintenance of the Group’s subsidiaries intellectual property register
• Ensure proper strategy and regular monitoring of all matters handled by external counsel and other service providers;

Customer Experience

Enhance customer experience (25%)

• Compliance of the SLAs
• Ensuring that legal costs are minimised

People & Culture

Measure of What of People & Culture (10%)

• Ensure attendance of Continuing Professional Development Courses with the LSK and meet the required points for the following year’s practicing requirements.

Ideal Job Specifications

• A minimum of 4 – 6 years’ experience legal department of a busy organization, FinTech or a technology company, with sound exposure to:
  • Contract drafting
  • Development of sound legal advisory and sound general advise
  • Cross border set up, experience in payments, technology and general remittance or payments businesses;
• Advisory on regulatory approvals and continuing compliance obligations in relation to new products e.g. digital lending and similar technology based financial services;
• Experience drafting IT/Technology/Banking/fintech/investment banking contracts;
• Experience with handling different regulatory bodies; and
• Experience with license reviews and payment service license applications.