S.Subs – in office – flexible work hours. Report to UK lead and dotted line to CEO in CT.
R HIGHLY NEGOTIABLE PLUS AN ANNUAL PERFORMANCE BONUS
Our client was launched in the late 90;sThey are a chain of health clubs in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Italy, Australia, Singapore, Thailand and the United Kingdom.
They now seek a Legal Director, South Africa join their team. You will report to the group Head of Legal (London). This is a new role – crafted as a need in the business – it’s a senior and important role!
JOB DESCRIPTION WILL INCLUDE BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO:
- You will be required to assume the formal role of Company Secretary for the company;
- This role reports to the Group Legal Counsel (based in the UK. The team will work collaboratively across our international territories, being Italy, UK, Qatar, Australia, Thailand and Singapore. There will be a dotted reporting line to the Group CEO, , based in SA.
- This role is an in-office role daily, no option for remote work arrangements. We can consider this in an exceptional circumstance.
- You will be required to lead the management of day-to-day legal risk across the South African business and set the territory’s legal operations strategy. This is a senior, cross-functional role partnering closely with the South African leadership team to shape and execute business strategy, while ensuring the business operates within an effective, practical risk and compliance framework;
- You will be required to have three direct reports: two legal counsel and one legal support;
- You will be required to own and manage all day-to-day legal risk across the South African business, providing pragmatic, commercial legal advice;
- You will be required to act as a trusted adviser to the South African leadership team, supporting strategic decision-making and execution;
- You will be required to lead the territory legal operations agenda (ways of working, intake / prioritisation, templates / playbooks, reporting, external counsel management, matter management);
- You will be required to draft, review and negotiate a broad range of commercial agreements (including supplier, services, partnership and customer-facing arrangements);
- You will be required to manage and oversee disputes and litigation, including strategy, risk assessment, settlement negotiation and management of external counsel;
- You will be required to support corporate governance requirements and ensure appropriate legal oversight for key initiatives and projects;
- You will be required to embed a strong risk culture through training, guidance and collaborative partnering with internal stakeholders;
- You will be responsible for key stakeholder relationships:
- Group head of legal (London) and wider group legal team;
- South African country director;
- South African leadership team and functional leads (operations, HR, finance, marketing, procurement, IT / data).
CORE COMPETENCIES REQUIRED, BUT NOT LIMITED TO:
- You are confident working autonomously, prioritising effectively and influencing senior stakeholders;
- You are comfortable operating in a matrix (solid line to London; dotted line locally) and collaborating cross-functionally;
- You have excellent communication (verbal and written) skills in English, with sound judgement and a solutions-focused approach to risk.
CORE QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:
- You have commercial legal experience, no litigation experience needed – and meaty exposure;
- You will be required to have technology and AI legal exposure and experience, given the company is on the journey for digital technology transformation including AI;
- You have corporate legal experience in a similar industry, i.e. within hospitality, retail, financial services and importantly a consumer facing basis – this would be ideal;
- You have leadership and team management experience. You will lead a senior legal advisor who manages property lease agreements and a mid-level legal advisor, who oversees the operational and member facing legal agreements, i.e. personal trainers and group exercise instructors, the team also has a senior legal administrator who manages the day to day operations for the clubs;
- You have a minimum of 5 years PQE (minimum), admitted attorney / advocate (or equivalent) with strong commercial acumen;
- You have prior in-house experience, with a demonstrable ability to operate as a pragmatic generalist in a fast-paced environment –
- You have strong experience in commercial contracting– this is essential;
- You are able identify legal risk early and manage it proportionately, enabling pace and confident decision-making;
- You are able to handle contracts and disputes efficiently with clear governance, visibility and control of cost / risk;
- You have a scalable legal operations approach is embedded in the territory, improving speed, consistency, and stakeholder experience.
This is a senior role. You will manage a team; lead the area and be the SME on all commercial legal and Co Sec matters. You are hard working are more than capable of working a fast paced environment with no one day being the same as the next and thrive on challenge. You are highly professional; presentable; articulate and have a stellar work ethic!