Legal Advisor

Job Classification

REQ: 127970 - Refilwe Falatsi
Closing Date: 18 September 2023
Division: Nedbank Insurance | Governance
Employment Equity Statement: Preference will be given to individuals from underrepresented groups.

Job Family

Risk, Audit and Compliance

Career Stream

Legal

Leadership Pipeline

Manage Self: Professional

Job Purpose

To provide proactive professional legal advice and legal risk management services to internal clients to mitigate the insurers legal risk.
Assist Legal Head: Nedbank Insurance in the development and implementation of structures and processes for the effective and efficient provision and delivery of insurance wide legal services, risk management, legal and regulatory compliance.

Job Responsibilities

Build and sustain business relations to ensure satisfied internal and external stakeholders.
Manage and develop strong partnerships and stakeholder relations with outside counsel/external law firms to ensure that a high-quality standard of legal service is provided at a reasonable cost.
Provide support and oversight over the management of legal costs to ensure that costs are managed within the allocated legal budget.
Ensure continued satisfaction of stakeholders by meeting turnaround times for requests and identifying and addressing issues or concerns through the provision of legal risk advice.
Optimise new product development policy execution by ensuring alignment between all stakeholders and relevant business processes.
Manage stakeholder expectations by providing management information; risk analytics, insights and strategic motivation resulting in the optimal management of these risk disciplines.
Participate in and provide advice to board; Executive Committee; Management Committee and sub committees on governance; regulatory; procedural and legal practice matters by attending; preparing and submitting papers, challenging and monitoring.
Contribute to a corporate culture conducive to the achievement of transactional and transformational goals by participating in Nedbank and Nedbank Insurance Culture building initiatives (e.g. staff surveys etc.).
Research and provide training to staff on legal risk management.
Participate and support corporate responsibility initiatives for the achievement of business strategy (e.g. Green Strategy).
Seek opportunities to improve business processes, models and systems by identifying and recommending effective ways to operate and adding value to Nedbank Insurance.
Optimise the legal risk management performance of Nedbank Insurance by assisting business to identify; recommend (through reporting, insights and risk analytics) and execute legal risk management strategies within the Group's defined risk appetite.
Provide legal risk advice to assist and enable business to achieve its risk objectives by developing, managing and executing policies, procedures and practices of a risk nature.
Provide strategic recommendations that are well supported through insights to relevant decision making bodys to improve legal risk management processes and practices.
Manage legal risk by developing mandates for an effective legal risk management structure.
Meet internal stakeholder requirements by providing governance, policy and advisory services.
Report on the legal risk management process by generating and presenting quality legal risk reports.
Ensure the requirements of risk, governance and compliance are addressed by embedding a legal risk culture within Nedbank Insurance.
To support business and commercial transactions and projects, and act as trusted advisor and business partner.
Provide legal advice by responding to ad hoc risk requests and queries.
Provide adequate and effective legal management of litigation matters, including high quality recommendations, timeous communication with relevant internal stakeholders and panel attorneys.
Review and manage attorneys panel to ensure that the panel comprises appropriate, diverse and transformed attorneys and law firms.
Scan the environment for any legal or regulatory changes and developments, anticipate the impact thereof on the broader business by conducting impact assessments, make proactive recommendations related to the mitigation of such impact, coordinate the implementation of the changes and submit any required response by and on behalf of the business.
Communicate new and relevant legislation to the business and educate management and employees on pertinent legal issues.

Job Responsibilities Continue

Draft, review, vet and negotiate contracts on behalf of business to ensure that legal contractual risk is managed adequately and effectively.
Support Legal Head to provide support in the negotiations, and subsequent drafting of contracts and related commercial agreements in a consistent manner.
Ensure that adequate and effective systems, processes and practises are in place for contract management, litigation management, advisory services and regulatory developments.
Support the achievement of the business strategy, objectives and values by reviewing Nedbanks and Nedbank Insurances BusinessPlan and ensuring delivered systems, process, services and solutions are aligned.
Achieve goals and objectives by understanding and embracing the Nedbank vision and demonstrate the Nedbank values through interaction with team and stakeholders.
Improve personal capability and stay abreast of developments in field of expertise by identifying training courses and career progression for self through input and feedback from managers.
Ensure personal growth and enable effectiveness in performance of roles and responsibilities by ensuring all learning activities are completed, experience practiced and certifications obtained and/or maintained within specified time frames.
Enable skilling and required corrective action to take place by sharing knowledge and industry trends with team and stakeholders during formal and informal interaction.
Obtain buy-in for developing new and/or enhanced processes (e.g. operational processes) that will improve the functioning of stakeholders' businesses by highlighting benefits in support of the implementation of recommendations.
Participate in mentoring sessions.
Facilitate and promote knowledge and skills transfer within Legal team.
Promote and foster good teamwork and collaboration across the Group and Legal Clusters.
Add value to Nedbank by identifying and recommending opportunities to enhance processes, systems and policies and support implementation of new processes, policies and systems.
Deliver on risk and compliance related projects by tracking progress and ensuring completion within specified time frames.
Ensure delivery on projects by planning individual activities according to business needs and monitoring actions.
Minimize overall business risks by engaging and obtaining stakeholders' view of where risks exists.
Make an informed recommendation to stakeholders by evaluating identified risks and by conducting observations; analysing data and interviewing relevant parties.
Foster good relationships and promote business understanding by engaging in effective communication with stakeholders.
Ensure full understanding of changes on relevant legislative issues by conducting ad hoc training.
Ensure that the recommended actions are taken by participating in external audit process and subsequently follow-ups with relevant stakeholders.

People Specification

Essential Qualifications - NQF Level

Advanced Diplomas/National 1st Degrees

Preferred Qualification

Bachelor of Arts/Commerce and Bachelor of Law, Advanced Diplomas/National 1st Degree

Essential Certifications

Admitted Attorney

Minimum Experience Level

6 -10 years post articles experience within the Financial Services Industry (preference Insurance Industry)

Technical / Professional Knowledge