Legal Director

PepsiCo; Germiston; Hybrid; ZAR 800 000 - 1 200 000; Full time

Job summary

A global food and beverage leader is seeking a Legal Counsel to oversee legal functions across multiple business areas in South Africa. This role requires a strong background in competition law, substantial legal experience, and the ability to manage high-stakes legal matters. The successful candidate will provide legal oversight for brand workstreams, implement compliance plans, and advise on various commercial functions. Candidates with FMCG or multinational experience will have an advantage. Competitive salary and benefits are offered.

Qualifications

• 15 years plus post qualification experience.
• Admitted Attorney in the High Court of South Africa in good standing.
• Previous experience in a FMCG or multinational company preferred.

Responsibilities

• Manage legal oversight of brand workstreams including advertisements.
• Design and implement Competition Law compliance plans.
• Provide legal advice across multiple business areas.

Skills

Legal expertise

Competition Law knowledge

Drafting and negotiation

Commercial acumen

People management

Excellent communication

Education

Legal Degree (LLB)

Job description

We are PepsiCo PepsiCo is proud to be one of the world’s leading food and beverage companies. Every day, we are dedicated to bringing our mission to create more smiles with every sip and every bite to life. Our products are enjoyed more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. Our portfolio — including Lay’s, Doritos, Gatorade, Pepsi and Quaker — consists of many iconic brands that generate more than US $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales, helping to deliver more than US $70 billion in net revenue in 2020.

Overview

Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Beverages and Convenient Foods by Winning with PepsiCo Positive. Through PepsiCo Positive, we are charting a new course to drive positive action for the planet and people. PepsiCo Positive is an end‑to‑end strategic business transformation with sustainability at the centre of how we will create growth and value by operating within planetary boundaries and inspiring positive change.

In South Africa (SA), you will find our products across the region at breakfast, lunch or dinner. At the gym or on the field. In the office or on the go. We refresh, restore and rejuvenate our consumers all day, every day with our key brands including Simba, Lay's, Liqui Fruit and Bokomo range of cereals. PepsiCo SA employs more than 13,000 people across our three business divisions: Bakeries, Grains, Convenient Foods & Beverages.

Responsibilities

Main purpose of the job: Accountable for all workstreams inherent to Nett Revenue Realisation within the PepsiCo Southern Africa OU to include management of lawyers supporting within this pillar. The role is also accountable to lead all competition law related legal support to include proactive measures to educate and train staff (South Africa, COMESA & Export markets). The role is also responsible for all brand reputation, intellectual property and marketing and advertising legal support services and development and integration of differentiated Go‑to‑Market models. The Role will also be accountable for legal support to the Research & Development, IT, Finance, Tax and Control Functions and partner with the Commercial CoE and EMEA Competition Law CoE Leads in delivering projects, and workstreams within his ambit and all dispute resolution and litigation inherent to the foregoing portfolios.

Accountabilities

• Legal oversight of all brand workstreams including advertising, consumer-facing campaigns, insights, content creation and risk management.
• Design and implementation of a Competition Law compliance plan and related legal support to analyses and mitigate potential risk (SA, COMESA and other Export markets). Lead any governmental engagements (requests for information, market inquiries, investigations, complaints).
• Contracting requirements for all non-GP managed vendors across PepsiCo SA business.
• Primary legal contact for Bokomo Botswana JV with accountability for governance, structures and integration (fit for purpose legal service structure).
• Oversee the delivery of legal support inherent to the Research & Development Function to safeguard intellectual property inherent to product innovation.
• Establish and maintain the legal framework for the Exports business ($27MM 46+ Countries) and Dried Fruit Exports (Agency Risk). Legal frameworks, delivery of strategic projects and mitigate risk.
• Responsible for ensuring commercial functions are in compliance with all relevant laws, regulations and policies including implementation of overall compliance audits. Performs or manages daily compliance risk identification. Inspects, reports, develops and implements preventative measures and internal controls. Creates and delivers employee training on competition law and other compliance matters inherent to the commercial ambit.
• Responsible for advice/counsel across multiple areas of business (marketing, business development, product development, etc.). Research, analyzes, and interprets proposed and existing laws, statutes, and regulations.
• Identifies, evaluates, and addresses issues of legal risk by conducting risk analysis and modeling. Structures, drafts, negotiates and/or approves legal contracts, letters of agreement, policies and other documents related to a variety of trade, commercial, financial, and operational matters.
• Accountable to executives within the Marketing, Commercial, IT, Finance, Tax and Control functions to include management of external counsel to protect and mitigate risk.
• Oversight and accountability for all dispute resolution and litigation within the foregoing portfolios.
• Working with the Corporate Legal team, actively manage and lead decisions around the intellectual property of the business.
• Designated Legal Approver for all committed spend ≤ $1MM in accordance with the Legal SoA Guardrails for PepsiCo SA.

Location

Johannesburg / Cape Town

Qualifications

• Legal Degree (LLB)
• 15 years plus post qualification experience
• Competition Law Specialisation
• Admitted Attorney in the High Court of South Africa in good standing
• Previous experience in a FMCG or multinational company will be an advantage
• Solid commercial acumen and excellent drafting and negotiation skills for high-value legal documents
• Experienced people manager with accountability for the timeous delivery of legal services by lawyers within the team
• Ability to timely resolve instructions in support of a fast-moving consumer goods company that requires agility from support functions such as the legal department
• Excellent communication skills, management of high volume of workload against constant competing priorities
• Track record in advising Leadership and Executive level stakeholders on high-stake legal workstreams.

PepsiCo is an Equal Opportunity Employer in line with the Employment Equity Act.