Chief Counsel Sub Saharan Africa at Mondelez International

What you will bring

A desire to drive your future and accelerate your career with experience and knowledge in:

• Significant legal experience, ideally in a large matrixed multinational company
• Strong analytical, strategic vision, decision-making, and problem-solving skills
• Demonstrated leadership skills and experience navigating and presenting at all levels of organization
• Significant experience assessing, advising on risk, advising/coaching and dispute resolution in a multinational company
• Highest level of integrity and trust; highly credible and willing to express
• Excellent written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills
• Resourcefulness, including relevant new technologies and systems

Key Responsibilities:

• Proactively contributes strategic thought leadership, underpinned by technical legal competence, to discussions of the SSA LT, for the successful navigation of significant projects and issues affecting the BU (e.g. external developments, M&A projects, transformation/restructuring projects across functions including Integrated Supply Chain, major strategic contracts). Provides leadership and legal counsel on those projects and issues as a member of the core team.
• Seeks creative, timely and cost-effective solutions to complex business problems affecting the SSA Business to achieve business objectives while mitigating legal risk and using the law to gain competitive advantage
• Proactively identifies, assesses and manages legal, compliance and regulatory risks across SSA BU for all relevant internal stakeholders and matters, assuring compliance with all applicable laws, regulations and policies (including strict adherence to GSCP protocols).
• Provides legal counsel and support to colleagues across all areas of SSA businesses, including in contracts (drafting, reviewing, negotiating, etc.), compliance, advertising and marketing, sales and distribution, competition law, employment and labour relations, real estate, licensing, government regulations, corporate governance, company secretarial and other areas having significant legal relevance to the SSA businesses.
• Advises business partners on possible actions or defences in respect of actual or potential legal conflicts and litigation matters affecting the SSA business, exercising commercial judgment in the development and evolution of a sound, cost-effective litigation strategy.
• Leads, inspires and motivates the Northern Europe Legal team, managing counsel responsible for SSA and putting people development as a priority.
• Plays an active role on the AMEA LIS LT, role modelling the MDLZ Values and Commitments and co-owning and helping to develop our AMEA LIS talent.
• Contributes to the global CLA function through participation in various global functional initiatives or Focus Areas designed to keep MDLZ CLA evolving for the future.
• Participates in one or more of CLA’s global CoE’s or other cross functional teams, as appropriate, for the effective delivery of legal services to the business and development, keeping and sharing of internal best practice in key legal areas.
• Establishes an annual budget for outside counsel spend across SSA and ensures targets are met, regularly reviewing the most cost-efficient set up for delivering legal services (balancing in house vs external legal resources) and managing outside counsel in line with the MDLZ global outside counsel management strategy.
• Ensures smooth collaboration between members of the SSA Legal team and other disciplines and sub-functions of CLA, including Business Integrity, Security, IP, CGA and CLA’s global CoE’s.

Education, Knowledge, Skills and Experience Required:

• Bachelor degree (or equivalent) from a reputable university.
• Qualified to practise law with minimum 15 years' work experience as a lawyer in a multi-national corporate environment or law firm advising in the corporate/commercial field.
• Proven experience in a wide array of corporate and commercial legal areas, including contract law, corporate governance, marketing and advertising, sales and distribution, competition law, IP, labour and employment, real estate and litigation.
• Excellent drafting and negotiating skills.
• Ability to balance appropriately the strategic and the executional.
• Ability to assimilate complex factual information, analyse risk and distil into clear options/recommendations for business colleagues.