Associate Legal Counsel Full Time

The role holder will provide expert legal advice to business units to protect the company’s interests and manage risks. Responsible for negotiating and drafting strong agreements and overseeing litigation to ensure effective and successful resolution.

                       About Us

At Safaricom Ethiopia, we are a purpose-led technology company dedicated to transforming lives through digital connectivity and inclusive financial services. In under four years, we have grown to serve over 10 million customers, with our network now reaching 55% of Ethiopia’s population – a testament to our bold vision and trusted partnerships.

Guided by core values such as customer obsession, innovation, integrity, and getting it done together, we are building a workplace that is dynamic, inclusive, and empowering. We believe our greatest strength lies in our people. That’s why, for two consecutive years, we have proudly get earned the Top Employer Award – in recognition for our unwavering commitment to fostering a supportive, innovative, and inclusive environment to people.

Join Safaricom Ethiopia and be part of a team that is shaping the digital future of Ethiopia. Here, your work has meaning, your voice matters, and your growth is our priority. Together, we are transforming lives for a digital future

Role purpose: 

Responsible for providing legal advice to relevant business units in a manner which fully protects the company’s legal interests and manages all associated risk.  This includes negotiating and drafting sound agreements, and, in the event of litigation, ensuring that this process is managed efficiently and effectively, and that appropriate expertise is available to ensure success

Key accountabilities and decision ownership: 

1. Act as associate counsel providing expert advice to various business lines, ensuring that any legal risks associated with operations, products and services are minimized:
   • Ensure that products and services comply fully with all relevant legislation (including consumer protection, privacy etc.), tracking the cycle from initial business case/concept stage to ‘go live’ phase and thereafter for the duration of the business cycle.
   • Approve/endorse for approval by the principal legal counsel of brand and advertising material and ensure compliance with applicable standards and other relevant legislation.
   • Attend to any legal complaints.
   • Attend to any issues relating to consumer protection, competition laws and any other applicable legislation.

      

2. Provide expert legal advice and support in operational and support activities:

• Review plays a key role in negotiating, and drafting agreements and contracts in respect of:
  • Prepare/use templates to respond to requests by law enforcement agencies.
  • All commercial and corporate product service business partners.
  • Technology legal support (including contracts and transactions as well as enforcement of contracts)
  • procurement/supplier agreements (including alignment with international group and local master agreements);
  • advertising and marketing agents.
  • sales and distribution – handset suppliers, maintenance, and repair facility suppliers.
  • Regulatory matters.
  • Credit and risk – supplier agreements.
  • Customer care arrangements.
  • To compile a weekly report on the achievement of the sections’ KPI’s.
  • To liaise with nominated contract managers within the various user departments to ensure that renewals and expiry dates are properly noted.
  • To undertake detailed legal opinions on legal commercial matters that require statutory interpretations.
  • To ensure the responsible use of resources that fall within the commercial section.
  • Constantly liaise with business areas to ensure legal considerations are considered during business decision making processes including New Products & Services Dept and Marketing Dept on launching of new products and services & providing advice on protection of intellectual property.
  • Support in relation to preparation of statements of works with the user departments.
  • Assist principal legal counsel as instructed by the EHOD-Legal.
  • Assist in creating filing system for various documents and filing all documents accordingly

3.    Litigation
   • Manage any disputes striving to achieve a negotiated solution wherever possible.

Where litigation becomes unavoidable, liaise with the EHOD-Legal to represent the company before court of law and/or instruct external attorneys, manage their input and assist/oversee settlement terms and conditions

4. Legal Operation 
   • Actively extend support in the operations of the legal department including uploading of contracts for internal and external signing as well as archiving of contracts and cases.
   • processing of external counsel, consultant, translation service providers or other vendors invoices and payments where the Legal department is the user department.

• Assist in preparation of reports to the company’s management, board, shareholder, or consortium notes

5. Keep EHOD: Legal Affairs and CLRCO informed/involved on major or complex issues.

• Manages the business and people aspects of change to drive performance

Core competencies, Knowledge, and Experience:

Business Competencies

Working with Others

• Consciously takes steps to make the most of every conversation/interaction
• Identifies people’s needs, interests and motives to be able to influence the decisions they make
• Communicates simply to excite and engage people
• Pro-actively adapts own style and approach to build rapport, and work with others more effectively
• Builds and maintains strong relationships and networks

   

Operational Excellence

• Targets effort and resources on high-value, high impact activity
• Focuses on achieving maximum performance and driving continuous improvement
• Thinks about processes and problems cross-functionally and end-to-end
• Uses knowledge of products, technology, process, systems and policy to solve problems

   

Creativity and Innovation

• Finds creative ways to exploit opportunities and solve problems
• Takes risks and pushes what is possible
• Experiments with unorthodox approaches

   

Working with Change

• Responds flexibly to changing situations
• Manages the business and people aspects of change to drive performance

Functional Competencies:

Knowledge and skills on the following areas:

• Contract and Transactions Drafting, Review, and Negotiation
• Claims, litigation, and arbitration and Representation
• Legal Research and Advice

Language Requirements:

• Fluent in Amharic, English and Oromifa.

Travel requirements

• The role holder is required to travel to different parts of the country to attend matters involving the company, including court cases, administrative and dispute-related issues.

Key performance indicator areas:

• Quality and timely legal support
• Proactive legal risk management
• Attention to details but brief summary to business.
• Customer Satisfaction index
• Process Efficiency

Education & Experience:

• LLB in Law

  2-3 years’ experience

How to Apply

If you feel that you are up to the challenge and possess the necessary qualification and experience, kindly proceed to create/ update your candidate profile on the recruitment portal and then Click on the apply button. Remember to attach your resume