Legal Advisor: Group Legal

Who are we?
Sanlam was established as a life insurance company in South Africa but has since transformed into a diversified financial services group that operates across the African continent, India, Malaysia and selected developed markets, with listings on the Johannesburg, A2X and Namibian stock exchanges. In 2018 the Group celebrated its centenary as well as 20 years since demutualisation and listing in South Africa and Namibia. Sanlam is one of the largest internationally active insurance groups in the world with a presence in 43 countries and has the biggest non-banking financial services footprint on the African continent.

The Group's four business clusters (Sanlam Life and Savings, Sanlam Investment Group, Sanlam Emerging Markets and Santam) house the Group's business operations. The Group Office provides strategic direction and support to the four clusters, assisting them in realising their strategies and meeting their business objectives. The Group Office is responsible for governance and for the Group's centralised functions, which include: Finance, Actuarial and Risk Management, Strategy, Human Resources, Market Development and Brand Services.
What will you do?
The legal adviser will assist the Sanlam Group Legal Function to effectively fulfil its mandate of strategic legal risk management across Sanlam. The role will include the opportunity to identify and recommend measures to address a broad range of commercial and regulatory legal issues, including legal risks, which may impact on Sanlam Limited, Sanlam Life Insurance Limited as well as the Sanlam Group (collectively Sanlam).

The legal adviser will report to the Senior Legal Adviser in the GCO and be responsible for providing focused legal advice to Sanlam Group Technology, the Sanlam Foundation, a variety of functionaries within the Sanlam Group Office, including the Company Secretariat, Group Office Human Capital, Group Finance, Group Brand and Marketing, Group Finance, Group Market Development & Sustainability as well as other businesses within Sanlam. In particular, the advice will focus on the vetting and drafting of various commercial agreements, providing legal counsel on regulatory and contract interpretation, regulatory horizon scanning and assisting with the execution of strategic legal risk management initiatives. What will make you successful in this role?
The following are the key outcomes expected from this position:
Vetting, interpreting, drafting and negotiating a variety of contracts including technology related contracts (software licensing, cloud-based services (SaaS, IaaS and PaaS), software development and implementation services), general procurement contracts, outsourcing contracts, sponsorship contracts, non-disclosure agreements and grant/funding agreements for a public benefit organisation.
Assisting with drafting and reviewing templates for use within the Sanlam Group.
Providing support to the Sanlam Group Technology vendor management function on technology procurement, licensing and outsourcing.
Providing legal advice and opinions to Sanlam Group Technology, the Sanlam Foundation, functionaries within the Group Office, including Group Office HR, Group Finance, Group Brand and Marketing, Group Finance, Group Market Development as well as other businesses within the Sanlam Group. Focus will be on the core legislation impacting on the Sanlam Group.
Assisting the Senior Legal Adviser and working with external counsel on all legal aspects relating to intellectual property rights or trademarks in the name of Sanlam Limited or Sanlam Life Insurance Limited
Assisting in the execution of strategic legal risk management initiatives.
Formulating instructions to external counsel for their opinions when required.
Assessing regulatory developments relevant to the Sanlam Group and provide advice on the impact of such regulatory developments on the Sanlam Group. This will include researching similar regulatory developments in jurisdictions other than South Africa for best practice guidance. Qualification and Experience
Bachelor of Law degree and admission as an attorney in the High Court of South Africa
A minimum of 3 - 5 years post admission experience at a reputable law firm and/or corporate in the financial services sector
An understanding of the complexities associated with a multi-national diversified financial service Group operating in multiple jurisdictions will be an advantage
Proven commercial contract and related drafting skills, with experience in technology and the legal environment applicable to information technology being advantageous. Knowledge and Skills Risk Management Compliance and legal projects management Legal advice Legal advice and documentation reviews Coordinates legal action that may require external legal assistance Personal Attributes Business insight - Contributing through others Builds networks - Contributing through others Manages complexity - Contributing through others Persuades - Contributing