Job Description

Closing Date 2025/11/11
Reference Number SAA250429-3
Job Title Senior Specialist Legal Advisor
Division N/A
Business Unit Legal
Job Type Permanent
Location - Country South Africa
Location - Province Gauteng
Location - Town / City Kempton Park
Job Purpose
The Senior Specialist Legal Advisor is required to coordinate, consolidate, guide and oversee corporate legal support that is provided to business in alignment with corporate and governance standards, to protect the interests of the Airline and its subsidiaries in all jurisdictions in the Airline's operations.
More specifically, the role will focus on providing supervision, guidance and direction for all specialized and general legal services to the Airline in all areas of legal specialization (competition law, labour law, commercial law, aviation law, litigation etc.). The incumbent of this role will be expected to guide the business in all legal and litigation matters in the applicable jurisdictions (nationally, regionally and internationally).
The Senior Specialist Legal Advisor will need to ensure that the Airline has a highly competent team aligned to the requirements of the Airline's legal environment and build capacity to support these legal requirements.
Lastly, as part of the Legal Team, the role will be required to support the optimization of the division whilst implementing strategic initiatives in supporting the Airline's objectives. The incumbent will thus need to contribute to and discuss legal and litigation initiatives across the different areas of specialisation in order to optimise the practices of the team (competition law, labour law, commercial law, etc.).
Principal Accountabilities

• Manage process improvement projects from conception to completion, ensuring the intended objective is met within the required timeframes specified in the project plan
• Ensure that an effective and efficient legal service is rendered to the company by the legal team (including outsourced legal services)
• Guide the Airline with respect to full legal framework and related regulatory matters, and recommend alternatives to practices that are not in the best interests of the Airline and that expose the Airline to risk
• Manage outsourced matters and relationships with external law firms handling matters on behalf of the Airline, including managing of legal costs
• Participate in high impact negotiations of contracts such as partnership, joint ventures, alliance, code-sharing and commercial contracts, and employment contracts
• Represent the organisation to stakeholders, associates and partners and maintain professional, effective and productive relationships to ensure the Airline's interests are upheld
• Determine stakeholder requirements and engage in effective planning to determine and prioritise legal services to be rendered
• Utilise feedback from stakeholders in lieu of legislative frameworks, practices and regulations to ensure continuous alignment and optimisation of legal services
• Ensure understanding and interpretation of the overall Airline's Corporate Strategy including the Legal Strategy, taking into account short, medium and long term organisational objectives
• Develop and implement a legal approach that is aligned to the strategy, stakeholder needs and expectations, legislative requirements, industry trends and ensuring business viability
• Liaise with the industry specialists regarding market and industry trends to ensure applicability of the legal approach and plan to meet changing industry and business trends
• Focus legal solutions on organisational outcomes and on improving organisational performance in this arena
• Assess the impact of business decisions on legislative compliance and provide solutions to optimise opportunities and mitigate risks
• Ensure that the legal practices, solutions, processes, tools and systems used are competitive, cost effective, compliant, integrated with other systems and understood by employees
• Ensure that the line managers are effectively coached, supported and challenged in the application of legislative laws, policies and practices, provide advice and guidance on complex legal issues in order to minimise risk and financial exposure
• Ensure the efficient and optimum usage of legal service providers by the legal team and organisation
• Identify areas of risk with respect to legislative application (law and related regulatory matters) and develop mitigation plans
• Develop, recommend compliance measures and implement measures, including the compliance program, in collaboration with the risk function in the division
• Present awareness and training seminars and sessions on relevant legislation to affected business units, and monitor post training compliance
• Manage exposure by recommending settlements or consent agreements, where necessary, and negotiate such settlements in the best interests of the Airline
• Maintain regular liaison with competition commission and other regulatory authorities and participate in workshops and seminars organised on competition and antitrust law to keep abreast with best practices
• Manage exemptions and merger approval processes where required, and ensure streamlined processes in obtaining approvals (where applicable)
• Attend to all ad hoc instructions on matters relating to customer services, risk, government liaison, sales and marketing and business development
• Participate actively in high level commercial and transactional negotiations and projects
• Develop and recommend strategies to identify and prevent legislative transgressions
• Ensure that appropriate governance systems are in place and in line with future requirements, i.e. policies, procedures and reporting structures
• Develop Service Level Agreements for external legal consulting service delivery
• Manage business risk, through continuous internal and external monitoring of business impact, as well as changes in stakeholder needs and more importantly the various case laws

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor degree in Law/LLB or related field at NQF level 7
• Postgraduate qualification in law will be an advantage
• Admission as a legal practitioner essential
• Extensive experience (minimum 10 years post admission experience) in the practice of law with breadth of experience across areas of specialisation (competition, commercial law, corporate law, litigation, and aviation law etc) with a minimum of 3 years in a management role
• Minimum of 5 years' experience in development of a legal/litigation strategy
• Experience in the development of a Contracts Register and maintenance thereof

Knowledge and Skills

• Litigation management principles and practice
• Legal and Regulatory Advisory
• General management and understanding of the business environment
• Aviation industry practices and the Airline's specific services
• Strong functional knowledge of the following:

• Corporate and Commercial law
• Competition and Consumer Protection law
• Public and Administrative law
• Aviation law
• MRO (Maintenance and Repairs Overhaul)
• Labour law
• Corporate governance
• Investigations
• Contract development
• Proactive collaboration at executive and management level, as well as other stakeholder engagements with business
• Strong inter/intrapersonal skills due to multi-jurisdictional aspect and complex culture in the Airline
• Strong leadership and management skills
• Ability to 'think on feet', and make applicable decisions within relevant framework
• Ability to work under pressure and deliver
• Negotiation skills
• Conflict resolution and mediation skills
• Critical thinking
• Analytical thinking
• Presentation skills
• Strong communication skills
• Project management
• Financial management
• Customer/stakeholder management

Attributes

• Leads crucial conversations
• Coaches and mentors
• Leads projects
• Facilitates transformation and change
• Drives innovation
• Implements and aligns to vision
• Delivers value
• Leverages team diversity
• Role models behaviours and values

Additional Information
SAA is using an online recruitment tool. Applicants are required to complete an individual registration profile capturing essential personal and career selection criteria. Applicants must please note that they only need to complete the online registration once and thereafter they can update their online profiles as and when necessary.
PLEASE NOTE: The onus are on applicants to ensure all mandatory fields are completed. Incomplete online profiles will be disqualified from the application process. Online profiles are used for screening and shortlisting purposes. A CV is only for verification and record keeping purposes. Applicants need to ensure that their online profiles are completed with correct and current information. Incomplete sections can disqualify applicants from the screening and selection process.
This applies to all internal and external applicants.

Skills Required