Head, Legal / Company Secretary at a Leading and Foremost Oil & Gas Engineering Company - SmartHR Consulting International

SmartHR Consulting International - Our client, a leading and foremost company in Oil & Gas Engineering company, headquartered in Lagos with branches in other parts of Africa, is recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Head, Legal / Company Secretary

Location: Lagos Island, Lagos
Employment Type: Full-time
Reporting Line: MD/CEO
Department: Legal & Company Secretariat

Job Description

• We are seeking to employ a well-grounded company lawyer and governance professional for its Legal & Company Secretariat Dept.
• Summary of work deliverables: To effectively support the functions of legal & secretariat dept and provide corporate secretariat services required,with a view to promoting effective board communications, organizing board meetings and providing contract administration support to project office. 
• The legal officer will also see to the prevention of statutory and contractual liabilities, advising on corporate governance, and driving best legal & secretariat practices, whilst effectively reducing legal and compliance costs.

Responsibilities
Key Accountabilities Legal Officer:

• Oversee and supervise the review and administration of contracts including but not limited to MOA, commercial agreements, leases and all other commercial legal instruments.
• Ensure the conduct of regular internal legal audit / internal due diligence with respect to company’s contracts.
• Ensure up-to-date maintenance of accurate database including documentation management and information reporting with respect to all contracts.
• Promptly monitor and advise on identified and potential legal and contracts risks, threats and developments in the company’s legal and regulatory environment including key regulatory issues that affect company’s contracts such as local content, business approvals, environmental compliance etc.
• Support Internal Audit and responsible departments to ensure the administering of the compliance risks register of the company
• Interface and monitor external consultants and solicitors (where applicable) for effective delivery of legal jobs / assignments including company’s litigation and pre-litigation portfolios
• Support the functions of legal personnel including the affairs of the legal & secretariat dept under the supervision of the department manager
• Develop and implement governance processes, relevant legal policies, compliance training, performance budgets, SLAs, and other budgets concerning the department.

As Company Secretary:

• Advising the Boardon corporate laws, statutory requirements and corporate governance
• Organizing and preparing agendas and papers for board meetings, board committees and Annual General Meetings (AGMs).
• Taking minutes, drafting resolutions, and filing / lodging required forms and annual returns with the Corporate Affairs Commission.
• Following up on actions from both management, board meetings and board committees’ meeting.
• Initiating and overseeing relevant policies, making sure they are kept up to date and referred to the appropriate committee for approval.
• Maintaining statutory books, including statutory registers of members, directors and secretaries.
• Dealing with correspondence, collating information and writing reports, ensuring decisions made are communicated to the relevant company stakeholders.
• Contributing to board meeting discussions as when required, and advising members of the legal, governance, accounting and tax implications of proposed policies or decisions.
• Ensuring that directors are up to speed with statutory requirements such statutory disclosure forms and directors codes of conduct attestation forms etc.
• Monitoring changes in relevant corporate and industry legislations and the regulatory environment and taking appropriate actions for prompt enlightenment of the board.
• Liaising with investors and external regulators and advisers such as lawyers, governance professionals and auditors.
• Driving and championing corporate governance standards, codes of conducts and business ethics across the organization.
• Supporting relevant departments in then anchoring of Whistleblowing Policies / Procedures, Regulatory Compliance and Codes of Conduct implementation
• Taking responsibility for documentation and information management of the Corporate Secretariat Dept.
• Designing innovative and efficient systems and processes to aid efficient and seamless coordination and evaluation of board activities and decisions.
• Supporting all internal systems that ensure the company and relevant departments comply with applicable legal, core statutory, and key governance requirements.

Requirements

• Candidates should possess an LLB / BL Degree
• Minimum of 10 to 15 years post-call-to-bar experience with bias for company laws, corporate / commercial, secretariat and governance practice.
• Memberships of Institute of Chartered Secretaries & Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN) is highly preferred.
• Very strong corporate backgrounds preferably from reputable or high standard organizations (not necessarily from a big corporation) with bias in OIL & GAS
• Strong academic background and capable of applying jurisprudence and tactfulness in real situations
• High confidence and mannerliness to deal with top ranking officials including executive and non- executive directors
• Ability to maintain high confidentiality in processing of board decisions, deliberations and information.
• Ability to work as part of a team and with both internal and external stakeholders with diverse cultural backgrounds
• Sufficient knowledge of the oil & gas business regulatory framework and environment would be an added advantage. Relevant experience of energy industry and engineering laws.
• Ability to act as Company’s spoke-person and governance advocate and ambassador.
• MBA or MSC in Corporate Governance is an advantage
• Memberships of (Institute of Chartered Secretaries & Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN) is highly preferred.
• 10 -12 years post bar experience, part of which must have been spent as in the role of company secretary / legal officer in a standard organization.

Supportive Core Skills Required:

• Self-starter. Ability to work and thrive with minimal supervision
• Process management skills
• Good team spirit – collaborative and confidentiality skills
• Planning and organizational skills, including the ability to anticipate tasks, set priorities, and meet deadlines promptly and smoothly.
• Good character and integrity.

Salary
N180,000,000 - N240,000,000 / Annum

Application Closing Date
21st February, 2025.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should send their CV to: [email protected] using the job title as the subject of the mail.