Senior Manager- Commercial Lawyer

Senior Manager – South Africa

Job Purpose

Responsible for driving legal projects and activities relating to the General Counsel’s Office function, servicing  South Africa and assisting the General Counsel with servicing Africa - with special emphasis on reviewing and negotiating various contracts and providing internal legal advice to other teams across service lines while adhering to EY’s internal policies (both locally and internationally).

Key Responsibilities

General Counsel Office (GCO):

The Commercial Lawyer (Senior Manager) will assist the GCO with the following tasks across the Africa Region of EY, and across all service lines

• General - Drafting and negotiating various agreements across service lines, including global framework agreements, local implementation agreements, service level agreements, technology agreements, intellectual property agreements, procurement agreements, confidentiality agreements and data usage agreements;
• Ability to advise leadership team and engagement teams on all current commercial contracts( eg. Structuring, development of templates);
• Reviewing and contributing to drafting firm policies including authority and delegations framework;
• Litigation – Coordination of litigation matters in close relationship with Africa Regional General Counsel and relevant Quality Service Line Leader (including risks and prospects analysis and briefing external legal counsel);
• Providing advice to business units on potential claims as well as forming part of special ad hoc panels to manage the risk of potential claims;
•  Providing input/reporting to legal risk committee;
• Reviewing and negotiating Engagement letters with suggested clients changes to  EY’s standard terms and conditions,
• Confidentiality agreements and Request for Tenders, Bid submissions or Request for Proposal,
• Sponsorship Agreements
• Non-disclosure agreements
• Service level agreements
• Global framework agreements
• Responses to requests for proposals/bids 
• Teaming agreements
• Consortium agreements
• Subcontractor agreements
• Service provider Agreement
• Secondment Agreements
•  Memorandum of Understanding
• Any other bespoke agreement required by the service lines
• Consider the legal risks in the agreements
• Provision of internal legal opinions to as requested by the service lines or the General Counsel
• Negotiation, drafting/reviewing of agreements and other legal documentation;
• Assistance dealing  with managing disputes and litigation matters(commercial) , and compliance, legislative and regulatory requirements as requested by the General Counsel;
• Manage the Master Template Database of contracts and other legal precedents;
• Assistance with Projects as undertaken by the GCO;
• Assistance with selected areas of legal advice on compliance issues; 

Qualifications

• Minimum Bachelor of Laws degree  
• Must be admitted as an attorney in South Africa
• Solid commercial drafting, reviewing and negotiating skills
• Extensive experience in negotiating software agreements
• Business acumen
• Exposure across the African continent would be beneficial
• Top administration skills with a high proficiency in the use of Microsoft office programmes
• Excellent relationship skills which sometimes may be tested when dealing with pressure     
• Assertive, proactive and energetic
• Willingness to work overtime when necessary
• Strong team player
• Strong organisational and project management skills
• Well-rounded corporate and commercial experience
• Experience in an auditing firm and with compliance and company secretarial matters will be an advantage
• Adaptive and ability to think on your feet
• Decision making capabilities
• Ability to manage with matters with little or no assistance
• Flexibility to travel if required

Key Requirements 

• Qualified to practice law in South Africa.
• At least 7 years of post-qualification legal experience, preferably with an international law firm and/or multi-national corporation with at least a significant portion of such experience occurring in South Africa.
  
  

Ideally, in-depth experience of the professional services industry. Other Personal Characteristics

• Unquestioned ethics and integrity.
• High level of self-confidence and energy.
• High level of intellectual agility, initiative, self-motivation, resourcefulness, and patience.
• Pragmatic with strong business acumen.
• Strong analytical skills.
• Strong organizational skills with attention to detail

Who we are

At EY we support you in achieving your unique potential both personally and professionally. We give you stretching and rewarding experiences that keep you motivated, working in an atmosphere of integrity and teaming with some of the world's most successful companies. And while we encourage you to take personal responsibility for your career, we support you in your professional development in every way we can. You enjoy the flexibility to devote time to what matters to you, in your business and personal lives. At EY you can be who you are and express your point of view, energy and enthusiasm, wherever you are in the world. It's how you make a difference