Head of Legal

Job Description

Job Purpose:The Head of Legal will provide guidance on corporate governance, negotiating and drafting contracts, risk management and the development of plans and policies in support of business goals and operations. Individually and through a team, the role will liaise with government ministries, suppliers, clients and external counsel as well as authorized distributors and other third parties to enable effective, compliant operations across the organization.Key Responsibilities:Legal Operations & Risk Management:

• Provides legal business guidance and support, prioritizing needs to meet business operational requirements
• Identifies and mitigates legal risk across the organization?s operations
• Ensures all contracts, legal documents and templates are up-to-date and compliant with statutory laws
• Supports the company in maintaining its commercial licenses (mainland and free zones) and dealing with routine corporate secretarial work
• Ensure the monitoring and evaluation of applicable laws and government regulations affecting the operation and activities related to Alef Education?s business
• Effectively discusses and advises colleagues on complex legal matters and collaborative supports development of responses to challenging situations
• Leads a team of legal professions on all corporate needs, establishing processes relating to prioritization, legal drafting of documents, negotiation procedures and settlement protocols
• Contributes to company strategic planning and decision making processes, supporting allocation of resources and managing legal budgets
• Responsible for ensuring that all allegations of legal misconduct are investigated and reported in a timely manner to maintain integrity within the business

Contract & Document Compliance:

• Drafts and negotiates a wide range of contracts (including procurement agreements, technology agreements, service contracts and client agreements)
• Advises HR department on Labor law matters, and draft legal employment documents e.g. termination letters, variations and settlement agreements
• Reviews and provides advice on legal documents, aiding in the management of contract negotiations and prevention of litigation issues
• Identifies potential legal risks and recommends documentation procedures to mitigate

Policy Compliance:

• Chairs the policy committee, ensuring development and approval of policies and procedures that enable effective, compliant operations
• Responsible to evaluate and establish legal training to enable effective understanding and compliance with policies
• Assist with the creation of training materials to advance the business objectives and to promote compliance within the company
• Support corporate governance by reviewing and updating internal policies.
• Oversees data privacy protocols to ensure the company is treating client personal data in accordance with international best practice
• Supports intellectual property work and drives strategies to protect the company?s intellectual property, including copyright, trade marks and, to a limited extent, patents

Education, Experience and Required skills:Educational Qualifications:

• Law Degree (JD or LLM) from accredited law school and/or equivalent degree from a common law jurisdiction or in the MEA Region

Essential Skills and Experience:

• 5 years Post Qualified Experience (PQE)
• Corporate legal experience within a fast-paced, fast-evolving and dynamic environment, preferably working as a Senior Lawyer
• Minimum 2 years experience leading legal guidance and strategy regarding data privacy and intellectual property
• Successful experience leading negotiations on complex, high value, contracts, and agreements
• Track-record of developing and producing effective and high-quality legal documents including contracts, board minutes, and corporate governance documents
• Good customer management skills with strong project management, interpersonal, collaborative and client communication skills
• Extensive experience in drafting and negotiating agreements with impeccable attention to detail and quality control
• Strong drafting and negotiations skills with the ability to independently manage issues as well as support multi-stakeholder project

Desirable Skills:

• Arabic language proficiency a strong advantage

Keyskills :