Legal Advisor

dentsu; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 520,000 - 760,000; Full time

Job summary

Dentsu SSA is expanding its Legal and Compliance team and seeks a junior lawyer to support the media practice across SSA. You will report to the General Counsel, SSA, and work within a vibrant international legal team delivering practical legal advice to enable sustainable business growth.

You will engage in ethics & compliance, contract management, and company secretarial tasks, collaborating with cross-functional teams and senior management. A passion for marketing and media is valued.

Qualifications

• Admitted attorney with 2–5 years PQE, gained in private practice or in-house.
• Strong legal acumen, excellent drafting and communication skills.
• Ability to work independently while contributing within a team.

Responsibilities

• Support Ethics & Compliance initiatives across SSA, tracking projects and reporting.
• Draft and negotiate commercial agreements including MSAs and SOWs; oversee contract administration.
• Assist with company secretarial tasks: director appointments/removals, Resolutions, and annual returns.
• Support due diligence for M&A, BBEEE, and third-party processes.

Skills

Legal drafting

Communication skills

Contract negotiation

Independent worker

Team collaboration

Education

Law degree / admitted attorney

Tools

CLM tools

Job description

We are expanding our legal team and are looking for an exceptional junior lawyer for a role within the dentsu SSA Legal and Compliance team. The role will focus on dentsu’s media practice across SSA, and report to General Counsel, SSA. The media practice at dentsu provides a diverse range of services to clients to maximize the effectiveness, relevance, and performance of their marketing investment in media.

The successful candidate will join a large and vibrant international community of lawyers who provide practical and focused legal advice supporting dentsu as it drives sustainable business growth for our clients.

We are looking for an individual who is passionate about marketing and will bring energy and enthusiasm to the role. There is plenty of opportunity to develop professional and personal skills and work alongside senior management as a trusted business advisor. While a background in media is not necessary for the role, a keen interest in learning about all aspects of media marketing, advertising and communication is critical.

Job Description:

Responsibilities of the role include the following:

ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE

• Contribute to global compliance programme initiatives, including the tracking of specific compliance related projects and initiatives across multiple countries and/or businesses across SSA
• Collate and develop compliance related information and data sets, including Gifts & Hospitality reporting
• Liaise with other functions to improve access to data and strengthen compliance initiatives
• Develop analytical reports and presentations
• Fulfil requests for data and information from global and local compliance contacts and other global and regional managers
• Administer the Annual Affiliate Certification Process and Annual Compliance Questionnaire
• Administer the annual Declaration of Interest form distribution and collation process, reporting on the resulting declarations and dealing with access queries to the global register of interest
• Support M&A, BBEEE, affiliate and other third-party due diligence

CONTRACTS

• Draft and negotiate a variety of commercial agreements, including services agreements (MSAs and SOWs) both local, regional & multi-market agreements and other commercial and operational agreements.
• Oversee contract administration and compliance.
• Help implement best-practices in compliance, contract management, intellectual property, and data privacy.
• Manage CLM tools and ensure that local practices align with global required standards.

COMPANY SECRETARIAL

• Assist with personnel changes (appointments and removals of directors, local company secretary) across Dentsu SSA entities across the region.
• Draft necessary Resolutions (shareholder and board) as may be necessary across markets.
• Adhere to and develop an understanding of local market company registries (CIPC; PACRA; BRELA and CAC)
• Manage Annual Returns and other prescribed submissions as may be necessary across the region.
• Assist business unit with ad hoc company secretarial requests for audit and BBEEE tasks

Qualifications

We are seeking an admitted attorney with 2-5 years post-qualification experience (PQE), gained either in private practice or in-house. The ideal candidate will demonstrate strong legal acumen, excellent drafting and communication skills, and the ability to work independently while contributing effectively within a team environment.

Location

Cape Town

Brand

Dentsu

Time Type

Full time

Contract Type

Permanent