Main Accountabilities

Commercial Focus

• Proactive approach to identifying, managing and reporting of legal risks and issues.
• Can apply legal principles to the business environment and challenges to find solutions and mitigate legal risk.
• Positively adapts to change and adjusts approach to provide solutions
• Develops strong networks across the organization to get things done.
• Exhibits ability to negotiate and influence people to achieve positive outcomes.
• Clear and confident communicator who tailors message according to audience

Customer Focus

• Understanding of customers stated needs
• Offers insightful service provision in response to business issues.
• Develops professional relationships with key business areas and maintains relationships in testing situations

Technical Skills and Knowledge

• Has a clear logical approach to the issues and provides easy to follow commercial advice

Solution Focus

• Takes ownership of problems and fixes what is not right with personal accountability for high quality outputs
• Gets involved in projects in the team and across the function to share knowledge and learn new skills

Team Working

• Shows enthusiasm for new ideas and contributes to implementation.
• Works with others to improve and seeks coaching/ mentoring for self
• Involves team members when developing recommendations and utilizes resource to the best effect
• Makes the team a fun place to work, supports others to make a success of the team and function and encourages collaborative working.
• Gives observable and honest feedback in a timely manner.
• Work on team and Function wide initiatives to make Absa a better place

Risk and Control Objectives

• In the event of major issues in the business unit, act as crisis coordinator and allocate tasks to the crisis teams.
• Review the risk and Legal profiles of the business unit on a regular basis and provide consultative support to the Head of Compliance & Legal on changes that are required to rebalance risk and reward where required.
• Understanding of own role in the end-to-end processes in which you play a part, including applicable risks and controls.
• Adhere to Absa’s policies and procedures applicable to own role, demonstrating sound judgment and responsible risk management.
• Keep up to date on all legal and regulatory changes and have the ability to articulate the impact to the Business, be well informed on the industry thinking.
• All mandatory training completed to deadline.

Technical skills / Competencies

• Strong legal analytical skills.
• Strong written and spoken English including legal terminology.
• Strong conversational English
• Ability to work with figures confidently and to construct and use excel spreadsheets confidently
• Computer literate – comfortable user of usual office software packages

Experience, qualifications and other requirements specific to the role

• Essentials 

• Law degree
• Admitted as an Advocate.

• Preferred

• Qualified legal experience (private practice or in-house) dealing with banking and/or commercial issues/clients.

Knowledge and Expertise

• Essential

• Banking Law
• Financial Services Compliance Frameworks
• Anti-Money Laundering Frameworks
• Retail financial services contractual drafting of terms & conditions / products terms etc.
• Commercial banking facility terms and standard security documentation
• Sourcing contractual relationships and drafting
• HR & Industrial relations knowledge
• Civil Litigation knowledge