Group Senior Manager – Legal

DP World; Dubai; On-site; AED 400,000 - 620,000; Full time

Job summary

DP World in Dubai seeks a senior legal professional to provide commercially focused guidance to head office and regional managers on a broad range of legal matters within the Ports & Terminals pillar. You will review, draft and negotiate joint venture agreements, concession agreements, terminal services agreements and internal policies, ensuring legal compliance and practical commercial outcomes.

The role involves advising on regulatory, commercial and cross‑border matters, managing external

Qualifications

• Law degree from an accredited university.
• Qualification to practice law from a recognised regulatory body.
• Minimum 5 years post qualification experience in a multinational or international firm.
• Knowledge of cross-border corporate and commercial transactions.
• Commercial awareness and understanding of international practices.
• Excellent analytical and organisational skills.
• Ability to negotiate legal issues and documentation.
• Good communication and interpersonal skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic, effective, reliable and user-friendly support to senior managers on legal matters across the Ports & Terminals pillar.
• Review, draft and negotiate a broad range of legal documents including JV, concession, terminal services and internal policies.
• Identify and analyse legal issues arising in transactions and new projects; provide commercial recommendations and support implementation.
• Advise on regulatory, commercial and contentious matters with cross-regional impact; liaise with external counsel.
• Maintain links with external counsel; select firms and manage external spend for projects.
• Develop legal knowhow including templates, playbooks, approval matrices and contracting processes.
• Liaise between Corporate Finance & Business Development and external counsel; oversee work.
• Provide reporting to the Group Vice-President Legal (Ports & Terminals) on material matters.

Skills

Legal guidance

Cross-border transactions

Negotiation

Communication skills

Analytical skills

Interpersonal skills

Regulatory knowledge

Education

Law degree

Qualified to practice law

Job description

Job Description

Provision of commercially focused guidance, advice and assistance to head office and regional management over a broad range of legal matters across the Ports & Terminals pillar. Liaison with, and supervision of, external legal counsel.

Job Description

Provision of commercially focused guidance, advice and assistance to head office and regional management over a broad range of legal matters across the Ports & Terminals pillar. Liaison with, and supervision of, external legal counsel.

Key Accountabilities

Provide strategic, effective, reliable and user-friendly support, advice and assistance to senior managers within DP World on legal matters affecting any aspect of DP World’s business across the Ports & Terminals pillar.

Review, draft and negotiate a broad range of legal documents (including joint venture agreements, management services agreements, concession agreements, terminal services agreements, strategic customer framework agreements, standard terms and conditions, internal policies and procedures and ancillary agreements), ensuring that legal requirements are met within such documents.

Identify and analyse legal issues arising in transactions and new projects, mainly ports & terminals transactions and projects. Make clear and commercially focused recommendations in respect of such issues. Support the transactions and projects (including their implementation) from a legal perspective.

In addition to transaction / project development advisory work, provide legal guidance to DP World’s network of ports & terminals businesses and related support functions by advising on regulatory, commercial and contentious matters relating to the Ports & Terminals pillar which have potential cross-regional or global impact on DP World’s business

Maintain strong links with external legal counsel. Assist with the selection of appropriate external legal counsel for work that is to be outsourced. Manage external legal spend for projects for which the job holder has day to day responsibility.

Advise the business on developing legal knowhow including, but not limited to, contract templates, playbooks, approval matrices and contracting processes, policies and procedures generally in the Ports & Terminals pillar to facilitate and ensure DP World adopts a harmonised, effective and risk-mitigated contracting process in its material dealings with customers, partners and host governments.

Act as a liaison between commercial colleagues from Corporate Finance & Business development department (CF&BD) and external legal counsel. Provide external legal counsel with clear and explicit instructions. Oversee and review work carried out by external legal counsel.

Provide effective reporting to the Group Vice-President Legal (Ports & Terminals) on all material legal matters impacting the Ports & Terminals pillar.

Qualifications, Skills And Experience

Law Degree from an accredited university.

Qualification to practice law from a recognised legal regulatory body.

Minimum 5 years post qualification experience in an internationally recognised law firm and/ or multinational company. Preferably experience working in the Middle East region.

Knowledge of cross-border corporate and commercial transactions, and experience of managing transactions through to completion. Ideally, knowledge and experience of international infrastructure projects

Commercial awareness and understanding of business needs (including awareness and sensitivity to differing international legal and cultural business practices, and the flexibility to work within different cultural environments).

Excellent analytical and organisational skills.

Ability to effectively negotiate legal issues and transaction documentation with counterparties.

Good communication and interpersonal skills.

About Us

Trade is the lifeblood of the global economy, creating opportunities and improving the quality of life for people around the world. DP World exists to make the world’s trade flow better, changing what’s possible for the customers and communities we serve globally.

With a dedicated, diverse and professional team of more than 115,000 employees from 160 nationalities, spanning 78 countries on six continents, DP World is pushing trade further and faster towards a seamless supply chain that’s fit for the future.

We’re rapidly transforming and integrating our businesses -- Ports and Terminals, Marine Services, Logistics and Technology – and uniting our global infrastructure with local expertise to create stronger, more efficient end-to-end supply chain solutions that can change the way the world trades.

What's more, we're reshaping the future by investing in innovation. From intelligent delivery systems to automated warehouse stacking, we’re at the cutting edge of disruptive technology, pushing the sector towards better ways to trade, minimizing disruptions from the factory floor to the customer’s door.

DP World is on a mission to transcend boundaries and bridge the gap between all nations and cultures – not just in what we do but also in how we behave.

We are dedicated to creating a culture where everyone feels respected, supported, and empowered to reach their full potential. We believe that embracing inclusion and diversity, drives innovation and growth and helps us connect people, businesses, and societies. Free minds and different perspectives are changing our world, and together we can change what’s possible.

WE MAKE TRADE FLOW