Legal Counsel-Technology and Corporate Centers at Safaricom Kenya

JOB DESCRIPTION

Reporting to the Senior Legal Counsel, Technology and Corporate Centers, the role holder will be responsible for providing to the company skilled and professional legal services, with an emphasis on drafting, review and completion of Technology  , Corporate Centers (Human Resources Supply Chain , Sustainability (Foundations- M-Pesa and Safaricom) and  Property Management contracts, service level agreements and research of legal or quasi legal matters relating to the company’s– technology  and corporate centers sections.  The role holder will manage the legal/ technology processes as set out in the Legal Services Charter. The role will also be required to handle litigation matters from time to time.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• To implement the established contract review, drafting processes and departmental Service Level Agreement (SLA). To ensure quality control in the drafting/preparation of technology contracts and legal advice. 
• Undertake contract preparation and review of all contracts assigned  ( including Service Level Agreements) in a timely manner and upon consultation with the relevant department  ( in some cases initiate) and make all necessary additions & alterations as are necessary to contractual documents in order to protect the best interests of the company and to ensure the  realization of the company’s annual mission .
• To implement the established processes and turnaround times for site acquisition & lease completion.
• Ensure quality control in the drafting/preparation of legal documents required for all the company’s properties including but not limited to retail shops office spaces, parking spaces and base transmission sites.
• Monitor and track sites, retail shops and office spaces  for renewal, variation and/ or surrender of leases and or tenancy agreements for all the company’s properties.
• Undertake cost control of legal fees for property management and litigation to external counsel to ensure that the same are within agreed rates.
• Undertake weekly management  and quarterly performance evaluation of the law firms on the company’s panel for both property management and litigation.
• Prepare monthly status reports from Oracle EPM capturing status of all agreed KPI’s.
• Undertake the verification, negotiation and completion of documentation including the updating of legal information on the site acquisition data base (Oracle EPM) for all company property.
• Represent the department in the company’s tender evaluation committee as constituted from time to time.
• Provide specialized legal advisory to the Technology and Corporate Centers within the Company
• To deputize for the Senior Legal Counsel- Technology and Corporate Centers during their absence and to ensure the continuity of legal services within the assigned mandate.
• To compile a weekly and /or monthly report/tracker on the achievement of the sections KPI’s.
• To set up and manage in liaison with Supply Chain and through their legal administrator a detailed contract filing inventory as prescribed by the Legal Department’s Charters and to undertake periodical reconciliations of the same to ensure that the inventory is current.
• All contracts will be properly indexed and easily recognizable by user department; Movement of all contracts should be tracked and documented ; Renewal and expiry dates should be easily identifiable;
• To liaise with nominated contract managers within the various user departments to ensure that renewals and expiry dates are properly noted.
• To undertake detailed legal opinions on legal matters that requires statutory interpretations.
• Constantly liaise with Technology Division  and Corporate Centers to provide advice.
• Dispute management for litigation matters that arise from contracts, debt collection, network roll out, human resources etc
• To facilitate /coordinate court attendances by Safaricom staff for legal matters relating to the company. This will be done by undertaking detailed briefing on the expected court conduct and to ensure that staff has had adequate preparations with external counsel on issues of giving/ supporting evidence beneficial to the company. 
• This includes traffic cases as defined in the Legal Services Charter, criminal cases in which Safaricom is the complainant, civil suits etc.
• To ensure the responsible use of resources that falls within the Legal & Secretarial Services Number of incidents of budget overheads resulting from the technology section should be minimized and immediate red flagging of unauthorized cost incurrence within section.
• Risk Management for all Safaricom departments.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Degree in Law from a reputable commonwealth university with minimum 2nd class honors and completion of Diploma of the Kenya School of Law;
• Advocate of the high court of Kenya of at least 5  years standing
• Other post graduate diplomas or certificate courses in legal matters such as technology media telecoms (TMT) , conveyancing advanced contract negotiation skills and arbitration/litigation case management experience