Head of Legal | Agribusiness | North West Province
Agritalent · North West Province, South Africa
Overview
A leading agribusiness in the North West Province is looking for a Head of Legal to lead their Group legal function. You will provide strategic, commercial and operational legal support, manage legal risks and guide corporate transactions. This is a senior in-house role for a qualified legal professional with 5 to 8 years of post-qualification experience in corporate and commercial law. If you are ready to lead a legal team and enable smart business decisions, this opportunity is for you.
About the role
Agritalent is recruiting a Head of Legal for a leading agribusiness client based in the North West Province. In this senior role, you will lead the Group's legal function and provide strategic, commercial and operational legal support to the business. Your work will ensure legal risks are identified, managed and mitigated while enabling commercial decision making and protecting the Group's interests and reputation.
What you will do:
- Provide legal advice to executive management and business units on strategic, commercial and operational matters.
- Draft, review, negotiate and approve complex legal agreements and legal opinions.
- Advise on corporate and commercial transactions including mergers and acquisitions, fundamental transactions and shareholder agreements.
- Lead and manage the Legal team, setting service standards and legal governance processes.
- Oversee the Group contract register, legal records and external attorney management.
- Manage litigation, disputes and regulatory legal matters.
- Support legal risk management and compliance across the Group.
- Develop legal functional strategies, workplans and budgets aligned to Group strategy.
This is a permanent, full time position suited to a legal professional who is commercially minded and ready to take on a leadership role in the agricultural sector.
Requirements
- 5 to 8 years of post qualification legal experience in corporate and commercial law.
- Experience in leading an in house legal function or a senior legal advisory portfolio.
- Qualified legal professional (admitted attorney or advocate).
- Strong knowledge of corporate and commercial transactions including mergers and acquisitions.
- Experience managing litigation and disputes.
- Ability to provide strategic and commercially pragmatic legal advice.
- Experience managing legal teams and external legal service providers.
- Understanding of legal risk management and regulatory compliance.
- Excellent drafting, negotiation and communication skills.
Responsibilities
- Provide strategic legal advice and guidance on commercial and corporate matters to executive management and business units.
- Conduct or oversee legal research and provide practical legal recommendations.
- Draft, review, negotiate and approve complex legal agreements and legal opinions.
- Advise on mergers and acquisitions, fundamental transactions, shareholder agreements and strategic transactions.
- Lead the Legal team and establish legal service standards, workflows and turnaround expectations.
- Maintain legal controls, governance processes and the Group contract register.
- Develop legal templates, standards and playbooks to improve consistency and efficiency.
- Manage the briefing, performance and cost effectiveness of external attorneys and legal specialists.
- Provide strategic direction on litigation, disputes and regulatory legal matters.
- Instruct and manage external attorneys on legal actions and defence of claims.
- Identify and assess legal risks across the Group and recommend mitigation actions.
- Support business units with legal interpretation of regulatory requirements.
- Prepare legal functional strategies, workplans and budgets aligned to Group strategy.
- Build a high performing legal team through coaching, development and succession planning.
Job details
- Organisation
- Agritalent
- Location
- North West Province, South Africa
- Job type
- Full time
- Experience level
- Senior (5+ years)
- Education
- Bachelor
- Category
- Legal
- Application Method
- Apply manually
Success Guide
As a senior legal role, your application should highlight your post qualification experience in corporate and commercial law, especially any mergers and acquisitions work. Tailor your CV to show how you have led a legal function or managed a senior advisory portfolio. Emphasise your ability to give commercially pragmatic advice and to manage external attorneys and legal budgets. Prepare for interview questions on how you identify and mitigate legal risks in a business environment. If you have experience in the agricultural or agribusiness sector, make that clear. Also be ready to discuss how you build and develop a legal team. The North West Province location means you should be comfortable with an on site role. Good luck with your application.
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