Legal Counsel Middle East, Europe & Pakistan.Corporate-Legal

Job Summary

• Work with Director - Legal to provide appropriate legal advice and guidance to relevant stakeholders on matters of organizational importance
• To manage legal matters related to litigation, contracting, corporate governance, compliance and mergers & acquisitions across IFFCO subsidiaries worldwide

Roles & Responsibilities

• Work with Director - Legal to standardize and formalize policies and processes related to legal matters at IFFCO
• Support the Director - Legal in development and implementation of guidelines and processes for managing assets and intellectual property, litigation and arbitration proceedings, regulatory vigilance, statutory compliance and secretarial aspects and documentation requirements
• Champion the legal interests of IFFCO by constantly tracking the updates and latest developments in the regulatory arena and advise the concerned stakeholder for necessary action
• Liaise with judicial machinery and governmental agencies to safeguard IFFCO's interest on legal matters in countries of operations
• Support Director - Legal in developing annual budget plan for legal department. Ensure adherence to allocated budget by the team
• Litigation
• Appoint legal consultants for managing litigation filed by or brought against IFFCO
• Work with external legal consultants to create strategy and plans to deal with litigations
• Represent IFFCO in courts on matters of high importance or critical cases in UAE and GCC countries
• Monitor handling of litigation cases related to recovery, debt, labour, land acquisition, etc. and follow up to ensure effective and efficient closure
• Support local business teams to effectively deal with local legal issues, statutory and regulatory approvals, show cause notices and litigation if any within UAE and GCC
• Support the Director - Legal in creating process flows for approval of legal agreements/documents and ensure compliance to laid down guidelines
• Responsible for end-to-end execution of contracts (from drafting to review of contracts) for engaging the services of third party agency (labour contract, security contract, leasing contract, etc.)
• Ensure vetting of contracts or agreements or other legally binding documents being executed by various internal stakeholders on behalf of IFFCO
• Review contract terms and conditions to safeguard and protect IFFCO's interest from legal perspective
• Highlight clauses pertaining to potential financial issues to finance department and work with internal stakeholders and party to resolve differences on such clauses
• Act as Custodian of documentation pertaining to commercial agreements, business contracts, memorandum of understanding, etc.
• Manage legal audits and compliances related to contracting, documentation and licensing
• Responsible for tracking board resolutions and disseminating information of impact of the same to relevant stakeholders
• Understand amendments in company law and assess its implications on IFFCO as a group or its subsidiaries
• Manage corporate events such as incorporation of companies and handle liquidation issues as and when needed
• Draft and review memorandum of understanding being entered by IFFCO or its subsidiaries
• Support mergers & acquisition (M&A) teams on legal matters pertaining to the transaction

KPIs

1. % of cases handled and successfully closed
2. Adherence to service level agreements (SLA) on contracting
3. Adherence to timelines as per Corporate Governance calendar
4. Zero faults in IPR and trademarks
5. Total resolution cost for litigation
6. % adherence to legal budget
7. Minimum legal liabilities and risk exposure to IFFCO in UAE and GCC countries

Work experience requirement

• 10+ years of related experience in Corporate legal teams including 3+ years in an independent legal role
• Experience of regional or global roles is desirable

Qualification

• Master in law
• MBA or Post Graduate Diploma in Management will be an advantage
• Certifications in intellectual property rights, contracting, corporate governance and related legal areas is desirable

Competencies

• Knowledge of Corporate Law
• Knowledge of Mergers and Acquisitions
• Knowledge of Regulatory Frameworks
• Knowledge of commercial contracts
• Knowledge of IPR and Copyright Law
• Self and Team Management
• Planning & Decision Making
• Strategic Thinking
• Change Management
• Ownership & Result Orientation