Legal Advisor at Old Mutual South Africa

Job specification

Key focus of the role:

This role is responsible for providing legal support to the respective product functions in Product Solutions – it includes legal support to both corporate and retail products in South Africa and across Old Mutual Emerging Markets. The legal support relates to product development, maintenance and administration and further includes preparing and reviewing related legal documents and a range of client-facing documentation.

Role Description & Key Result Areas:

SPECIFIC KEY RESULT AREAS

• Specialist legal role providing product legal support.
• The drafting and reviewing of related contracts, applications, quotes and client facing material.
• Specialist knowledge of financial services legislation & industry regulations.
• The researching and application of applicable legal principles in the financial services industry.
• Providing legal advice to both retail and corporate business areas.
• Assessing the environment, identifying and shaping of industry developments.
• Making recommendations to the business based on trends.
• The ability to understand the big picture in which the business is operating, the inter-play between the different components and the impact on your specific business. This includes an understanding of commercial and financial principles.
• Keeping up with current developments and trends in area of expertise. Actively identifying new areas for learning; regularly creating and taking advantage of learning opportunities, and implement learning in order to influence and align to business strategy.
• The ability to make balanced and sound recommendations and decisions, by understanding issues and problems, evaluating the consequences of alternative solutions and to select the most appropriate alternative. Recommendations and decisions need to be implementable, effective and well thought through.
• Using appropriate interpersonal styles and communication techniques to gain acceptance of ideas or plans; adapting one's own style to accommodate the target audience.
• Taking prompt action to accomplish objectives; pushing beyond the boundaries and being proactive.
• The ability to perceive, interpret and translate information (stimuli) in order to competently perform processes and tasks at various levels of complexity within the organisation. It also includes the ability to apply analytical, integrative, lateral or systemic thinking; depending on the task at hand.

GENERIC KEY RESULT AREAS

• Personal Effectiveness
• The role requires strong partnering with the respective business areas and ownership for the legal support for a particular business area or product initiative.
• Self-driven personality and accountable for managing own time, tasks and quality output.
• Makes increased contributions by broadening individual skills and industry knowledge.
• Collaborates effectively with others to achieve personal results.
• Accepts and lives the company values.
• Legal Advice
• As a specialist, provides product support from a legal perspective.
• Vetting of contracts, application forms and quotes.
• Advises and may also train others regarding legislation and industry changes.
• Researches the applicable legal principles and applies them to the facts.
• Assists in the preparation of any legal or contractual documents used by the business unit/segment.

Role Requirements

• LLB or equivalent
• Experience in a financial services industry advantageous
• Admission as Attorney / Advocate and subsequent experience in legal practice will be advantageous
• CFP qualification is highly advantageous
• 12 months working experience in a financial or legal environment
• Must have attention to detail
• Excellent communication and written skills
• Stakeholder management
• Assertiveness
• Must be legally sound
• Competencies
• Business Awareness
• Continuous Renewal
• Decision MakingGaining Commitment
• Initiating Action
• Ownership
• Technical Knowledge
• Thinking Skills