Team Lead, Legal

Team Lead, Legal

Tenece Professional Services Limited ('Tenece') is a multi-competency enterprise transformation and technology-consulting firm that combines expertise and capabilities across many industries and business functions to deliver superior value to its clients. Tenece collaborates with its clients, both in the private and public sectors, to build high performance ...

Job Summary

• The Team Lead, Legal runs the group legal team day to day and deputizes for the Head of Legal when required.
• The role leads a team of lawyers and personally handles the more complex contracts, transactions and advisory work.
• The aim is simple: every business in the group, in every market, gets clear, practical and timely legal support.

Key Responsibilities

• Commercial and contracts
• Draft, review and negotiate commercial agreements across group entities, including technology vendor and OEM/VAD arrangements, NDAs, MOUs, service, supply, construction and government contracts.
• Apply the Legal Contract Playbook and DOA Policy, including red lines, routing and approvals, and log every deviation.
• Negotiate risk allocation, governing law and dispute resolution terms, particularly with foreign counterparties.
• Review finance documents such as facility letters, guarantees and FX agreements, and flag risks to Finance.
• Keep the contract register current and track obligations, renewals and expiries.

Corporate governance and company secretarial:

• Manage group entities across the group’s markets: statutory filings, registers, annual returns and good standing.
• Prepare board and committee papers, minutes and resolutions that record decisions and actions clearly.
• Advise on governance under CAMA 2020, the Nigerian Code of Corporate Governance 2018 and equivalent rules elsewhere.
• Support corporate actions such as share schemes, restructurings, new entities and wind-ups.

Regulatory and compliance:

• Run the group compliance framework and calendar so no regulatory deadline is missed.
• Advise on data protection (NDPA 2023), competition and consumer protection, AML and anti-bribery.
• Work with Finance and tax advisers on the legal side of tax and FX issues, including cross-border vendor payments.
• Track legal and regulatory change across the group’s markets with local counsel, and brief the business on its impact.

Employment:

• Advise HR on contracts, policies, disciplinary matters and exits
• Review HR policies and handbooks for legal compliance and consistency.
• Make sure disciplinary and termination processes would stand up at the National Industrial Court.

Disputes:

• Handle pre-action correspondence, demand letters, petitions and dispute strategy.
• Instruct and supervise external counsel, test their advice, and keep matters on scope and budget.
• Maintain the litigation register and report on exposure.

Team leadership and legal operations:

• Allocate and prioritise the team’s work, and review all output before it leaves the team.

• Coach team members, set objectives and contribute to performance reviews.

• Set and track turnaround times for legal requests.

• Maintain the group legal matter tracker and prepare inputs for quarterly business reviews.

• Keep templates, precedents and the THL document referencing system in order.

• Key performance indicators

• Performance is judged on speed, compliance, cost and team growth.

• Turnaround times on legal requests met against agreed service levels

• Contracts signed in line with the Contract Playbook and DOA Policy, with every deviation logged and approved

• Statutory and regulatory filings made on time across group entities, with no penalties

• External counsel spend kept within budget

• Matter tracker, contract register and litigation register current at every quarterly review

• Team objectives met and development plans delivered

Qualifications and experience

• Education: LL.M in commercial, corporate or a related area
• Professional standing: ICSAN or CIArb membership; data protection certification
• Experience: 7 years’ post-call, In-house experience in a multi-sector, multi-country group
• Leadership: Experience building legal processes, policies or playbooks

Required competencies:

Knowledge:

• Nigerian contract and commercial law, including risk allocation
• Corporate law, governance and company secretarial practice (CAMA 2020, NCCG 2018)
• Regulatory compliance (NDPA 2023, FCCPA 2018, AML, anti-bribery)
• Litigation and arbitration procedure (Arbitration and Mediation Act 2023)
• Sector regulation in technology, real estate and consumer goods
• Cross-border practice (OHADA, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa)
• Foreign exchange and cross-border investment rules

Skills

• Risk assessment with clear, practical recommendations

• Legal tech and AI review tools

• Presenting to senior management and the board

• Managing external counsel on scope and budget

• Legal research and analysis.

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