General Counsel

Propel Consult

Bahrain

Posted
Ref: LP127-2668

Job description / Role

Employment: Full Time

Position Overview:
- The General Counsel (GC) is a key executive leadership position within the bank, providing legal advice and guidance on a wide range of banking and financial matters. The GC will lead the bank’s legal department and manage all legal functions across the organization. This includes ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements, managing litigation, overseeing corporate governance, negotiating complex contracts, and advising on mergers, acquisitions, and other strategic transactions. The GC plays a pivotal role in protecting the bank’s interests, reducing legal risk, and ensuring the institution adheres to all relevant legal and regulatory frameworks.

Key Responsibilities:

Legal Leadership & Strategy:
- Lead the bank's legal department, setting the strategic direction and ensuring alignment with the bank’s overall business objectives.
- Serve as the primary legal advisor to the Board of Directors, CEO, and senior management on all major legal and regulatory matters.
- Provide guidance on legal and compliance risks, corporate governance, and ethical business practices.

Regulatory & Compliance Oversight:
- Ensure the bank complies with all local, national, and international banking regulations, including financial services laws, data privacy regulations, anti-money laundering (AML), and know-your-customer (KYC) requirements.
- Monitor changes in banking, securities, and financial services laws and regulations, advising on their impact and providing recommendations for necessary adjustments to policies and procedures

Litigation Management:
- Oversee the management of all litigation matters, including employment disputes, regulatory investigations, and civil litigation.
- Manage relationships with outside counsel and ensure that legal costs are effectively controlled.
- Work to resolve disputes and legal challenges in a timely and cost-effective manner.

Corporate Governance:
- Advise the Board of Directors on corporate governance matters, ensuring that governance practices are in line with best practices and regulatory requirements.
- Oversee the drafting, implementation, and updating of corporate policies and procedures to ensure they comply with current legal standards.

Contract Negotiation & Documentation:
- Review, draft, and negotiate complex contracts, including loan agreements, mergers, acquisitions, partnerships, vendor agreements, and employment contracts.
- Provide legal support in drafting, reviewing, and negotiating terms for transactions, ensuring that the bank’s interests are protected.

Risk Management:
- Advise the bank’s risk management teams on mitigating legal risks related to new products, services, investments, and business ventures.
- Conduct legal risk assessments and develop strategies to manage potential legal issues proactively.

Internal Legal Counsel:
- Serve as an internal resource for legal advice on day-to-day operations, including employment law, intellectual property, and regulatory compliance issues.
- Provide training to bank staff on legal and compliance matters to ensure awareness of legal risks.

Ethics & Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR):
- Ensure that the bank’s operations and activities reflect high ethical standards and legal compliance.
- Assist in the development of policies around corporate social responsibility, environmental sustainability, and ethical business practices.a

Requirements:

Education:
- Juris Doctor (JD) degree from an accredited law school.
- Admission to the bar (state or national).

Experience:
- Minimum of 10-15 years of experience in a legal role, with at least 5-7 years in a senior legal position, preferably within a financial institution or law firm with a focus on banking and financial services.
- Proven track record in handling complex financial transactions, regulatory compliance, and corporate governance matters.
- Strong understanding of the banking industry, financial products, and regulatory frameworks (e.g., Dodd-Frank, Bank Secrecy Act, Basel III, etc.).

Skills:
- Excellent negotiation and drafting skills for a variety of legal agreements.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Leadership experience, with the ability to manage a team of legal professionals and collaborate effectively with business units.
- In-depth knowledge of banking laws and regulations.
- Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to advise senior leadership and board members on complex legal matters.
- Strong business acumen and the ability to provide practical, risk-balanced legal advice.

Key Competencies:
- Leadership and team management
- Strategic thinking and decision-making
- Strong ethical judgment
- Excellent communication skills (both written and verbal)
- Problem-solving and risk management
- Ability to manage multiple priorities under pressure
- Strong relationship-building and stakeholder management

Working Conditions:
- Full-time position, typically in an office setting with occasional travel.
- The role requires occasional evening or weekend work depending on business needs and critical legal matters.

About the Company

Propel Consult delivers a service in step with the needs of both our client companies and candidates. Our ability to add value to all levels of recruitment stems from our wholehearted belief in providing a professional service to both parties.

We have built relationships with many leading indigenous and mulitnational organisations throughout the Middle East and internationally in countries such as UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt and many more.

Concentrating our resources has created 5 distinct specialist divisions:

  • Banking & Finance
  • Human Resources
  • Oil & Gas
  • Construction
  • Architecture & Engineering

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