Legal Officer

Job Requisition ID: JR100213

AHRI is always looking for talented and motivated staff to join our multidisciplinary team. We offer a highly diverse, professional and supportive environment with opportunities for development and growth.

Description:

The Legal Officer should have a strong contracts and legal litigation background. The Legal Officer must ensure fail-safe systems to follow up on matters. Daily maintenance and reminder to the Senior Manager: Legal and governance on issues that affect AHRI and the department. The Legal Officer will manage casework and legal matters and will oversee case review and legal matters. The Legal Officer will contribute to objectives based on involvement in policy and procedural review, continuous improvement, research, and development.

Overview of Duties:

• Drafting and vetting of contracts and agreements.
• Provide legal support and ensure compliance with relevant legislation.
• Provide litigation support, including compilation of the necessary documents.
• Draft legal opinions, memoranda and other related legal documents for review by Legal line management.
• Provide legal support including legal interpretation in respect of internal compliance matters.
• Maintenance of the contracts register, repository of legal and governance documents.
• Manage movement and record keeping of contracts.
• Assist in drafting of policies, standard operating procedures and company guidelines.
• Support the line management with supporting the institution, identifying areas of improvement and provide possible solutions.
• Provide legal and governance support to institutional committees.
• Perform any reasonable ad hoc tasks as and when required by the Legal Manager.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in law or LLB.

Minimum Experience:

• Minimum 3 (three) years experience post articles.
• Proven experience working in a legal role Commercial law experience (essential).
• Proven track record of providing accurate and effective legal advice.
• Proven track record in contract negotiation, drafting, and vetting.

Skills Required:

• Technical legal expertise.
• Contract drafting and reviewing skills.
• Research skills.
• High proficiency in MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Personal Attributes:

• Sympathetic, approachable manner but strong and directional and able to exercise discretion in handling confidential matters.
• Works by, and promotes, AHRI’s values of ubuntu, transformation, leadership, innovation, excellence and collaboration.
• Commitment to AHRI’s commitment to diversity and employment equity, and the ability to work harmoniously with colleagues from different cultures and backgrounds.
• Ability to exercise tact and discretion and display a professional attitude towards colleagues and others.

Worker Type: Employee

Application Closing Date: October 30, 2024

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted; kindly consider your application as unsuccessful if you do not hear from us within 14 days of the application closing date.

Our Values:
The successful candidate will be expected to live by AHRI’s values, including collaboration, ubuntu, leadership, innovation, transformation, and excellence.

Employment Equity:
AHRI is fully compliant with South African labour law and is committed to employment equity. This position is primarily open to South African or other African applicants, with a valid work permit desirable. AHRI reserves the right in special circumstances to accept late applications or to extend the above date to facilitate further searches. Furthermore, AHRI reserves the right not to make an appointment.

Africa Health Research Institute’s vision is optimal health and well-being of under-resourced populations. Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI) is an independent, transdisciplinary scientific research institute based across two campuses in the province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) in South Africa. AHRI’s research combines population, basic and translational, social, and clinical sciences to understand and intervene in the health and well-being of South African communities. AHRI works in partnership with local communities and South African academic, governmental, and other policy stakeholders and collaborates with over 60 institutions globally. AHRI prioritises the training of the next generation of African scientists. The work lives of AHRI’s ~700 scientists, students and staff members are driven by our values: ubuntu, transformation, leadership, innovation, excellence and collaboration.