Head Commercial Legal at Equity Bank Kenya

Job Description Equity Bank Limited (The “Bank”) is incorporated, registered under the Kenyan Companies Act Cap and domiciled in Kenya. The address of the Bank’s registered office is 9th Floor, Equity Centre, P.O. Box – Nairobi. The Bank is licensed under the Kenya Banking Act (Chapter ), and continues to offer retail banking, microfinance and related services. The Bank has subsidiaries in Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda and Tanzania. Its shares are listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange and Uganda Securities Exchange. Equity Bank was founded as Equity Building Society (EBS) in October and was originally a provider of mortgage financing for the majority of customers who fell into the low income population.Role Purpose & Responsibilities Summary:The purpose of the role is to oversee the provision of commercial legal services and advise the Business and other teams of Equity Group.Key Responsibilities Inculcation of legal risk culture and management of legal risk in the business operations of the Group.Manage the Commercial Legal department in the Group Legal Function.Lead, support, manage, mentor, and develop a team of lawyers and other department resources to execute excellently in support of business strategy execution.Negotiation of complex contracts in the interest of Equity Group.Assist the Group Chief Legal Officer in the management of the Group Legal Function.Development of knowledge management solutions and initiatives for the Group Legal Function.Oversee the development and compilation of precedents, standard forms, and templates to support legal analysis, advisory work, and quick document turn-around in support of business in coordination with the relevant business and functional units.Supervise and manage M&A and other strategic legal projects as appropriate.Work closely with the Operations and Business teams of the Group to manage legal risk.Supervise and coordinate the preparation oi briefs regarding legal due diligence on counterparties.Assist in recruiting and managing external legal counsels and service providers, including negotiating cost-effective fee arrangements.Assist in recruiting and managing internal legal counsel including evaluating their performance.Provide legal and strategic advice to business leaders in Equity Group.Coordinate the drafting of Equity Group standard templates and agreements relevant to the business.Oversee the compilation of knowledge resources and precedents gathered in past transactions.Perform such other assignments as may be required from time to time by the Group Chief Legal Officer. Qualifications Bachelor’s degree in law.Minimum of 8 years of experience practicing Law.Admitted to the bar either in Kenya, Uganda, or TanzaniaAn LLM or MBA is an added advantage.