The role will be based in Johannesburg and the Senior Legal Manager will be a member of SMT, reporting to the Legal Director for Middle East, Africa and Turkey with a dotted line to the SA-SSA Country President.  The Senior Legal Manager will work under the functional direction and oversight of the ALD, but will have the experience and judgment to be able to work independently.  The Senior Legal Manager will need to provide skilled, objective, professional, business-focused legal advice and will also need to work closely with other functions within the Africa & Turkey Area and/or Global Legal Department, as necessary. 

The key priorities / responsibilities for this role are:

• Commercial Legal Advice.   provide pro-active, value-added and practical legal advice to the SMT and to the markets in SA-SSA countries on commercial matters, including: (i) distributor and distribution chain arrangements; (ii) export controls; (iii) local business development matters; (iv) regulatory, market access, tendering and pricing matters; (v) the negotiation and drafting of material agreements; and (vi) working collaboratively with the AZ IP and AZ IP Litigation teams to support them on patent and patent litigation matters.

• Litigation, Disputes, Investigations.   manage and provide legal advice to the business in connection with: (i) non-IP litigation / disputes (product liability, HR, Trade Association, parallel trade, counterfeiting, commercial matters) initiated by or against AZ; and (ii) any significant internal investigations and all external investigations, including “dawn-raids” (e.g. Competition, Regulatory, Privacy or Tax Authorities) as well as assisting markets in developing / implementing appropriate SOPs to effectively manage such investigations.

• Training.  develop and provide training to relevant stakeholders, covering key legal risks areas, including good communication practices, off-label promotion, anti-bribery and anti-corruption (ABAC), general competition law matters, managing dawn-raids, etc…

• Developments in the Legal Environment.  proactively: (i) monitor legislative and regulatory changes in areas relevant to the commercial business; (ii) monitor enforcement trends of key external authorities in such areas; (iii) provide value added analysis and advice to key stakeholders on the potential impact to the AZ business of such changes and trends in order to allow the business to make more accurate risk assessments and informed decisions. 

• Managing External Counsel.  retain and manage external counsel in each of the local markets, including ensuring that the business seeks guidance from external counsel on the appropriate matters, the legal advice is of high quality and each retainer is set up and managed in the most cost-effective manner.  

• Risk Management.  assess, advise on and manage effectively, all manner of legal risks as they apply to the current business strategy and the activities undertaken by the company, as well as to the medium to long-term strategy and decision making.

Qualifications:

The successful candidate will have a law degree, be a qualified lawyer in South Africa and have at least 6 years of experience as a lawyer in a major law firm or an inhouse legal counsel in a multinational company in a regulated industry. Experience in pharmaceutical industry is a plus.

He or she will be required to work collaboratively as part of a team, while appropriately assessing and advising on legal risks and offering creative solutions to complex legal problems.  More specifically, he or she will possess the following skills: 

Expertise in Managing Commercial Legal Matters. The successful candidate will demonstrate a track record of having managed the legal aspects of complicated commercial matters of the type encountered in the pharmaceutical industry.

Excellence in Managing Litigation and Investigations.  The candidate will have a demonstrated ability to effectively manage litigation and investigations in various jurisdictions and to effectively manage external counsel in a cost effective manner.

Experience in Managing Corporate Risk.  He or she will have shown excellence in assessing and managing corporate risk, including managing organizational compliance with the requirements of a regulated industry.

Business Acumen.  He or she will possess strong business acumen, including understanding how the various functional areas are working within the strategic and operational parameters of the company. 

Team Leadership Skills.  He or she will have demonstrated an ability to act independently, yet work collaboratively with others to get things done, with an inquisitive versus critical approach, and to lead his or her corporate peers to ensure material risks are identified and assessed effectively and efficiently.

Communication Skills.  The successful candidate will possess excellent communication skills in order to interface successfully with a broad range of stakeholders (both internal and external and both legal and business colleagues) and build consensus while protecting the best interests of the company.

Date Posted

Closing Date

AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity.  We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills.  We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be.  We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics.  We comply with all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements.