SENIOR LEGAL ASSOCIATE

THE ORGANIZATION 

The Alliance of Bioversity International (www.bioversityinternational.org) and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) (www.ciat.cgiar.org) delivers research-based solutions that harness agricultural biodiversity and sustainably transform food systems to improve people’s lives. Alliance solutions address the global crises of malnutrition, climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation. 

The Alliance is part of CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food-secure future. POSITION The Alliance is seeking to recruit a qualified and competent Senior Legal Associate to be based at the Africa Regional Office in Nairobi, Kenya. The position will be part of the Global legal team based in Cali, Colombia and will work very closely with the Regional Managers for Human Resource, Operations and Finance to attend to labor, tax, contracting, hosting, risk assessment and compliance issues in the Africa Region. The Senior Legal Associate will advise on regional perspectives of labor laws, contractual matters, risk management, politics and other relevant matters that will help the region to have timely and accurate response to its needs. 

RESPONSIBILITIES

General Responsibilities for this position will include: 

1. Working closely with the Legal Unit staff in Cali, provide legal expertise and support specific to Africa in diverse fields including Regional Risk Assessment, Labor Laws Review, Tax Laws Review, Insurances, Contracts Review, Intellectual Property, Public International Law, Organizational and Corporate Law management. 

Specific duties:

• Draft and revise agreements (grant agreements with donors, sub-agreements with Partners, Material Transfer Agreements, Licensing Agreements, etc.). 
• Negotiate terms and conditions of the agreements with donors, partners and other institutions. 
• Monitor finalization, submission and return of completed contracts, appropriate followups and archiving of all research and other institutional agreements for the Region that are reviewed only by the Legal Office and ensuring all agreements are uploaded in the Econtracts tool. 
• Provide advice and guidance to staff members in Africa in order to build capacity, leverage knowledge and ensure effective and consistent management and provision of legal services including, Intellectual Property.
• Keep abreast with legal and policy developments at national, regional and international level and provide updates and advice on such developments in law that are of relevance. 
• Assist in the development/review of Alliance Policies and/or Guidelines related to the Legal Office. 

2. Drafting, reviewing and negotiating various contracts and providing internal legal advice to other teams while adhering to The Alliance internal policies, national and international laws. 

Specific duties:

• Assist in drafting, revising and reviewing of the following corporate documents: 

₋ Partner agreements and contracts (MOU, LOA, MOA) 

₋ Procurement agreements and service provider contracts; 

₋ Request for proposals; 

₋ Service level agreements. 

• Review and update all labor contracts (ensuring all statutory provisions in each country are captured adequately) 
• Assist in legal research and preparation of legal opinions. 
• Assist in drafting, review and implementation of Policies and Guidelines. 
• Assist in legal risk analysis and follow up in the implementation of the mitigation plan with the owner of each risk. 
• Assist in following up on Audit Recommendations in the Region. 
• Provide litigation and case support assistance to the Global Legal Office within the Africa Region. 

REQUIREMENTS AND EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor of Laws Degree 

• Post Graduate Diploma in Law from the Kenya School of Law 

• Admission to the Bar 

• Member of the Law Society of Kenya 

• Specialization certificate 

• Have at least five-year’s post-admission experience in legal practice in a busy environment, preferably in an international non-profit organization 

• Demonstrate good grasp of relevant laws including but not limited to Laws governing International non-profit organizations; IP Law and related International Laws and Treaties, Labor Laws, Tax Laws and Corporate Governance 

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

• Possess excellent communication, research, presentation and analysis skills. 

• Proactive and self-motivated individual able to work with minimum supervision. 

• Client oriented

APPLICATIONS

Applicants are invited to visit http://ciat.cgiar.org/ciat-jobs to get full details of the position and to submit their applications. Applications MUST include reference number LO-2845 Senior Legal Counsel as the position applied for. Application and CV should be saved as one document using the candidate’s lastname, firstname for ease of sorting. 

Note: The Alliance does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing or training). The Alliance also does not concern itself with information on applicants' bank accounts. 

Applications closing date: 15th April, 2021 

Please note that email applications will not be considered. Only short listed candidates will be contacted. We invite you to learn more about us at: http://alliancebioversityciat.org