Job Vacancies at British American Tobacco

British American Tobacco has a really great opportunity for a Legal Counsel Corporate & Governance to join our team in Nairobi.

The role reports to the Area Head of Legal and aims to proactively manage BAT’s corporate responsibilities, compliance and governance requirements within ECAA and to successfully implement and execute the LEX Functional strategy and objectives.

Our new colleague will be responsible for providing strategic advice to BAT entities in ECAA on all legal matters pertaining to good governance and compliance controls of the business while representing the Legal department on the Functional Leadership Teams.

Principal Accountabilities

• Drive and communicate an effective area wide governance and corporate reporting framework to senior management and external regulatory bodies as appropriate.
• Advise on and be actively involved in any proposed changes to the corporate structure and governance practices for any BAT ECAA entities.
• Keep abreast of arising regulatory developments as well as evolving best practices in corporate governance practices and corporate compliance measures.
• Champion and ensure adequate measures are in place for adherence to the BAT Group Standards of Business Conduct [SoBC], applicable policies and internal controls/systems, and direct internal SoBC investigations appropriately.
• Develop and drive the maintenance of control systems and appropriate company policies to proactively deal with risks, violations of legal, governance guidelines and internal policies and evaluate the efficiency of internal controls for continuous improvement.
• Provide support and advice on governance aspects, compliance and relevant internal controls to the Boards of Trustees of various BAT retirement benefit schemes in ECAA.
• Ensure adequate implementation and compliance with the agreed records management programme and policies across ECAA and develop cost-effective best practice solutions in line with records management resources.

Leadership Capabilities

• Support and implement the strategic plans and objectives of the Legal sub-function in line with the business strategy.
• Identify and take steps in conjunction with senior management to mitigate and manage business governance and compliance risks
• Develop, train and promote better understanding by ECA employees and other relevant persons of applicable internal controls, corporate governance practices and records management requirements.
• Effectively communicate and position the scope and importance of this role to the business and functional leadership teams.

Functional Competencies

• Recognized legal qualification through a reputable academic institution. Qualification as a Company Secretary or Governance Auditor is mandatory.
• Minimum 8 years of experience, among which at least 3-4 years in managing compliance issues or advising on good governance practices in a corporate environment.
• Sound knowledge of applicable regulatory requirements, corporate governance practices and emerging trends and issues on the same.
• Excellent knowledge of reporting procedures and corporate record keeping
• Ability to critically analyse and provide direction on compliance and governance issues.
• Collaborative team player with strong negotiation, communication and dispute resolution skills
• High personal and professional integrity and strong work ethics

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British American Tobacco has an exciting opportunity for 2 new colleagues to join our team as Assistant Legal Counsel - Marketing and Assistant Legal Counsel - Operations and Commercial.

The roles report to the Legal Counsel, and the main focus is to ensure proactive timely delivery of legal counselling to BAT’s operations within ECAA and to successfully implement and execute the LEX Functional strategy and objectives.

The new colleagues will take responsibility in advising BAT entities in ECAA on all legal matters pertaining to Marketing, Commercial and Operational sides of the business while representing the Legal department on the Functional Leadership Teams.

Principal Accountabilities

Operational/Professional/Business

• Contribute to the development and execution of the LEX functional strategy.
• Monitor and interpret the ECAA legislative environment in which the business operates, to ensure that the business understands and meets its legal obligations.
• Maintain a thorough understanding of regulatory issues and the regulatory framework in which the business operates and take responsibility for the development of informed solutions enabling the business to respond to and deal with regulatory constraints.
• Management of any litigation instituted by or against the business as allocated by the Legal Counsel within ECAA, including devising and executing case strategy. Assist the Legal Counsel to ensure cost effective management of External Counsel.
• Contribute to the development and execution of the LEX functional strategy.
• Monitor and interpret the ECAA legislative environment in which the business operates, particularly in terms of its marketing activities, to ensure understanding and compliance with its legal obligations.
• Maintain a thorough understanding of regulatory issues and the regulatory framework in which the business operates, specifically in relation to the marketing of its products, and develop informed solutions enabling the business to respond to and deal with regulatory constraints.
• Support effective management of any regulatory litigation instituted by or against the business as allocated by the Marketing & Regulations Counsel, including devising and executing case strategy.

Management

• Participate and contribute to cross functional business projects and initiatives to assess, monitor and anticipate potential threats to minimize legal risks and ensure achievement of business objectives.
• Monitor and interpret the legislative environment to ensure that proactive legal advice and support is provided on manufacturer’s statutory obligations, labour laws, health and safety at work regulations and leaf growing marketing legislation.
• Draft, negotiate and review contractual documentation and develop as appropriate standard formats to optimise efficiencies within the Legal sub-function.
• Execute relevant administrative activities in the Function to ensure the availability of resources, continuous flow of information and updated records.
• Ensure an improved control environment in Legal in line with the business strategy.
• Identify and take steps in conjunction with management to minimise commercial risks.
• Render timely legal advice to the business on Anti-Illicit Trade (AIT), Competition Law, Intellectual Property law (including trademark protection and management) and regulatory engagements.
  
  

Leadership Capabilities

• Support, implement and achieve the strategic plans and objectives of the Legal sub-function in line with the business strategy.
• Powerful and effective communication to the business on the relevance and strategic business importance of the area of responsibility of this role.
• Identify new initiatives and proposals in line with the business strategy and values to ensure legal operates at the heart of the business and as effective risk managers and business partners.
• Continuously develop technical and managerial skills as identified and agreed in personal development plan.
• Build and maintain good relationships with experts in the legal field.
• Map out internal and external stakeholders pertinent to areas of responsibility and build those relationships to optimise effectiveness of legal actions.
• Continually optimise and build improved systems and work process to drive efficiency and reduce costs.

Functional Competencies

• A recognized legal qualification through a reputable academic institution and competence in providing legal advice to internal stakeholders.
• 5-6 years of experience, with at least 2-3 years’ experience in a private legal practice and 1-3 years’ experience in a corporate environment.
• Thorough knowledge of local substantive and procedural laws relevant to areas of responsibility
• Strong negotiation, written and verbal communications skills
• Ability to apply strong strategic, analytical skills and good judgment.
• Ability to act on his or her own initiative, lead others and work well with peers and senior management.