Consumer Legal Counsel

Job description / Role

The role acts as a senior single point of contact for the Business for the UAE and Bahrain, and also supporting the business for UAE and Bahrain. This is expected through providing timely, high-quality and business-oriented legal services in relation to a broad range of issues and disputes of varying significance and complexity.

Efficiently managing the associated legal, regulatory, financial and franchise risks as well as litigation. Ensuring legal and regulatory conformance in documentation while also adhering to the companies policies.

As legal counsel, reporting to the Cluster Legal Counsel (UAE, Bahrain and Qatar) it offers a unique opportunity to work on and coordinate a broad range of high quality and challenging assignments as part of the legal team.

It involves active engagement with business, product and support functions in the UAE & Bahrain and also for matters involving products and services offered in certain non-presence countries.

Key Responsibilities:

Providing legal support and/or oversight on:
- Regulatory matters
- Employment matters
- Litigation and other contentious and non-contentious matters
- Matters assigned to external counsels
- Business related documentation and issues (including but not limited to customer documentation drafting and review, due diligence exercises, regulatory communiqué, drafting of agreements and advising on regulatory compliance etc)
- Reviewing product programs, manuals, policies and scripts to assure that they comply with the UAE law and Bahrain Law and Company policies.
- Providing legal expertise, opinions related to the business and also working closely with the global functions to provide legal service/ expertise
- Drafting and/or reviewing agreements, applications and other documentation pertaining to the Business / IPB & NRI related.
- Drafting and/or reviewing outgoing correspondence addressed to regulators and customers.
- Reviewing marketing materials and advertisements to ensure compliance with the law and regulatory guidelines.
- Attending various governance committee forums set up to provide supervisory oversight for the business.

Development Value:
- To get exposure to new products within the business (Asset business/ Liabilities business related products and services). The main focus area for the counsel shall nonetheless be related to existing products and services pertaining to the business
- To work with the global support functions to provide legal expertise
- To manage / supervise a team (one or more counsels)

Requirements

- More than 6 years of experience post qualification
- University advanced degree
- Member of the Bar
- Experience of banking law, commercial law, civil law and employment law.
- 6-8 years’ experience in a legal and banking environment, preferably consumer/retail related business.
- Knowledge and experience in banking, corporate law, civil law and employment law.
- Must be able to quickly acquire and apply knowledge of companies policies and requirements.
- Experience in managing regulatory, franchise and governance matters.

Skills:
- Flexibility and ability to respond to business issues with workable solutions often under critical time pressure.
- Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.
- Good interpersonal, presentation and negotiation skills.
- Intellectual strength and sound judgment.
- Creative and analytical thinking and attention to details.
- Planning and organisation skills.
- Management, administration, research and negotiation skills
- Adaptability with the ability to escalate, share and accept high levels of responsibility and accountability
- Ability to work equally well alone and as part of a team
- Self-starter, well organized, able to prioritize, multi-task and work under pressure
- Fluent in English
- Fluency in Arabic is not required but will be an advantage.

Competencies:
- Sound and proven knowledge and experience of the law in general.
- Building strong relationships
- Commercial acumen and awareness
- Integrity & Professionalism
- Technical Ability

Salary AED40-50K

About the Company

MENA Recruit came to fruition in response to a growing need for international legal talent in London and Dubai. Its initial focus began in the Legal sector, evolving as a service provider for other sectors such as Administration, Marketing, Business Development, HR, IT, Finance and C-Suite positions.

Over the last two decades, with roots firmly planted in the Middle East and operations expanding into the APAC region, MENA Recruit has gained intuitive industry knowledge and expertise. With its unique, people-focused approach, the firm has yielded competitive advantage for its clients and rewarding careers for the professionals it has supported throughout the years.

The company is dedicated to delivering the highest quality of talent and service to its clients while working tenaciously towards helping them achieve higher retention rates. For this reason, MENA Recruit is considered by both candidates and clients as a consultant in the truest sense of the word, offering guidance to both people and organizations on how to adapt to the constant change in market conditions and how to anticipate present and future challenges.

Presently, MENA Recruit provides services to organizations and professionals in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

With such an extensive global reach, strong brand value, decades of expertise, and an innovative approach towards business challenges, it’s clear why MENA Recruit is the partner of choice for both in-house recruiters and candidates internationally.