Legal Manager 192 views

MFS Africa is looking for a Legal Manager

Location: Kenya, Africa

Job Type: Full-time

Note: This position is based in Nairobi and reports to the Head of Legal, Regulatory & Governmental Affairs based in London

Summary:

MFS Africa is the leading digital payments hub in Africa, enabling low-cost payments across the continent. The company works in close partnership with mobile network operators and financial institutions to bring simple and relevant payment services to unbanked people. MFS Africa connects over 200 million mobile money users across sub-Saharan Africa through its platform – the MFS Hub.

This role is within the Legal, Regulatory & Governmental Affairs Group. This role provides legal and regulatory advice and guidance across the Group and supports the Group’s activities across Africa.

The duties and responsibilities captured within this role are sub-divided into two categories, as follows:

Legal Advisory & Support

• Providing legal support to Commercial Team through the drafting of and reviewing of Contracts, negotiating of commercial terms and legal execution for commercial relationships.
• Serving as legal advisor to support internal stakeholders such as IT, commercial, treasury, compliance, and other support departments.
• Identifying legal and regulatory risks in transactions, contracts and other activities conducted by the Group.
• Drafting, reviewing, and interpreting legal and compliance policies and procedures and ensuring that contracts are following internal policies.
• Supporting the development of a best-in-class standardised legal documentation templates and group-wide governance structures for maintaining and updating legal templates.
• Managing contract lifecycles and arrange for re-negotiation of terms where necessary.
• Conducting periodic reviews of existing legal documentation to ensure they remain relevant, applicable, and up to date.
• Maintaining and updating contract repository; serving as owner of the process.
• Managing IP and IP registrations.
• Handling of contractual disputes.
• Providing transaction specific and ad-hoc legal research and advice to ongoing projects.

Regulatory & Governmental Support

• Providing guidance and oversight to the entire Group on regulatory matters.
• Monitoring and responding to regulatory developments across Africa and advising on the impact, if any, on MFS Africa and its business strategy.
• Engaging with and managing regulators in relevant African markets.
• Supporting the Group’s efforts in acquiring new licenses and/or expansion of existing licenses.
• Supporting the Head of Legal, Regulatory & Governmental Affairs in managing engagement and relationships with key governmental entities.
• Working closely with the Compliance to help build the regulatory compliance function across the Group.
• Playing a key role in ensuring MFS Africa’s compliance with the laws and regulations of each country in which we operate, by conducting frequent regulatory horizon scanning and advising on changes in law and regulation and how these might impact the organisation and its businesses.

Requirements:

• Superior verbal and written communication skills in English – able to articulate one’s views in a clear and concise manner.
• Excellent listening skills, analytical and problem-solving aptitude.
• Creative and critical thinker; comfortable challenging the status quo and proposing innovative, constructive solutions to address business challenges.
• Effectively manage relationships with multiple stakeholders (internal and external) at various levels of seniority, operating at both a strategic and tactical level.
• Comfortable working in a diverse, collaborative environment involving different stakeholders and subject matter experts.
• Passionate about consistency, quality, and integrity in governance, legal and regulatory risk management.
• High propensity towards execution, even under a high degree of pressure.
• Able to work autonomously in a highly demanding and often ambiguous environment.
• Collaborative working style, with the ability to identify and organize resources required to deliver on projects.

Qualifications and Experience:

• Qualified lawyer or holder of Degree of Master of Laws in a relevant jurisdiction, with working experience within the financial sector or at a law firm
• 5+ years’ experience in FinTech, consumer/digital financial services, and/or regulatory engagement.
• Deep, demonstrable, practical knowledge of driving, interpreting, and applying regulation in the context of consumer financial services.
• Pan-African exposure, experience, excitement, and expertise will be invaluable.
• Understanding of market and industry developments within the broader financial services sector that relate to legal and regulatory risks in Africa.

Interested candidates, please apply.