Associate General Counsel: Business Enablement

It's fun to work in a company where people truly BELIEVE in what they're doing!

Serve as a senior legal partner to the business, providing expert counsel across complex commercial matters, procurement contracts, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), corporate finance, tax and banking matters and general counselling to the various Business Units. The role is responsible for enabling strategic decision-making, safeguarding the organisation’s interests, and ensuring that all commercial activities are executed within an effective legal, regulatory, and governance framework. The Associate General Counsel must understand the regulatory landscape well enough to engage with Regulatory and Compliance General Counsel for assistance when needed and align legal contracts with Regulatory requirements.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

General Legal Advisory

• Provide comprehensive legal advisory services across multiple legal disciplines to Business Units, Corporate Services and functional areas.
• Advise management on their legal obligations and responsibilities, particularly in relation to risks impacting current and future business operations from a compliance and governance perspective.
• Apply strong commercial acumen in evaluating and balancing legal and commercial risks, enabling pragmatic and value-driven outcomes.

Contracting and Commercial Support

• Draft, review and negotiate a wide range of commercial agreements.
• Provide clear, practical legal advice, opinions and proactive recommendations to support business decision-making.

Risk Identification and Mitigation

• Identify potential areas of legal and regulatory risk and vulnerability across the business.
• Develop, implement and monitor appropriate corrective actions, controls and mitigation strategies.
• Support the embedding of risk management practices within business operations.

Governance, Compliance and Reporting

• Support reporting to Executive Committee and Board committees on material legal, regulatory, compliance and governance matters, as required.
• Ensure that relevant risks are appropriately escalated, tracked and addressed in line with corporate governance frameworks.

Legal Technology and Knowledge Management

• Contribute to the adoption, optimisation and implementation of legal technology as an enabler of efficient legal service delivery.
• Actively support internal legal knowledge management, including knowledge-sharing sessions and legal updates, development and maintenance of templates, playbooks and precedents, systematic storage and accessibility of legal resources

Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)

• Lead and support end-to-end M&A transactions (buy-side and sell-side), including structuring, due diligence, negotiation and execution.
• Coordinate legal workstreams with internal stakeholders and external counsel, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives.
• Draft, review and negotiate transaction agreements (SPAs, business sale agreements, joint venture agreements, shareholder agreements, TSAs).
• Identify transaction risks and recommend mitigation strategies, including conditionality, warranties, indemnities, and post-closing protections.
• Support integration and separation processes from a legal and risk management perspective.

Corporate Finance

• Provide legal support on capital structure initiatives, including equity raises, debt issuances and internal restructuring.
• Draft and review financing documentation and advise on legal implications of financial transactions.
• Advise on governance aspects linked to corporate finance transactions, including approvals, disclosures and fiduciary obligations.
• Support the negotiation and management of banking facilities, including loan agreements, revolving credit facilities, and security arrangements.
• Review and negotiate intercompany funding arrangements.

WHAT YOU’LL BRING TO THE TABLE

Competencies

• Excellent understanding of the law and legal principles necessary to provide legal services to the company.
• Ability to identify and implement efficient and effective initiatives which a) mitigate internal and external legal costs, b) increase the quality and level of corporate governance and c) drive a compliance culture.
• Integrity – you will use your strong ethical compass and good judgment to navigate what are often uncharted territories.

Experience

• 10 years’ post qualification experience in a law firm or an in-house legal department (preferably in the consumer-packaged goods or FMCG sector, of which 7 years having been in a senior legal position).
• Strong corporate commercial law experience for at least 8 years.
• At least 5 years commercial litigation experience.
• Good understanding of regulatory and consumer protection laws and other pertinent areas of law relevant to food and beverage business
• At least 5 years' experience with corporate commercial law including mergers and acquisitions and banking instruments
• Having experience in construction law and capex projects is preferrable.

Qualification

• Bachelor’s Degree and LLB
• Admitted Attorney or Advocate

WHAT YOU WILL BE MEASURED ON

• AGC = front-line business enabler delivering timely, actionable legal advice
• Contract cycle time (instruction → execution)
• % of contracts concluded without rework / escalation
• Quality of risk allocation (liability caps, indemnities aligned to playbook)
• Successful and timeous execution of projects (procurement, strategic projects M&A support

In accordance with the employment equity plan of Tiger Brands and its employment equity goals and targets, preference may be given, but is not limited, to candidates from under-represented designated groups.