Legal Officer – Position description
Position title:
Legal Officer
Reporting:
The Legal Officer reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer - CEO.
Position Location:
AGF offices in Port Louis, Mauritius with frequent travels to AGF countries of
operations mainly Kenya.
The African Guarantee Fund (AGF)
The African Guarantee Fund for Small and Medium- sized Enterprises (AGF) is incorporated and licensed in
Mauritius as a limited liability company and has its office of operation in Nairobi, Kenya. Its products and
services provide financial institutions with the means by which they can leverage in bringing their African
SME financing interventions to the required scale.
The AGF contributes to the promotion of economic development, vital for prosperity, stability and poverty
reduction in Africa through two lines of activity:
a) Provision of a mix of financial guarantees and other products which reduce the risks supported by the
financial sector when lending to SMEs that have insufficient collateral. These guarantees contribute to
reduce the inability of SMEs to provide acceptable guarantees to financial institutions. Loan Guarantee
based on a hybrid approach, Bank’s Fund Raising Guarantee and Equity Guarantees are offered.
b) Support for capacity development of the client financial institutions.
The AGF operates according to market principles and is a commercially viable venture with operations in a
number of countries in Africa and its gradually expanding to other countries to cover the whole of Africa. The
African Development Bank (AfDB) together with the governments of Denmark (through Danida) and Spain
(through aecid), are the founding shareholders of AGF.
Position Summary
The Legal Officer is responsible for the effective and efficient management of the Legal department, provision
of legal advisory services and ensuring effective management of legal and contractual risks.
Major Duties and Responsibilities
Leadership role
 Provide leadership and ensure efficient and effective management of staff and resources in the Legal
department.
Act as the company secretary
 Organising and preparing agendas and papers for board meetings, committees and annual general
meetings (AGMs);
 Taking minutes, drafting resolutions, lodging required forms during meetings
 Following up on actions from meetings;
 Overseeing policies, making sure they are kept up to date and referred to the appropriate committee
for approval;
 Maintaining statutory books, including registers of members, directors and secretaries;
 Dealing with correspondence, collating information and writing reports, ensuring decisions made are
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communicated to the relevant company stakeholders;
Contributing to meeting discussions as and when required, and advising members of the legal,
governance, accounting and tax implications of proposed policies;
Liaising with external regulators and advisers, such as lawyers and auditors;
Legal risk
 Review and provide legal advice on tender documents.
 Review ongoing cases and advice management accordingly.
 Liaise with relevant departments to ensure that where legal risks have been identified, appropriate
courses of action have been taken.
 Provide legal protection and risk management advice to management especially on contract
management.
 Provide and interpret legal information, conduct training and disseminate appropriate legal
requirements to staff.
Policy development
 Review and advise management on legal implications of internal policies and procedures.
 Review and draft contracts, agreements and internal policies and ensure that they are in compliance
with all statutory or legal requirements.
Litigation management
 Review progress of outstanding litigation and liaise and manage with external lawyers.
Regulatory compliance
 Formulate compliance check-lists to be used for the purpose of ensuring that all information required
is provided accordingly.
 Continuously monitor compliance with statutory obligations and advise management accordingly.
 Prepare monthly and quarterly reports for the department for executive management meetings.
 Monitoring changes in relevant legislation and the regulatory environment and taking appropriate
action.
Contract negotiation
 Review all contracts or any other documentation where the Company has committed itself and assess
legal implications that need to be brought to the executive management’s attention.
 Prepare, review and modify contractual instruments to assist and
 Support various business activities.
 Negotiate, review and draft documentation for business transactions and prepare and advise on the
necessary checklist to be adopted to ensure information is submitted on time.
In addition to the above duties, the Legal Officer may be required to perform other related or unrelated duties
based on the company’s needs.
Academic and Professional Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills & Experience Required
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A Master’s degree in Law( MLB) and an undergraduate Law (LLB) degree;
Must be an Advocate of a High Court.
Experience
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At least Five years legal experience ideally in a leading organisation, with a proven track record in
contract negotiation and drafting;
Proven track record of providing accurate and effective legal counsel; and
Proven track record of adding value to an organisation through the development of comprehensive
contract documents that mitigate risk and penalties.
Desirable skills, knowledge and experiences
 Bilingual – fluent in English and French.
 Strong leadership and managerial skills;
 Excellent relationship management and communication skills necessary for interaction with the
Government of Kenya and Mauritius, the Judicial system and negotiating parties;
 Demonstrate knowledge of, and experience with, laws dealing with government and/or commercial
contract administration, particularly contract negotiation, preparation and administration;
 Ability to provide independent advice(orally and in writing) to senior level management on highly
technical matters;
 Demonstrate success in managing and conducting a variety of litigation matters;
 Good planning and organization skills; and
 Proven ability to delicately solve sensitive matters. Core technical competencies required for the role
 In-depth knowledge of regulatory law; and
 Knowledge of the legal aspects of Financial or Guarantee markets
Eligibility
The position is open to bilingual candidates of any African country
Terms of offer
The AGF is an equal opportunity employer and offers a regionally competitive salary with an excellent benefits
package. The employment contract is for an initial period of three (3) years with the possibility of renewal. AGF
prides itself on its collegial, supportive and gender sensitive working environment and believes that staff
diversity promotes excellence. Women candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
Applications
Applicants should apply by email, sending a cover letter summarizing their relevance to this position, a full C.V.
names and contact information of three referees knowledgeable about the candidate’s professional qualifications
and work experience to: recruitment@africanguaranteefund.com
“Application for Legal Officer - AGF” should be clearly marked on the subject line of the email message.
Applications will be considered until 21st October 2015 or until the position is filled.
Only short-listed applicants meeting the above requirements will be contacted.
Learn more about us at www.africanguaranteefund.com