Legal Counsel at Standard Chartered Bank

Job Description
To provide legal advice and transactional support to the relevant country business and is responsible for driving the country business forward. The role will support with compliance elements and the role will require the candidate to provide compliance support on transactional and product matters together with compliance officers within the bank.

Key Roles & Responsibilities
To execute transactions and cases in a timely and effective manner for the Bank’s business segments across the region.
To manage the process of engaging external counsel, including providing effective instructions to external counsel and negotiating appropriate fee structures for the transaction / case in question.
To support and facilitate internal products development through the new products approval process.

To develop appropriate forms of documentation for products and transactions in the country and region and, where required, support the creation of global standard documentation.
To provide sound, technical product, legal and transactional advice to the business and to anticipate the impact of legal developments on the business and communicate such impact to the business.

To drive the development and maintenance of good relationships with internal and external business stakeholders at appropriate levels ensuring an open and cooperative environment.
To lead in the proactive and strategic identification of material legal risks in the business, including those related to products – both existing products and those under development – and customer segments.
To ensure material legal risks in country are appropriately addressed.
To provide legal advice, briefings, recommendations and reports on material legal risks and issues to business, country and functional stakeholders.
To provide country perspective on legal risk policies and procedures and ensure consistency in the Country and Region’s approach to legal risk management.

To act as a central point of reference for legal issues from the country, region, business and functional stakeholders.

To assist the Country Head of Legal, to support business growth and address all legal risks.
To coordinate legal training with internal stakeholders.

To promote active cooperation between the country, business and other legal teams to encourage a collegiate working environment across the businesses.

To ensure that external legal engagements are coordinated and effective, and provides support for panel arrangements when required.
To manage costs of the country legal team in accordance with the budget process.

To assist with review of policies and procedures and compliance therewith.
To assist in process governance committees and operational risks committees

To assist the Company Secretary/ Head of Legal at Legal/Credit Security/other related trainings as may be required from time to time at the direction of the Head of Legal/Company Secretary.

To assist in monitoring developments in the law through legislation and precedent and advising management of the impact of such changes

To support the total process of company searches /liaising with the concerned business units to ensure successful implementation within specified time frame

To be responsible for managing and providing support on the bank/staff mortgage portfolio

To support on correspondence to external lawyers and Customers (where required).

To assist in amending and reviewing service level agreements to ensure protection of the bank’s interest in the context of its relationship with third parties.

To assist in preparing and reviewing security documentation

To be responsible for the maintenance and proper filing of all documents in the custody of L&C

To be responsible for the law office administration

To be responsible for all other administrative matters relating to legal and compliance

To develop relationships with legal officers in other reputable institutions and ensure that SCBN is in the forefront of best market practice.

To Assist in implementing And Managing The Group’s Legal And Compliance/ Strategy

To coordinate security documentation for credit facilities

To prepare and review commercial legal documents including contractual documents, guarantees, syndicated loan agreements, trust deeds etc

To assist with the coordination and maintenance of the Bank’s litigation portfolio as well as other court processes

Company Secretarial Matters

To support with all Company Secretarial Matters

To support in ensuring Implementation of Corporate Governance in country

To assist the Company Secretary with all Company Secretariat office administration

To assist the Company Secretary in preparing for Board And Annual General Meetings and collating Board papers notices, directors allowances for the Meetings

To ensure safe keeping of all statutory records of the bank and the company seal

To assist with management of the Bank’s share register was well as general record maintenance and updates

To assist the Company Secretary in to ensure that the Bank complies with all statutory, legal and regulatory requirements in the jurisdiction, including filings and regulatory disclosures.

To assist the Company Secretary in to ensure that the Bank meets all requisite standards of corporate governance.

To assist to manage the preparation, collation and distribution of the agenda and papers for Board and Committee meetings and preparation of the minutes thereon.

To assist the Company Secretary to create and maintain a Director’s induction pack and organize induction training and subsequent training for all directors with particular reference to corporate governance matters.

1.1
OVERLAPPING FUNCTIONS

Compliance

To Promote Management as  A UORM (Unit Operational Risk Manager)

To support in developing and implementing strategies that promote the image, reputation, and credibility of the bank while ensuring adhere to group and local regulatory requirements and policies.

To obtain an update of laws and regulations on a monthly basis from external solicitors and from internet and liaison with regulators.

To prepare and submit Group Legal & Compliance periodic returns

To assist the Compliance function in communicating internal policies/ guidelines and regulatory requirements, and by proactively alerting the stakeholders on Compliance issues.

To implement departmental operating instructions to ensure compliance with internal policies and external regulatory requirements and coordinate in regulatory inspections that affect the legal department.

To ensure all Group and internal returns are submitted and complied with and ensure minimal audit findings

To support the Head of Legal in providing proactive in-house compliance advice to management and staff on regulatory, reputational and ethical matters, including updates to management and staff on regulatory and compliance developments relevant to the Group’s business.

To assist the Head of Legal in providing compliance and regulatory input on the design and restructuring of new products and systems and ensure they conform to local regulatory requirements and internal compliance and ethical standards, and to assist in projects undertaken by the bank locally or Group wide.

To complete on a timely basis Group L&C reporting requirements and any other reports that may be required from time to time

To support the Compliance function in ensuring inventory of laws and regulations is adequately maintained and updated.

Qualifications & Skills
-Minimum of a 2nd class lower degree in Law. Qualified lawyer, preferably in a common law jurisdiction.
-Experience in banking.
-Experience working in the markets of the bank’s footprints (desirable)
-Effective engagement of the business to understand their needs and execute their transactions.
-General high level of computer literacy
-Good communication and interpersonal skills
-Ability to use own initiatives
-Attention to details

In compliance with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Act of 2004, all applicants should ensure that they have completed the mandatory NYSC programme. A discharge certificate will be required as evidence of completion of the programme. Where an exemption has been granted, a certificate of exemption will also be required.

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