Legal Counsel - Corporate

Tongaat Hulett; Durban; On-site; ZAR 600,000 - 900,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company in food and beverage manufacturing seeks a Corporate Legal Counsel. The role involves providing comprehensive legal advisory services, managing disputes, and ensuring compliance across various levels. Candidates should possess an LLB and significant experience in legal practice, particularly in corporate and commercial law.

Qualifications

• 5 to 7 years post-qualification experience, including in-house legal experience.
• Broad business and financial acumen.
• Working knowledge of relevant legislation and case law.

Responsibilities

• Provide legal advice on complex and routine commercial matters.
• Draft, review, and negotiate a range of commercial contracts.
• Identify and mitigate legal risks across the Group.

Skills

Communication - written and verbal

Crisis management

Dispute management

Management of external resources

Education

LLB

Job description

To provide a comprehensive organisation-wide legal advisory service on a range of complex, high-risk and general commercial legal matters to the Group and its subsidiaries/ entities or operations, which includes;

• Facilitating and supporting the implementation of the portfolio of the Group Legal Counsel and Company Secretary in relation to legal services, company secretarial and compliance.
• Providing guidance and briefing the legal professionals employed within the subsidiaries and/or external lawyers as appropriate.
• Consulting with the Group Legal Counsel and Company Secretary and/ or, independently deciding on the resolution of disputes within the Tongaat Group with due consideration given to the legal justification in terms of case law and the impact on the Group or subsidiary or operations in the immediate, medium and long term
  
  

Roles & Responsibilities

• Functional Planning & Legal Strategy
• Prioritize high-risk legal issues with Group Legal Counsel and Company Secretary.
• Shape legal strategy using conceptual thinking, legal precedent, and risk/cost analysis.
• Interpret and action legislative impacts, advising on policy and control alignment.
• Oversee legal recordkeeping systems and stay updated on tech innovation.
• Group Legal Services
• Provide timely, accurate, business-focused legal advice on complex and routine commercial matters.
• Advise on M&A structure, competition law, IP, regulatory dealings, and disputes.
• Serve as Botswana’s go-to for commercial legal services and contract management.
• Legal Agreements & Transactions
• Draft, review, and negotiate a range of commercial contracts.
• Manage property deals and notarial registrations.
• Oversee legal proceedings and pursue appropriate resolution pathways.
• Legal Risk & Strategy Integration
• Identify and mitigate legal risks across the Group.
• Balance risk and opportunity to support strategy execution and protect reputation.
• Integrate risk insights into Group-level strategic planning.
• Governance Support
• Provide administrative and operational support for governance and legal compliance.
• Maintain statutory records and contribute to governance improvement projects.
• Relationship & Stakeholder Management
• Engage constructively with regulators, partners, and legal providers.
• Drive cost-effective external legal engagements and audit collaboration.
• Equip advocacy teams with legal insights for public and regulatory interaction.
• Systems & Legal Operations
• Manage digital platforms (LMM, Contracts Manager, Entity Manager).
• Support SOP and guideline rollout; contribute to legal resource development (templates, clauses, opinions).
  
  

Qualifications & Experience

• LLB
• 5 to 7 years post-qualification experience, including in-house legal experience.
• Broad business and financial acumen.
• Litigation and arbitration tactics and procedures
• Working knowledge of the law (legislation, case law and common law) relevant for operations in all the countries in which Tongaat carries on business.
• Communication - written and verbal.
• Crisis management.
• Dispute management.
• Management of external resources.
  
  

Closing Date : Friday, 27 June 2025

Seniority level

• Seniority level

  Not Applicable

Employment type

• Employment type

  Full-time

Job function

• Job function

  Legal

• Industries

  Food and Beverage Manufacturing

Referrals increase your chances of interviewing at Tongaat Hulett by 2x

Get notified about new Corporate Legal Counsel jobs in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Legal Counsel – Corporate Drafting, Acquisitions

Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa 2 days ago

We’re unlocking community knowledge in a new way. Experts add insights directly into each article, started with the help of AI.