Senior Legal Officer at Geminia Life Insurance

Purpose of the Position

• To provide legal services to the Company and ensure the Company’s interests are protected.
• To provide effective management of legal risks arising from insurance claims and ensure the Company operates within the applicable legal and regulatory frameworks.
• To provide a proper and proactive management of all legal claims by ensuring prompt settlement at optimal cost in order to achieve high levels of customer satisfaction and cost cutting for the Company.

Knowledge & Qualifications

Academic Qualifications

• Bachelor of Laws Degree from a recognized university.

Professional Qualification

• A post graduate diploma in law from the Kenya School of Law
• Advocate of the High Court of Kenya
• Current Practising Certificate

Experience

• Substantial post qualification professional experience 5+ years, 3 of which must have been in the insurance industry.
• Good skills in analysing cases and making sound cost-effective judgements.
• Good contract review/ drafting skills.
• Keenness to details.
• Good negotiation skills on cases and contracts.
• Demonstrable track-record in giving effective and high-quality legal advice to departmental heads within a business.
• Proven experience in relationship management and a demonstrated ability to supervise a legal team and develop talents that subsequently drive value across the business.

Responsibility and Authority

A. General Legal Duties

• The position is responsible for:
• Providing proactive and pragmatic advice to the business on all legal and regulatory matters.
• Provide legal representation to the Company, take part in formulation and management of corporate strategies and initiatives for all legal aspects of the Company.
• Manage legal risk within the business by taking responsibility for providing legal advice to the business on all legal matters.
• Managing court cases and disputes affecting the Company and its clients.
• Reviewing and providing advice to the business upon request on matters concerning contracts required for the operation of the business.
• Taking part in setting of the strategy and goals for the Legal team in alignment with the larger organizational goals.
• Supervising Legal Department staff and assisting the Legal Manager and Head of Legal to oversee a department that can appropriately support the Business.
• Assisting the Legal Manager in overseeing all legal matters, including managing external legal counsel and providing regulatory liaison.
• Providing daily interaction and advice to the departmental heads on all aspects of the Company’s business.
• Advising management on a variety of administrative, labour and employment law matters, including engagements and terminations.

B.Legal Claims

The position is responsible for:

• Receiving Court Summonses and determining whether liability attaches on the part of the Company.
• Appointing, supervising, and managing of advocates in the Company’s panel to file defences or sue on its behalf.
• Attending Court as a witness and in the company of the Company’s external advocates to provide insights into court cases.
• Maintaining various registers within the Department, as advised by the Legal Manager.
• Managing court cases and determining whether suits should proceed to full trial or be negotiated out of court.
• Negotiating cases directly with third party advocates, where liability is confirmed.
• Perusing through and acting on correspondence and opinions from our advocates within the stipulated turnaround times.
• Recommending settlements for judgments, advocates’ and other service providers’ fees.
• Assist in processing of payments to claimants and service providers.
• Confirming accuracy of fee notes raised by our Advocates in accordance with the Advocates Remuneration Order and ensuring prompt payment.
• Perusing through and acting on any correspondence and/or enquiries regarding legal claims within deadlines.
• Conducting legal research and preparing legal opinions on liability and quantum/ review such opinions once they are received from external advocates.
• Organizing for witnesses to attend court and the Company’s advocates’ offices for pre-trial briefing.
• Review investigation reports, to ensure that they are comprehensive enough to meet the need for which they were sought and recommend remedial action as necessary.
• Timely review of and determining whether the outcome of court cases should be appealed or not.
• Assisting in recovery of the Company’s outlay from third parties.
• Advising on the adequacy of claims reserves, reviewing the files and placing the correct reserves for all legal claims.
• Review of Kenya Gazettes, Legal Notices and any changes in statutes and advising departments on changes that may be relevant to their functions.
• Ensuring the Company operates within the laid down regulations and guidelines as far as claims are concerned.
• Any other duties that may be assigned from time to time.

Skills and competencies

• Ability to identify and offer solutions for complex legal issues
• Proven ability to work both independently with minimal supervision and as a team player in a fast-paced, deadline-oriented environment
• Exceptionally good skills in the legal negotiations
• Ability to draft and manage complex legal documents
• Ability to strategize and solve problems
• Strong leadership and organizational skills
• Excellent communication and people skills
• Ability to manage the relationships with various stakeholders
• Excellent analytical skills and keenness to details
• Discretion with confidential information

Personal Attributes

• Ability to manage competing priorities under pressure
• Strong interpersonal skills, ability to communicate and manage well at all levels of the organization.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment and make decisions based on accurate and timely analyses.
• High level of integrity and dependability with a strong sense of urgency and results-orientation.

Key Result Areas

• Customer satisfaction
• Timely and efficient settlement of claims
• Prevention of losses and safeguarding of the Company’s reputation by avoiding adverse actions by auctioneers and other related enforcement actions

Key Performance Indicators

• Effective management of legal matters and claims
• Reduction in cost of litigation